Youth Empowerment for Positive Community Development: A case from Uganda

Abstract

Ayiri located in Adjumani refugee settlement has a young population, with 60% being youths (refugee and host) in one of the child and youth focused project areas of Food for the Hungry, Uganda. Economic and social changes, worsened by COVID-19, refugee experiences which has led to increased teenage pregnancies and marriages, school dropouts, substance abuse, and a lack of support and stress plus its effects. Within this context, this study’s objective was to examine how empowering youths through social and economic coping skills reduces multiple challenges faced by youths. The study majorly used a qualitative method and quantitative methods were limited to some descriptive statistics to design the study and track the progress over the period. Using a purposive sampling, 649 youths were chosen from the area. A content analysis and descriptive analysis were done to produce the report. An intervention called Youth enterprise challenge empowerment model and Tree of Life, an evidence-based therapeutic approach that bolsters sense of self, community support and hope for the future which has a combination of both vocation and life skills, was used to empower the sampled youths.

Of the 649 youths, 250 youths were linked to youth vocation skilling and results show that, 87.5% of vocational trainees established their enterprises. This resulted in increased income levels and ability to provide for their families. While 399 youth were engaged in Agroecological farming which is expected to boost agro production. In addition, youth engagement in groups and soft skills training have led to increased self-worth and personal agency, youth endorsed positive coping with daily life challenges as well as gaining a sense of belonging, and improved well-being. By integrating economic, psychological and social needs of young people, the project was able to foster resilience, leadership, and active contributions to improved well-being, positioning youth as agents of positive change. However, it is too early to determine how these youth will cope with a major shock.