WHAT WE DO

• Human Rights and child protection
• HIV/AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health
• Environmental Protection and Awareness
• Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) programs
• Youth In Sports and Mentoring Programme

WHERE WE WORK

• Youth Partnership Uganda operational Office is in Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council Mpondwe Ward, Nyabutundu Cell ,off Bwera Hospital Road plot 5 on Jolly’s House .  We cover programmes across Kasese and the neighboring districts in the Rwenzori region and Uganda at large, when need arises with other development partners.

Why work in Kasese district and Rwenzori region

• Kasese district and the Rwenzori region at large has been a hub for insecurity in Uganda. For example, the war that broke out in 1996 kept the area insecure at least 10 years. This seemed to have perpetuated more conflicts and civil unrest though peace was realized in the longer run.
• Kasese District is a post conflict area that has been a hub for insecurity in Uganda being affected by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in 1996, tribal conflicts and the recent attack on Rwenzururu kingdom that claimed lives of over 100 people in November 2016 especially parents that left children speechless where most of the children could witness the death of their parents who have been left without knowing what to do next.
• The area is also hit by high levels of HIV/AIDS scourge being around the border of Uganda and the DR Congo in the West and on the lake shores of lake Edward and George, there are high levels of commercial sex, cross generational sex that has exploited many humans as people try to look for survival means thereby leaving children speechless because their parents have died as result of AIDS Therefore there is need for co-existence and improved democratization that will only be built on a foundation of people understanding their rights and obligations at all levels.
• The rights of children are also being greatly affected by the traditional cultural beliefs, pervasive attitudes and rapid social change, have made the youth have a meaningful behavioral change.
• It’s against this background that Youth Partnership Uganda recognized lack of knowledge and information, clear strategies on human and children’s rights including reproductive health and HIV/AIDS among them. Therefore the Organization has designed strategies for the children, youth,girls women, PWD and other vulnerable groups to develop and implement the walk a talk about the implementation of human rights programs to reduce continuous marginalization.
• However, the Rwenzori region in western Uganda is comprised of the seven districts of Bundibugyo, Kabarole, Bunyangabu, Ntoroko, Kamwenge, Kasese, and Kyenjojo with a variety of tribal groups of people i.e. Batooro, Bakonjo, Bamba and Bakiga who are the majority. Also, the minority groups of the Babwisi, Basongora, Banyabindi, Bakingwe Batwa and Batuku, who are the result of intermarriages of the majority of tribal groups, live in the region.
• The main languages used are Rutooro by the Batooro, Basongora and the Batuku; lhukonzo by the Bakonjo, the majority of whom are mountain people and the mijority in Kasese , Bundibugyo and bunyangabu districts. The Banyabindi are a result of intermarriages between the Batooro and the Bakonjo, while the Babwisi are the result of intermarriages between the Batooro and the Bamba. This tribal intermix results into ethnic indifferences thus leading to a number of conflicts ranging from ethno-political to armed rebellion by rebel groups for example the 1954 Rwenzururu movement that was a clash between the Bakonzo and the batooro over the Tooro kingdom dominance.
• Additionally the minority groups face challenges of involvement in diverse development processes something that continues to leave them in living poor livelihoods.
• The majority of the farmers in the region are poor subsistence farmers although there are a few commercial farmers. Due to poor farming methods even much of the naturally good soils are rapidly losing their fertility and in many cases production has reduced. Evidence suggests that without changes of farming methods.

OUR IMPACT

Gender strengthening project

• In 2012 another project titled Strengthening gender equity behaviors among the youth in Mpondwe Lhubiriha town council being funded by KIOS under partnership Programme with ACODEV,the project was promoted through sports and we managed to reach 2560 youth in the town council both in and out of school- it was successfully implemented and it led to the formation of community advocacy committees that promote gender equity behaviors among the Youth

  Girl Child Education– a fundamental Human Right Project

• In 2014 we implemented a project titled Girl child education a fundamental human right aiming at Strengthening sustainable community accessibility to basic education for the girl child through supporting the enrolment and retention of girl child in and those missing out of school in Ihandiro sub county Kasese district as a way to achieve the sustainable development goals four and five, we managed to mobilized 35 young mothers who enrolled back in school and have completed school and YPU has continued to form and mobilize more young mothers to enroll back especially in the project area

After the training workshop for the Girl Child Education project in Ihandiro sub county in attendance are Teachers, Local, Technical and religious leaders

 After the project evaluation meeting with YPU staff,ACODEV staff and The funders from Finland (KIOS)

Health Promotion Programmes

YPU implemented a health and Sanitation project in Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council in partnership with Upstairs Vocational Business College and the Town Council Managemment. This project was organized under the theme ‘MLTC-a clean environment for life’ this involves garbage collection in the town to the dumping sites, cleaning the market. This brings stakeholders from Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council, Bwera Hosptital and the neighboring sub county

Youth Partnership Uganda Staff Collecting Garbage Near the Mosque in Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council under the theme MLTC – a Clean environment for life

LAIDS care and treatment Project,

targeting the MARPS especially the commercial sex workers in Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council in Bukonzo west, the project was being funded by CDC/UEC/UCMB/, in partnership with Kasanga Primary Health Care; it was implemented from May to September 2017.

it was successfully implemented and during the project implementation we trained 40 peer educators/counsellors, YPU staff managed to reach and tested 2836 people yet the targeted ones as per the MOU were 2636,we managed to link 76 Commercial Sex Workers for ART at Kasanga Primary health Centre and through this project the target population and the wider community have greatly been sensitized on HIV/AIDS and STIs prevention hence minimizing re-infection using the 90,90,90 approach.

One of our staff during the HIV community outreach programme in Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council.

YPU services are not limited to moonlight services, however. YPU now has HIV/AIDS outreaches in various areas where they operate, offering free and accessible services to com-munity members. Since we began outreaches in May, they have continued testing people in communities, individuals and provide counseling services those positive  are referred to the health facility nearby

Human Rights and Child Protection

Youth Partnership Uganda is currently implementing a project Titled Ending child marriage in Uganda A CSO Led advocacy campaign particularly in Kasese district in four sub counties of Nyakiyumbu, Nyakatonzi, Katwe Kabatoro Town Council and Ihandiro aiming at popularizing the national strategy to end child marriage and teenage pregnancy that started on 1^st September 2017 and ending February 2019. Being funded by Amplify Change coordinated by Joy For children Uganda and Girls Not Brides Uganda Alliance of which Youth Partnership Uganda is a member and also a member to Girls Not Brides International a global Partnership to end child marriage.

under this project We have engaged technical and political stake holders both at district and sub county level and a budget line has been created at all levels purposely to address issues concerning child marriage and teenage pregnancy, the stakeholders have signed a commitment /agreement to end child marriage we have developed a network with other CSO in the district to address child marriage through team work and we have formed child right advocacy committee in sub county to help in advocacy work and also we have advocated for the increase of the district budget line on issues affecting children and we have managed to enroll back 5 young mothers in schools.

Youth Partnership Uganda staff, Religious leaders, Police, CDOs, sub county chiefs and local council chairpersons during the Project Launch at Bwera Secondary about Ending child marriage in kasese and Uganda at large,

Community Action

Youth Partnership Uganda supports, child clubs in schools and in the community at large to advocate for their rights especially education and health, increase to sexual reproductive health rights information. We support girls and boys to be activists of change in their schools, communities and governments through information sharing and public debates in schools and the community at large where we have even reached girls in schools and teach them about menstrual health management and we have have even given out re usable sanitary pads in some schools.

Pupils of Busendwa Primary school one of the hard in Bundibugyo receive re usable sanitary pads.

LYouth in Sports and mentoring programme

Since 2012  YPU introduced a sports programme that brings the youth
together through football and netball as a strategy of harmonizing peace
and coexistence in the community as well as sharing valuable
information on child marriage, girl child education ,Environmental
conservation, Sanitation and Hygiene and health. This programme has been
ongoing for at least six years and is implemented in every April and
December of each year. This programme is implemented in partnership with
other development partners At least 10 netball and football teams are
mobilized to participate in this community event annually for both in
and out of school Youth

Youth Partnership Uganda uses sports activities as a platform to pass a message about gender equity

Advocacy programmes.

Youth partnership Uganda has participated in various advocacy meetings especially on the promotion of the right to health, Food and protection as a fundamental to child growth and development. This was organized by Action for community Development under the ACPDEV/KIOS PP. this meeting drawn participants from partner CBOs that work under their partnership, district leaders from Kasese and Kabarole, where it was agreed that CBOs and NGOs and government leaders should include child marriage issues in their programmes so as to reduce the prevalence of young girls getting married off at early ages. The meeting took place in Kabarole district at Tooro Botanical Garden

The Executive Director Youth Partnership Uganda attended on how Child marriage can be reduced.

 Advocacy for better health project

Youth partnership was selected by Action for Community Development to participate in the implementation of Advocacy for better health project. The partnership involves raising the capacity of the community members to effectively demand and advocate for better health services from their leaders. The ABH project is funded by USAID through Pathfinder to ACODEV, and implemented in Kasese district where Youth Partnership was allocated participation in Nyakiyumbu Sub County.

ACODEV partners in training about advocacy for Better Health a project being funded by USAID and Youth Partnership Uganda is one of the implementing partners

Global Meetings for Girls Not Brides Members

Girls Not Brides organizes global meetings for  its members that aimed at building the member’s capacity to effectively implement issues concerning early marriages and  teenage pregnancy in their respective countries. This enabled YPU to share its experiences and meet potential donors. The meeting was organized from 19^th-21^st of May 2015 in Morocco-Casablanca. It was attended by Mr. Kambere Julius-the Programme Coordinator of Youth Partnership Uganda and also the Executive Director Mr Bwambale Morish attended another one in Malaysia in 2018

The Programs Coordinator Youth Partnership Uganda and other members of Girls Not Brides in a global conference held in Morocco in 2015