REPORT ON YOUTH LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMME, APAC DISTRICT.
Background:
Youth Livelihood Programme is a rolling government of Uganda program aimed at increasing employment rates and reducing poverty among the youth. It targets the poor and unemployed youth in all the districts in the country.
It is a community demand –driven programme and it’s advanced to the youth in form of a Revolving Fund in order to increase outreach and enhance sustainability.
YLP OBJECTIVES:
1. To provide financial support to enable the youth establish income generating activities (IGAs).
2. To provide the youth with entrepreneurship and life skills as an integral part of their livelihoods.
3. To provide youth with marketable vocation al skills and tool kits for self-employment and job creation.
4. To provide youth with relevant information and knowledge for attitude change (positive min set change).
TARGET POPULATION:
The principle target beneficiaries are unemployed youth aged between 18 to 30years.
Categories include:
Dropouts from schools and training institutions
Youth living in slums, city streets, high risk and impoverished community
Youth that have not had any opportunity to attend formal education
Single parent youth
Youth with disability
Youth living with HIV/AIDS
Youth who have completed secondary or tertiary institutions
University graduates
(Female youth should constitute 30%)
Apac District was among the phase II Districts that received funding for Youth Livelihood.
Challenges:
Diversion of project fund by beneficiary youths
Wrong attitude by the youth towards the funds
Low repayment
Most beneficiaries have moved to the Sads especially in Akokoro Sub County
Some beneficiaries have relocated from their sub counties to other Districts making it very difficult to trace and recover the funds.
Other beneficiaries also got employment in the course and no recovery now, eg joined UPDF, police, and other agencies.
Inflation
Natural calamities
Some sub county authorities are reluctantly following up recoveries.
Achievements:
A group funded in FY 2015/2016 successfully completed recovery, (Abongodero Obangaber Cattle Traders Youth Project in Akokoro Sub County).
The community now understand that YLP is a loan not a grant through sensitization and awareness creations.
Recommendation:
Continuous sensitization and mobilization of the youth and members of the community needed.
Need to design and strengthen recovery strategies by the district
Need to provide the office of the Focal Point person with transport.
Follow up of be done by all stakeholders
If possible the number of membership of the group be reduced to at least 5(Five)
AWOR LYDIA
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER/ APAC
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