The African Youth Development Link (AYDL), a dynamic not-for-profit, non-partisan development organisation has trained 50 youth in Amuru and Oyam districts as community problem-solvers.
Also known as youth trekkers, the training initiative is intended to enhance young people’s capacity to participate and address community service delivery challenges.
The training was done through a series of personal motivating and dynamic individual and community transformational activities where participating youth became "trekkers", developing and building upon their interests, skills, and expertise in the process of making positive contributions to their communities and to the nation.
The training and mentorship included convening meetings where youth discussed and reflected on their aspirations as well as developing critical thinking abilities.
Thus, the trekkers have continued to serve as an example to the rest of the youth in the two target districts by portraying competence and inspiring youth from an informed point of view.
This, has enabled trekkers to improve their livelihoods and involvement in advocacy for better service delivery initiatives within their communities. Others youth trekkers have used government programs such as the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) to achieve economic independence.
Mentoring programme empowers girls’ participation in leadership
A youth participatory programme initiated by the African Youth Development Link (AYDL) has mentored girls to take part in local governance and service delivery processes through experiential and theoretical trainings.
The program is implemented through trainings that equip girls with leadership skills including self-discovery, communication, goal setting, self-confidence, critical thinking, negotiation, policy research and advocacy.
The girls are also taught the importance of female youth participation in leadership, governance and service delivery monitoring using role models, audios, video and games (edutainment).
Under the programme, young women receive easy to follow kits with simple and engaging exercises and tools that they can practice on their own or with peerswhereeach female youth leader istasked to mentor at least ten of their friends back in the community.
This is intended to create a multiplier effect of about 2,000 young women being impacted by the project in form of leadership skills development and enable female youth leaders and other young women proactively engage in civic and governance processes at all levels.
Each participant is also given a reflection journal where they note their key learnings, do exercises and note key tools for future practical application.Pre and post-training surveys are also organized to evaluate the level of the leadership knowledge among the mentees.
Similarly, each female youth leader is attached to a renowned adult role model woman leader for continuous mentorship and coaching as efforts to ensure quality at both output and outcome level.
Youth project seeks to strengthen local accountability in Northern Uganda
"OURS BY OBLIGATION" Strengthening Youth Voices for Better Local Government Accountability and Service Delivery, is a two year (2017- 2018) project that targets both male and female youths in the sub-counties of Acaba; Iceme; Abok in Oyam Town Council
Strengthening the capacity of youth to participate in local governance processes, pro-actively create social partnership opportunities and building social cohesion at the local level for improved service delivery.
Sustaining platforms and institutional mechanisms for youth voices to demand for greater accountability of local government leaders and improve policy and practice environment for youth friendly services by 2018.