Kazo, Uganda: International City of Peace
We welcome Mr. Nsamba Henry and his colleagues at the Youth Ark Center as they establish Kazo, Uganda in the Kawempe Division as an International City of Peace. Henry and his group have an extensive and sophisticated Program called the Kampala Peace Initiative with the goal: to improve the integrity and productivity of Unemployed Youth, convicts, young mothers and prostitutes so that they can live and generate income in a way which is peaceful and with decent through improving their integrity and productivity, in villages of Kawempe division in Kampala District. According to Henry, “We believe that empowering Youth will draw them away from crimes and violence hence having peace in out society.”
Note: Introduction page with information primarily at the time of joining International Cities of Peace. For updates, please contact the liaison.
SITUATION ANALYSIS FOR KAZU
The areas of southern Kampala district are characterized with a high level of violence this due to high poverty, unemployment due to lack of skills, very low levels integrity, the low home incomes have led to rates of illiteracy among the population, high levels of school drops and in the processes of sourcing for survive very many girls have become pregnant at an early age these finally make up the ever increasing number of prostitutes on the streets of kawempe, the boys join crime gangs to steal and take drugs. People living in these areas seem to be comfortable with the vices, this is because the society produces and grooms its people in an environment with relative values where children and youth grow up in an environment where people are taking drugs, parents being drunk during day time and fighting all the time at home, old people speaking vulgar words in public and prostitutes standing on the road side during day time, old boys breaking into houses and grabbing other people’s things to split into the dark and it all seems normal But all this is due to a generation that lack proper values and skills to live positively that later turns out to parent another generation.
FULL PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR FUNDERS:
YOUTH ARK UGANDA
As a measure to lay the foundation for peaceful living in home and community at large through empowering community members with good values and skills for alternative living, based on the priority of the need and demand from the community, YOUTH ARK UGANDA has taken this initiative to design a community based curriculum that shall be used to enhances good values, vocational and skill development project for sustainable development of young single mothers mainly prostitutes and unemployed youth mostly convicts in kawempe division of Kampala district.
YOUTH ARK UGANDA is a nonprofit community based organization working towards empowerment, education and livelihood promotion. YOUTH ARK UGANDA aspires to improve the living conditions of the poor and marginalized by adopting strategies through community initiative, participation and sensitization. The organization has worked among backward communities in the southern areas of Kampala, identified as the most under developed areas in Kampala district. Youth and young women self help groups have been taken as the base for all interventions and livelihood activities enabling them to contribute towards mainstream development process
Empowering community members with good characters and skills will definitely improve their integrity (respect for themselves and for others and their property) thus enhancing peace in the community while giving them skills to find employment will position them in using their time productively other than spending time in bars taking alcohol and drugs. thus improving their incomes will enable them to manage their homes as and also educate their children. Since research show that high domestic valance in our community is a result of very low incomes and drugs/alcohol this will also help to reduce valance in homes thus enhancing peace in our communities.
Kampala Peace Initiative (KPI)
Project Design
The initiative was originated at the target communities. During filed visits and community assessment programs. In community meetings, the villagers approached YOUTH ARK UGANDA and requested to us to undertake such development projects that enhance peace in our community through empowering members with skills and values as one of the approaches which would highly bring an impact to the communities.
It’s to this cause that we believe that empowering members of the society with skills and good characters will give them an alternative source of living other than stealing and selling their bodies and even enable to manage their families thus peace at home and in the society.
The overall objective of the project is to enhance the integrity (values) and productivity (skills) of 300 Numbers of disadvantaged and poor adolescent girls, convicts, unemployed and single mothers mainly prostitutes through empowerment in villages of Kawempe division in Kampala district”
The activities mainly includes Vocational and Skill trainings on Tailoring, computer, Driving, catering, music production and other value added products with the expertise support from training organizations and professional trainers. After the training, the trainees will be placed in various organizations and established micro enterprise to enhance their employability as well livelihood security. In long run, the project will establish a Self Help Cooperative to facilitate the candidates to manage their financial goals through saving and borrowing.
Goal of the project:
To enhancing the values and skills of 300 Numbers of disadvantaged and poor adolescent girls, unemployed youths mostly convicts and young single mothers mostly prostitutes in villages of kazo, Bwaise, Nabweru and Kalerwe of Kawempe division in Kampala district.
Vision of the project:
To create a society of members living peacefully and politely with each other and prefering decent means of generating income
Helping alleviate poor sanitation and drainage in the slums around Kazo in Bwaise.
Mission of the project:
To create a peaceful society of members living with integrity (respect for themselves and others and their property)
Project Ideology:
The project ideology is that we can promote peace in our community through:
• Empowering those involved in creating crimes like theft, riots, with skills and values to live an alternative life which is productive and decent say empowering convicts will prevent them from resorting back to the bad practices that had led them to prison.
• Enhancing good values in homes and community institutions through our peace clubs, shall lead to change in character and mindset thus leading to improvement in the uprightness of the community members thus a reduction in acts like domestic violence.
• Using a preventive move, by enabling the unemployed youths to find employment, shall prevent them from resorting to bad practices like theft and joining gangs.
• Empowering members of the community to become more productive. Since research shows that 79% of members involved in domestic violence and all kinds of violent acts come from financially struggling homes.
• Empowering members of the community who are parenting yet involved in disgraceful lifestyles like prostitution, drugs or alcohol addiction shall help break the low moral generation cycle. Research shows that 83% their children can later be tracked to crimes, drugs/alcohol addiction (spirits), early pregnancies, dropping of school. Therefore imparting parents with skills will enable them to educate their children into good peaceful citizens yet the values shall enable their children grow into respectable members of society.
Project Activities:
We aim at achieving our objectives through the following activities:
– Running a training centre where we shall empower community members with values, skills to regularly improve their humanity
– Carrying out seminars and camps that promote peace at the centre, schools, worship places and prisons.
– Creating peace initiative clubs in all community institutions of learning to promote the fundamentals peace and build a strong foundation for the project
– To operate with other organizations with related objectives
– Producing and distributing publications like posters that promote peace in our homes and communities
– Use the media to advance peace through trainings
Expected Outcomes:
1. Dissemination of Skills and values to the underserved, unserved and unreached areas.
2. The levels of crime and HIV/AIDS shall be checked if we can rehabilitate people involved in prostitution and crimes with alternative ways and means of living.
3. Better skilled and oriented cadres and individuals.
4. Capacity enhancement at the grass root level and make youth and young more so single mothers self reliant so that they can earn their livelihood and dignity.
5. Since maximum of the underserved, unserved people belong to lower strata of the society socially and have been exploited from very long time by the upper strata so economic self reliance, this is the only way to come out of the clutches of discrimination, exploitation, unemployment and poverty.
6. Improved organization and better entrepreneur ability among the people in the community.
7. Improved capacity within communities to manage SHC systems.
8. 20 SHGs members will be trained on Business management under Self Help Cooperative model to increase 30% of their current monthly income
9. 40 SHGs members will be trained on entrepreneurship and product value addition and will be helped to establish Business under Self Help Cooperative model to so that they can create employment for themselves
10. One Youth Self Help Cooperative will be promoted for marketing, financial and non financial services.
11. At least 80 trainees will be placed in various industries and companies.
12. At least 10 Nos Micro enterprises will be established for income generating activities.
13.One tailoring center will be established.
14. 60% migration among 200 families to be controlled.
Project Target Area:
The project will cover 4 villages in Kawempe division in Kampala district namely Kazo, Nabweru, Bwaise and Kalerwe. With office located at Kazo on Kazo Lugoba road in Kazo central zone, next to Kazo soccer field.
Target beneficiaries:
The number of direct beneficiaries of this project shall be 300 Numbers of disadvantaged and poor adolescent girls, unemployed youth mostly convicts and single mothers mainly prostitutes in villages of Kawempe division in Kampala district
Henry Ksamba and the Kazo Team organzed a joint school’s presentation. The Youth Evening Talk is on the first Sunday of the month. We invite good community elders to guide our youth on different life experiences. Because these are usually able residents, they always leave behind tips and suggestions for the youth. The number of youth participating is always growing.
ABOUT THE LIAISON
Mr. Nsamba Henry, Executive Director of YOUTH ARK UGANDA has over 8 years of experience in academics and various international developments. He has a strong knowledge of and grassroots experience in NGO management, Micro Planning, Microfinance, Livelihood promotion, Disaster Management, Project Management, capacity building, networking, program planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of projects. His educational qualification includes ACCA, B.Com, Diploma in NGO Management.
CONTACT INFORMATION
To contact or support this initiative:
Youth Ark Center
Kazo Lugoba Road Opp Harji supermarket
Tel; +256701088356 +25677318566
EMAIL: youtharkug@yahoo.com
P. O. Box 8311 Kampala, Uganda
Project Coordinator
Mr. Nsamba Henry (henrynsamba@yahoo.com, +256701088356)
ABOUT KAZO, UGANDA
Kawempe division is the largest division in Kampala, with an estimate population of 265,000 according to the 2011 national population census. Kawempe division has the highest mortality and morbidity burden compared to the other four divisions. A survey in 2013, ranked it the highest in violent tendencies of riots, theft and homes out of the five divisions in Kampala and regarded as unsafe for a peaceful livelihood because the area has a lot of unrest.
With the youth making 72% of the area population and with 80% of the youth are unemployed or under employed. Most of the youth are involved in public transport of riding motorcycles, betting/gambling, prostitution, theft (mostly grabbing cell phones from people and then run away), small petty business like making chapatti, charcoal along the road
Kampala being the capital city of Uganda has 5 divisions (Nakawa, Central, Makindye, Rubaga and Kawempe). However amongst all, kawempe is less developed because of its slummy nature faced with floods, high levels of domestic violence, crimes, poverty and unemployment which has affected the image of the area and its people. The residents spend most of the day doing nothing but in bars, in gambling/betting places, taking drugs and then turn out at night to engage in theft, prostitution in other areas of the city.
From the assessment, the current generation is a result of early pregnancy and single parenting, high levels of illiteracy due to low home incomes, societies of low or bad morals. The cycle goes on to result in a recurring related generation in these communities.
Lack of awareness and poor implementation of government schemes
Given the poverty scenario, a number of poverty eradication measures have been initiated by the government, mostly central government supported programs and city authority aimed at improving the standard of underprivileged communities like operation wealth creation, youth fund, community development funds, However, these programes are not directly reaching and making any effect to these communities due to lack of awareness, corruption and dishonesty.
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