Jamidah and Thaddeus. Volume 1. TeamUp Uganda Stories of Change

Hello and welcome back to the TeamUp Uganda Vlog-series. This time around we move from the introductory video shared last time straight into the life stories of Jamidah and Thaddeus, two dynamic young people from the Mityana District. Youth reporter Shivan, traveled to Mityana from Kampala city to bring us stories of change straight from them. Both youths participate in the TeamUp program.

A multi-sectoral approach to development cooperation. The three foundations Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW), Hanns R. Neuman Stiftung (HRNS), and Siemens Stiftung together with the German Federal Ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ) are financing this program in the sectors of agriculture, water, and health.

Shivan Kyakuhaire is a 20-year-old Sawa World Youth Reporter. “I am passionate about creating content that transforms communities and impacts the lives of youths meaningfully”, she tells. Ending extreme poverty that is rampant in many parts of Uganda has been her guide. At 20, she is a graduate with a diploma in journalism and mass communication from United Media Consultants and Trainers School. She is a child of the busy Ugandan capital Kampala.

In contrast, Jamidah and Thaddeus have lived all their lives in rural Mityana, but their stories have some differences, where Jamidah was forced to drop out of school at seventeen in senior 4 and was therefore not able to join and complete her A ‘levels, Thaddeus went to a university in Kakeeka and was reading a diploma mechanical engineering.  Both became part of TeamUp Uganda.

The Pilot Program will benefit 50.000 youth and is implemented by three implementing partners Action 4 Health Uganda (Health), HRNS (Agribusiness), and Whave Solutions (Water); which use their expertise in their respective fields give young people the tools to take control of their livelihoods.

“My parents couldn’t afford to pay my school fees”, Jamidah tells Shivan. But she remained inspired and started a small mobile money business where she made an income and was able to support herself provisionally. TeamUp Uganda selected and trained Jamidah as a peer facilitator and later a youth champion for the young people in her sub-county; this was because she showed a dynamic and positive outlook that is important for peer-to-peer youth support.

Her mobile money business means that she is often at the hub of the community center and is in contact with many of the community members and beneficiaries that would benefit from knowing about sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), agribusiness, water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Thaddeus is a shy and unassuming young man, who often has a smile on his face, however, he is serious and ambitious about leadership and how his life and actions can influence youth in his community. Through TeamUp he became a hand pump attendant with ambitions to train as a hand pump mechanic; Thaddeus also takes an active role in the Together We Can Youth Farmer Field School group and is the treasurer of its Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) and the Secretary of Kalangaalo Youth Empowerment Center (YEC). “Agriculture is now my passion”, he smiles and tells that he is now teaching and helping other youth about good agricultural practices.

All these roles that have been created with the TeamUp program make Thaddeus a fascinating young man. Today he stands proud in front of his pigsty saying: “Health, water, agriculture is what sustains our living. If you abandon one, it means that there is something lacking.”  Follow his and Jamida’s journey to see if they will be able to achieve their dreams and ambitions.