According to UNICEF (n.d), only 1 out of every 4 Ugandans, begins and completes their secondary education. Six out of ten Ugandans do not finish their secondary education due to costs associated with education. Godfrey, 22, is one of the several Ugandans who make up this statistic. He is now a peer mentor of an out-of-school youth club in Luweero, Central Uganda overseen by the Luweero VAC Cluster and supported by Children’s Rights and Violence Prevention Fund’s, Prevention of Violence Against Children & Young People (PVAC) grant. We recently sat down with him to learn about how the out-of-school youth club has impacted his life.
After completing his O’Levels, Godfrey’s parents faced financial constraints that forced him to discontinue his final two years of high school. Like many other Ugandans in a similar predicament, he found himself idle at home. During this period, Godfrey attended a community meeting which was led by representatives of the Luweero VAC Cluster, including Community Development and Child Welfare Initiatives (CODI) and Change Development Initiatives (CDI). In the meeting, the Cluster introduced to community members the PVAC program and its violence-preventative strategies including, the Out-of-school-youth clubs.
“I liked the sound of the out-of-school youth clubs because we were told that we could learn life skills in groups, including how to conduct ourselves in our community, how to respect ourselves and our parents, and so on. I also loved the idea of learning to make pastries, tailoring, and liquid soap, among many other things. The possibility of acquiring these skills was appealing because it meant that I could learn a trade that would enable me to earn money, especially since I didn’t have all the school certificates required for a formal job.
Additionally, I wanted to learn how to navigate group settings because I wasn’t used to being in them, which made me quite shy whenever I found myself in such situations.”
After the community meeting, Godfrey decided to join an out-of-school youth club, where he acquired valuable income-generating and life skills, including confidence. Prior to joining the club, Godfrey was extremely shy due to his lack of experience in group situations; however, after participating in multiple sessions, including those focused on building self-confidence, his transformation was evident. His newfound confidence led to his selection as a peer mentor within the club.
“I was chosen to become a peer mentor and received training from the Cluster on how to do so. My role involves teaching life skills to other young people, such as how to make wise and smart decisions to avoid trouble, understanding reproductive health, among others. Being a peer mentor makes me feel wonderful as I am teaching and helping other young people, which in turn boosts my self-confidence. Now, I can confidently address a group of people, a skill I lacked before joining the club.”
In the future, Godfrey plans to attend university and pursue a career as an architect. He intends to support this aspiration by starting a business selling products he learned to make in the club, such as liquid soap, cakes, and other commodities.
