Uganda: Hope Beyond Borders

Project Part 1: Development of coping strategies

Activities

• 600 refugees receive psychosocial support and, if necessary, legal advice. 300 severely traumatized people are referred to professional services.
• A youth center is set up to provide a safe place for 120 young people

Expected result for 2024 (output)

• 60% of project participants state that they have better mechanisms to deal with their experiences

Long-term result (outcome)

• The young people affected integrate better into the community, which improves coexistence in the settlements.

Project part 2: Improving income opportunities

Activities

• Five savings and investment groups for young people are set up
• 40 young people each are trained in a course on financial planning, small entrepreneurship and business development and receive start-up support for their own small business.

Expected result for 2024 (output)

• 80% of the young people organized in groups carry out income-generating measures or expand existing measures.

Long-term result (outcome)

• 60% of the young people organized in groups can earn their own living and thus improve their prospects.

Project part 3: Political engagement and peace building

Activities

• 150 young people are organized in peace groups.
• Five awareness-raising events on five social topics are organized and carried out.
• Various activities in the areas of drama, theater and sports are carried out with 50 young people.
• Awareness-raising campaigns are implemented online and offline.
• 80 young people will take part in four training sessions on advocacy.

Expected results for 2024 (outputs)

• 30 young people take part in four relevant political forums at regional, national or international level
• Young people take part in two dialogues with political decision-makers
• 1,200 people receive online and offline information about awareness-raising campaigns

Long-term results (outcomes)

• 40 young people are committed to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
• The young people work towards a political change process.

Young people have coping strategies

• 1,158 people (600 planned) received psychosocial support. 845 of them were women and 53 of them were people with disabilities who are considered particularly vulnerable in the context of refugee settlement. 182 people were referred to specialized institutions due to the severity of their cases.
• 125 young people (120 planned) joined together in four “Safe Space” groups. Women were in the majority with 95 participants.
• As planned, 40 young people formed savings communities, with all members also receiving training in financial topics and benefiting from access to literacy and English courses.

Youth actively engaged in their communities

• 188 young people (150 planned) joined peace groups in 2023 and carried out joint activities to promote peaceful coexistence between the host communities and the refugee settlements.
• 83 young people were able to expand their knowledge in the field of peace and conflict resolution, acting as multipliers and passing on their newly acquired knowledge to other members of the “peace groups”. They also played an important role in the implementation of peace-building measures and human rights campaigns.
• A total of 3,100 people (1,000 planned) were reached through the various campaigns. There were theatrical performances on peaceful coexistence, awareness-raising events on child labor, early marriage and teenage pregnancies.
• A total of ten people took part in the two-day training course for media professionals. Six of them were radio or print journalists.

Young people take part in politics

• A total of 25 young people (20 planned) took part in four dialog platforms. In three dialogues, the participants made concrete recommendations for finding solutions on the topics of land distribution, juvenile delinquency and economic empowerment of young people.
• 79 young people (30 planned) were able to take part in various platforms and exchanges. These included topics such as community-based mental health promotion, climate issues, forced migration and human trafficking.
• The Prime Minister's Office (responsible authority for the coordination of refugee settlements), local leaders, policy makers, residents of refugee settlements and members of peace groups were engaged in the dialog platforms thanks to the above-mentioned activities.

Young people have coping strategies

• 628 people received personal psychosocial counselling. A total of 269 people were assessed with extreme psychosocial problems and referred to partner organisations for specialised support.
• 110 adolescents attended regular weekly meetings in a safe place to discuss and be educated on taboo topics such as menstruation, puberty and contraception. They are thus better aware of their health rights.

Youth actively engaged in their communities

• 52 youth participated in advocacy training with a focus on UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. They learned how to advocate for these issues and their concerns and those of their community with policy makers. In addition, action plans were developed which later served as the basis for the implementation of youth-led community advocacy campaigns and awareness-raising on sexual and gender-based violence and domestic violence among refugees.
• 6 groups of peacemakers inside and outside Kiryandongo refugee settlement were established with a total of 243 (73 female and 170 male) youth. The peacemakers were trained in advocacy, peace building and conflict resolution as well as conflict analysis and documentation. The groups were supported to conduct social change campaigns, drawing on the action plan and skills acquired during the training.
• 1'2000 listeners from the refugee settlement and nearby areas were informed about a local radio talk show on early marriage and physical, as well as psychological child abuse by YGlobal experts.
• Young people have the necessary knowledge on how to voice their interests and concerns publicly and at local political platforms.
• The young people are actively involved in sensitising community members to their concerns and take on active roles in the community that benefit it.

Adolescents participate politically

• Youth, who make up 30% of the refugee population in Kiryandongo, are directly involved in official dialogues on policy measures and can thus place their concerns that affect their lives and the peaceful coexistence of refugees.
• With the support of YGlobal Uganda, a youth-led policy dialogue forum was organised with local government representatives. The dialogue adopted several policy recommendations, including the development of a local regulation to protect refugees from exploitation by members of the communities, especially when they lease land for cultivation. The policy makers also agreed to explore simplified access for refugee youth to local government funding.

Young people have coping strategies

• 1,500 individuals received psychosocial support.
• Under the "Let Girls Talk" initiative and the corresponding "Let Boys Talk" initiative, 80 girls and boys in Uganda received mentoring on sexual and reproductive health and rights and basic life skills.
• A counseling center was built where psychosocial counseling, among other services, can be provided.
• The adolescents were given a safe place to discuss and be educated on taboo topics such as menstruation, puberty and contraception. As a result, they are more knowledgeable about their health rights.
• Adolescents have better coping mechanisms.
• The construction of the counseling center has improved the quality of psychosocial counseling because it is closer to beneficiaries and provides more privacy for counseling sessions.

Young people actively engaged in their communities

• Twenty adolescents participated in advocacy training.
• Up to 1,000 listeners from the refugee settlement and nearby areas were informed by YGlobal experts about the local radio talk show on early marriage and physical, as well as psychological child abuse.
• Participants launched and led an initiative for good hygiene management to prevent infection of the population with contagious diseases such as cholera and diarrhea, as well as covid-19.
• Adolescents have the necessary knowledge on how to voice their interests and concerns publicly and at local political platforms.
• Adolescents actively participate in making community members aware of their concerns and take active roles in the community that benefit it.

Adolescents participate politically

• Through the advocacy efforts of youth from YGlobal Uganda, a law was ratified whereby young people are now elected to the board of the Refugee Welfare Committee in Kiryandongo, allowing them to voice their concerns at the political level.
• Adolescents, who make up 30% of the refugee population in Kiryandongo, are directly involved in the official dialogues on policy measures and can thus place their concerns that affect their lives and the peaceful coexistence of the refugees.