Unido Helps Yumbe Youth Fight Poverty

from All Africa

The Monitor (Kampala)

By Kefa Atibuni
Yumbe

"Education is not a way of escaping the country's poverty. It is a way of fighting it,"said the late Julius Nyerere, a former schoolteacher and first president of the United Republic of Tanzania.

This adage perhaps best depicts the work done by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation's Skills for Peace and Income Project in Yumbe District.

The three-year project, which began last year, has opened a new chapter in the lives of many youth who lacked skills to earn a living.

"I'm better off now. It is not like those days when my parents used to buy me everything. I can now buy my own salt, sugar and also fend for my child," says Ms Andru Florence, 23, a single parent of a one-year old.

She dropped out of P4 at the age of 22 after her teenage lover impregnated her. The boy abandoned her with her parents and left the village, never to be seen again. When Daily Monitor spoke to her in Yumbe town where she has created a niche for herself as a tailor, Ms Andru failed to hide her excitement.

"I'm so happy that I am on my own now. I hope other girls out there can pick leaf from my experience," she said. Another beneficiary is Mr Siraji Acikule , 24, who fought in the now defunct Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF II) of Major General Ali Bamuze.

Mr Acikule confesses to having no skills other than handling guns, before meeting Unido officials.

"I thank Unido for teaching me all the new skills. We went to the bush because of poverty but now I am able to build houses and fend for myself," he said.

A total of 346 people including 133 women have been successfully trained in tailoring, building and concrete practice, carpentry and joinery, honey processing and entrepreneurial skills. Other courses such as motor vehicle mechanics, metal works and bakery are also being offered.

On completion, each trainee receives a set of tools or equipment to assist them in starting a business in their locality and also train other community members in marketable skills.

Unido officials say the project was initiated in Yumbe District because the district felt the heaviest impact of a turbulent political past compared to other West Nile districts, especially after the overthrow of former president Idi Amin Dada in the 1979 liberation war.

Several rebel groups emerged in the region forcing many people to flee into exile. In December 2002, a negotiated settlement officially ended the conflict with the signing of a peace agreement between UNRF II and the government Uganda.

However, 20 years of a violent conflict have had a devastating impact on the infrastructure, livelihoods and overall development of the region.

Poverty and unemployment are rampant and the majority of the rural population lacks viable income generating opportunities.

The project is therefore designed to focus on selected members, with high concentration of ex-combatants. Unido jointly implements the project with Uganda Veterans Assistance Board and Participatory Rural Action for Development, a community based organisation.

The trainers know where to get their trainees.

They are in Yumbe town chewing mairungi. In the trading centres playing cards and idling in the villages. "We pick people willing to learn even though they do not have any formal education," Praford's managing director Joyce Ayikoru said.

"I have seen fresh graduates of this course doing good work in the villages," Yumbe DEO Mark Tivu said.

"I want to encourage them to continue with this spirit." State Minister for Industry and Technology Ephraim Kamuntu, while commissioning the project's new vocational training institute mid last month, urged Ugandans not to shun vocational training institutions.

"For many Ugandans, the concept of vocational skills training is often looked at as a something for school failures. However, experience has shown that vocational skills and technical-know how do not only provide gainful employment to the trainees, but also trigger off other economic activities," he said.

The Unido Technical Project Manager, Mr Juergen Hierold, said they are working closely with the Ministry of Education to obtain a nationally recognised curriculum for the institute.