Fatumah and Razak. Volume 1. TeamUp Uganda stories of Change
Thank you for joining us again for this journey into the real-life stories of change from four youth from Mityana under TeamUp Uganda. A quick recap, last time we were reintroduced to Jamidah and Thaddeus who we met in the first introductory vlog and listened to their dreams for the future. This time around, youth reporter Shivan joins Fatuma and Razak at their homes to listen as they speak of how they are transforming their lives and communities through the work they do and the importance of including youth in finding solutions to the challenges facing their communities.
You will meet Fatumah, a young schoolteacher who is grappling with the closure of schools due to the pandemic, and yet is still working as a health facility coordinator at the Malangala Youth Empowerment Center (YEC). Fatumah comes off as very shy at first contact but the more she speaks you see how vibrant and invested she is in being an advocate for young people in her community. Ensuring that she teaches young people about the need to access health services at the health center (where she volunteers at the youth-friendly corner), to use family planning (and other SRHR services), and to get involved in agriculture. As she dances alongside her peers, you see that as a part of the community she at the heart of its development.
Interestingly, Fatumah was initially selected as a youth champion in agriculture but as the training harnessed and pushed forward and interest in all the other sectors. She is now speaking up before Sub County and the Mityana District Local Government (MDLG) officials about the need for an increase in financing for youth-friendly services in budget advocacy both at the health facility, the sub-county, District. Fatumah has also been part of the national conversation at the Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH). An A4HU trained advocate, farmer, mother, teacher, health youth coordinator, Fatumah carries a lot of responsibility on her fragile shoulders and yet knows that she is up to the task. She says “… I started out as a Youth Champion tagged to agriculture but now I am not only doing that, but also integrating the sectors of WASH and Health as well”
Razak beams with pride when he recalls the time he realized that his hard work in the community had earned him his community’s trust. He recounts that it was because of this trust that he was fronted to get training from Whave Solutions as a hand pump mechanic. Razak not only talks about access to safe and clean water in his community but also talks about his involvement in agriculture and his future plans for his community. I hope that you will stay with us to find out whether these aspirations are fulfilled. He says, “My community trusted me and I hope to never break that trust”
Both Fatumah and Razak are key figures in their communities; they have become trusted voices among their peers. With aspirations and dreams of their own, they are at the forefront of change in their respective areas of interest. While Fatumah and Razak were initially selected from the sectors of agriculture and Water respectively, it has been fascinating to see how they have embraced all the sectors of Water, Agriculture, and Health to truly embody what TeamUp Uganda stands for. The synergies we hoped for at the inception of the program have now become so deeply ingrained in the beneficiaries that very often one will talk about agriculture, water, and health in the same breathe. We hope you will continue following their journeys of change.
TeamUp is a new multi–sectoral approach to development cooperation initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and managed as well as co-financed through the three foundations of Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW), Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS), and Siemens Stiftung. The program unites the expertise, networks, and resources of three local organizations, namely; Action 4 Health Uganda (A4HU), Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung Africa (HRNS), and Whave Solutions implementing in the multi sectors of Health, Agriculture as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
Tackling the complexity of challenges faced by young people, TeamUp applies a holistic approach that integrates socio-economic, health, educational and infrastructural aspects to reach 50.000 in-school and out-of-school youth between the ages of 15-30 years and their families in Mityana District, Central Uganda. Specifically, in five sub-counties of Bbanda, Bulera, Malangala, Kalangaalo, and Maanyi.
