TeamUp Uganda: Many businesses in Mityana are now owned by youth

You have been following our Youth Reporter Shivan’s coverage of Jamidah and Thaddeus for a few months now and it is time to tell more about the changes in their lives this time around. Jamidah’s wide smile as she speaks about how many of the businesses opened in her community are by youth and how enterprise has gone up in her community due the skilling and training will give you hope that livelihoods are indeed improving. Her pride in the growth of her mobile money business as well as those of her youth is hard to miss.

As a trained A4HU Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) peer facilitator, Jamidah has been cascading learned knowledge to her fellow youth and now her ambition is to go even further to become an advocate for youth issues at her sub county showing a marked progress in getting her voice heard.

The joy in her eyes is not only inspiring, but shows the optimism she feels in the direction that her life is taking. Jamidah’s confidence is further shown in her involvement in community outreaches where she takes part in sanitation activities thus ensuring the continued health of her community not only at the Youth Empowerment Centre (YEC) in Maanyi, but also at the various water sources in her community.

Moving forward, Jamidah has also become a scriptwriter for the Radio Novella “Akakongolijjo” (the hurdles) under production by TeamUp Uganda and airing soon in Mityana alongside the TeamUp Hour. We at TeamUp Uganda cannot wait to see how this new skill shown by Jamidah will develop further and we hope that you will be following once it is ready to air.

Who can forget that wide shy smile from Thaddeus in the first vlog a few months ago? That quiet confidence in the work that he is doing for the youth in Mityana. The pride in his eyes fairly beams straight out of the camera when he shows Shivan the three bedroom house he is constructing for himself from his gains in agriculture.

Thaddeus talks about encouraging his fellow youth to start agribusiness and has himself started selling his agricultural products that include Matooke and Pineapple outside Mityana District, opening another stall in Kampala that has further improved his income. He is also keen to keep his work as a hand pump attendant going and thus ensuring that his community has continuous access to safe and clean water. Thaddeus’s involvement in the monthly health outreaches in his community that is very far from the health facility shows a conscious recognition of bringing services closer to his community.

Jamidah and Thaddeus are moving forward, they have taken the training they received from TeamUp Uganda not only to change their lives, but the lives of youth in their communities. In doing this, they have shown how integrated intervention in this case, the multi sectoral approach of TeamUp Uganda in the sectors of agriculture, water and health can bring about wider impact in the lives of young people.

In a few months, Shivan documented so many changes in the lives of both Jamidah and Thaddeus and the next installment will show how the other two youth Razak and Fatumah are doing. Keep watching so as not to miss any if their stories.

Join Shivan and the whole TeamUp Uganda team to follow Jamida, and Thaddeus in all the Vlogs shared to all our social media @TeamUpUG for Twitter and Facebook, Our YouTube page TeamUp Uganda and on our website www.teamupug,org.