Non-Profit Organisation Awards 2024, Acquisition International | 17 Youth Empowerment NPO of the Year 2024 – Uganda ijana Corps is bringing a new level of culture, empowerment, and participation to Ugandan youth. It’s run by a passionate team who yearn for a just and socially equitable country, drawing on their first-hand experiences to meet the needs of those in the very same position. Having begun humbly in 2013 as a book club in Kampala, the organisation has since grown to extend tools, platforms and safe spaces that make it possible for disenfranchised youth to be seen and heard. Through their digital media, technology and social innovations approaches, the marginalised youth have never had such tremendous access to learning and meaningful engagement across a spectrum of issues affecting social justice and equity in the country. The organisation is focused on working with youth subject to poverty and socioeconomic or political exclusions. This promotes cohesion and teaches them skills they otherwise would have extremely limited access to, culminating in high-quality capstone projects and meaningful engagements with the duty bearer. It aims to elevate young people beyond impoverished and voiceless circumstances, equipping them with the tools to thrive in a unified Uganda. Vijana Corps sees leaders, innovators, artists, and productive members of tomorrow within these children, and it works to realise that potential in each of them through its tri-pillar programming in Creative Organizing, Economic Empowerment and Participatory Leadership. The facilities the organisation offers include access to all kinds of digital media, skills training, and programmes to help young people understand the relationships between them and national authorities. It intends to develop well-rounded individuals, with moral imaginations and organisational and leadership capabilities. Vijana Corps works every day to realise its vision of an enlightened, empowered, and productive youth in a country so fragmented with poverty, corruption and persistent marginalization of the poor in governance and accountability processes. “We understand the struggles, the pain, and the suffering, and these are things that keep us awake. We believe that the vision of what could be might one day become a reality in the form of social justice and equitable development with youth in the driver’s seat. ” As the organisation expands, so too does its reach, and this is best exemplified by its three youth hubs spread across the country in the West Nile region, Central regions and Eastern. These are centrally located in the peri-urban townships of the rural communicties, and are supplemented by the Mobile Hubs. These are customised tricycles which tow trailers containing mini libraries, computers and tablets, a projector and screen, and various digital resources. It mobilises all sorts of productivity tools and provides Wi-Fi connectivity, so that the corps can run workshops for small groups who don’t benefit from convenient access to the regional hubs. To date, Vijana Corps has trained social justice leaders in the Bugisu and West-Nile sub-regions. It has conducted workshops for thousands of youth, fostering critical thinking, advocacy, leadership, and much more. It’s proud to have given youth the tools to digitally tell stories and use their voices for the betterment of Uganda, debuting impactful short films to audiences which include government officials. Through the various hubs, resources, and guidance on offer, the corps’ programmes are instilling the impoverished youth with a means to improve their situation. Its benefits are many and are spreading rapidly, bringing skills, culture, and social awareness to disenfranchised young people. Though it continues to seek funding, the project has already established itself as one of the most impactful youth organizations in Uganda. For every youth who benefits from its services and the passion of its team, the future is made a little brighter. Contact: Denis Pato (Executive Director) Company: Vijana Corps Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.vijanacorps.org Vijana Corps is run by young people, for young people. It recognises the need for the impoverished, marginalized Ugandan youth to be empowered and allowed to find their voice and place in society. The team works collaboratively with young people to shape programmes, respecting them as partners and agents of change. The corps isn’t prescribing the youth a future; it’s listening to their needs to forge it alongside them. V
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