Updated: May 29, 2021
In our April 2021 update, we shared to you a story and an appeal to help Michael and Norah, a young couple with a 5 months old baby, struggling to cope up with challenges of being unemployed and new role of parenting.
The couple had been meandering looking for what to eat and feed their child at the same time pay house rent.
In the picture: Michael, Norah and their baby
Due to some disagreements with their land lord including increased rental fees, the couple decided to shift from Kayirikiti and took refuge to Michael's parents small home at Nkoni in Lengo District. This place is located southwards of Uganda, along Mbarara road and a few kilometers from their former place of residence.
We have organized a series of activities aimed at empowering the couple to establish their own enterprise and become self-sufficient. During the past month, we have made several support visits to the couple and found them in a healthy state. However, they have been unhappy of staying at Michael's parents congested home, and unable to do something for their personal development.
We are glad that our appeal to help this couple start their own enterprise, attracted your astounding response! Initially we needed £300 support the couple to establish their own enterprise and become self-sufficient. Thanks to a £150 donation from Andrew Hince! We now need £150! And with the donation from Andrew, the couple now have the reason to hope for a bright future of self employment. The donation enabled Youth With A Vision, through our Youth Finance Scheme, to provide business internship for the couple.
The couple have now completed their business internship in catering services which they carried out at Quality Events located at Patel Shamuj in Masaka City. The internship introduced the couple to their dream enterprise, and provided them with skills for starting up and running their small Restaurant Business. We also worked with the couple and identified a room in the Trading Centre of Nkoni from which to start their Restaurant business. We have already made advance rental fees for this room.
As Youth With A Vision, we have teamed up with the parents of the couple and some members of the community to jointly mentor Michael and Norah to cope up. Their parents and the members of the community will provide daily mentorship alongside Youth With A Vision's routine mentorship for the business to thrive.
What remains needed now is funds for materials and equipment for the Restaurant to start. The amount of money remaining from the initial contribution is not enough to purchase all the required materials and equipment.
And this is why we need your help to raise the remaining £150 to top-up what is available and fully support Michael and Norah to establish their enterprises.
Can you make a contribution and help us to raise the £150 and support Michael and Norah to kick-start their enterprise?
Please donate today to help Michael and Norah together with their 5 months baby cope up, at www.youthwithavision.info/donate and caption Michael and Norah
Sharing is powerful
If you are unable to make a contribution now, we can understand. However, you can help us raise the needed £150 for Michael and Norah by sharing this blog to your network.
In the picture: Michael in the middle and his parents and baby
In case you would like to read more about Norah and Michael's detailed story, please checkout our previous blog https://www.youthwithavision.info/post/how-can-we-help-21yrs-micheal-and-18yrs-norah-a-young-couple-to-start-up-a-business-of-their-own
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a lasting detrimental impact upon the already impoverished populations in Uganda.
When the country went into lockdown, many people lost their employment and became unable to take care of their families. As a result, small girls like Norah where left to fend for themselves. And in the process of schools shut down many girls who had no access to then available learning channels - Television, internet and radio got redundant and isolated, and were easily enticed into sex for money, food, sanitary towels and essentials. Some parents even forced their young daughters into marriage for money in form of dowry for family essentials.
The pandemic has destroyed hopes and opportunities for vulnerable young people in Uganda, causing a lasting damage to their potential. Many young people affected by the pandemic, now lack skills and resources to succeed in life. A big number of them missed the opportunity for education, and are semi-skilled and unskilled with minimal chances of accessing employment yet they now have spouses and kids to take care of.
So, when the young people don't get the support they want today, it will fall back on us. They will constitute to a cycle of generations of elders who fail to offer the right example to their children who, in turn, are becoming infant adults. And, if we don't act now, we are heading to a society where adults, having not been properly cared for as children, are themselves unable to bring up their own offspring.
Through our Youth Finance Scheme, we are trying to do our best to provide business skills, financial support in form of a loan, ongoing mentorship for such young people to start their own enterprises and became productive and sustainable. However, we cannot achieve this without your support.
We already have a team of passionate staff, and community support but we don't have the funds to provide internships, startup loans, and ongoing mentorship for the unemployed youth start up their own enterprises.
There are still many young people trapped by poverty that come to us every day needing support to start something for income generation. Sadly, due to lack of enough resources, we turn many of them away.
That’s why we need you alongside us. We need your contribution to the Youth Finance Scheme to continue serving the deserving young people here in Uganda.
And it is because of friends like you that make Youth With A Vision's Finance Scheme unique. Because we do not just receive your funds and provide loans to beneficiaries and go away, instead, we work with them for over a year and this helps their enterprises to grow and become sustainable.
Please read more about how and what we can do together to support the struggling young people, one by one, to become productive and sustainable at. www.youthwithavision.info/youth-finance-scheme
We thank you all for your generous support for our work with disadvantaged young people in Uganda.
Juliet Nampanja Kizza
Manager - Youth Finance Scheme