In a bid to sustain platforms and institutional mechanisms for youth voices, the African Youth Development Link (AYDL) supported its grass root organization(OYAF and AYAF) to monitor service deliveryin the areas of youth livelihood, health, education and agriculture among others.
The AYDL supported Voluntary Service corps (VSC) in schools to monitor service delivery within their school environments and surrounding communities and later used the findings to engage district and school authorities.
The schools that participated in the monitoring included Acaba SSS, Iceme Girls, Pabbo SS and Pabbo Central High school. The findings of OYAF and AYAF were presented in the youth live radio debates that were aired on Rupiny Fm.
The debates attracted district authorities who included the CAO, DCDOs,and YLP focal persons, RDCs, DEOs, DHOs and other political and technical officials in the two districts.
The youth parliaments have also been followed up by lobby meetings with an aim of ensuring that officials’ commitments are put into action.
AYDL has always reminded youth that the YLP funds should be used as a stepping stone for them to fend for themselves and others and that repaying them was crucial in ensuring that everyone benefits. The YLP focal person during the project monitoring indicated that before AYDL and OYAFs monitoring, the recovery was only 43 million but after an engagement between the YLP focal point person and youth chairpersons, it increased up to 120 million. Other issues like kickbacks for officials and arrest of youth have reduced drastically.
Most female youth under the AYDL-GAPP project are beneficiaries of the women entrepreneurship fund which has enabled majority of them to start their own businesses that can be recorded as a success of the project.
Ours-by-obligation project continues to boost youth voices in Amuru
In Amuru, the youth leaders engaged under this project and AYAF; noted that their advocacy efforts under this project especially during the youth parliament and the lobby meetings are paying off as the district leaders are responding to some of their issues.
Participation in council
Youth councillors interviewed acknowledged AYDL’s capacity building in advocacy and lobbying as very helpful. They noted that they are confident and motivated to speak for the youth in council meetings and have successfully lobbied for Shs2m from the district to train them in council business.
The youth leaders in Amuru also drafted an education ordinance and advocated for its discussion in council to see an increase in the number of teachers per school especially female teachers, ensure youth are provided career guidance at all levels and more so ensure that youth remain in school by addressing the factors that often force them out of school.
AYAF milestones
AYAF was recognised as the best Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Amuru district by the Community Development Officer (CDO) and the district leadership because of its work in monitoring youth specific service delivery and sensitizing the youth in villages.
Community service
The community service program was a means of raising awareness on the need for voluntary action to change and improve service delivery in the two districts to act as an opportunity in raising awareness on the right of access to health, clean environment, environmental sustainability and general service delivery in the two districts
The youth involved in the community service were able to learn to improve their communities, developed their capacities to organize others for better service delivery, acquired problem-solving, planning and mobilization skills and developed a sense of belonging and contribution to their communities. This is because the community service involved teamwork, collaboration, and interaction all which enhance future organized citizens, visionary and servant leaders who work within established systems, and motivate others to help.
The district authorities present and the community appreciated the role of youth in promoting service delivery in their local areas and these changed their attitude towards youth and view them as partners in development.