Increase Skills & Use of Pads by 200 Girls, Kamuli

CFU has designed a number of innovative models to meet young people’s needs today whilst preparing them for the future. The Youth Skilling model, combines the village savings and loans (VSLA) model together with a suite of targeted skills and training programs, and in doing so, aims to improve the skills, employment opportunities and social inclusion of disadvantaged Ugandan youth The Youth skilling supports out-of-school youth between 15-24 years of age and combines market-orientated vocational skills development for youth with linkages to financial services and education. The model’s process represents a coordinated approach, where both employer skill-gap needs and youth learning needs are identified and addressed, and youth participants are provided with supported pathways into training, hopefully leading to further employment opportunities The model’s comprehensive approach is effective in creating livelihood aspirations among youth and making youth ready for employment. CFU, under YOUTH SKILLS AND PADS USE program reached almost 200 youth in Kamuli through the Youth skills and pads use of which 95% following graduation subsequently applied the knowledge and skills acquired through their training through formal employment or as self-employed young entrepreneurs. 67% of youth were employed by the small-medium enterprises where they had their placements, while 33% started their own income-generating activities or small-scale enterprises (e.g. salon and hairdressing, liquid soap making, Jerry making). The active case-management of individual youth under the Youth skills and pads use model was behind this success and ensured continued youth engagement (following youth skill preferences during initial assessment) and high rates of completion/graduation (continued mentoring and support and problem solving). W4W delivered three levels of enterprise training: ‘Reach-up’ which included identifying skills and passions, finding and keeping customers, and how to save money; ‘Start-Up’ training which included how to develop a business plan and ‘Scale-up’ which included business assessments, coaching and improvement planning. • 10 VSLA groups were formed and each group consists of 20 members. • All the 10 groups were trained in VSLA principles and methodology. • 150 youth out of 200 were trained in income generating activities to boost their savings • 90 % of youths have understood the training courses and got access to job and earns on daily basis. • 200 youths had completed different types of training • 120 out of 200 youths had trained business development training • 100 out of 200 youths had trained in liquid making skills. • 140 female youth were trained in making reusable sanitary pads. And 80% had reported to be using pads. • 80 youths of business skills reported that their livelihood standard had changed after starting their new business set up

Reporting period Jan, Feb, March 2022

Child and Family Foundation Uganda (CFU) team are delighted to share another progress report of support health needs of 1000 adolescents in Kawempe and Kamuli amidst covid 19.

Partnerships

CFU works in partnership with the surrounding neighboring health Centre (IV) offering adolescent services that she profiled to support. These include Kamuli district office and GlobalGiving. 

Purpose

The main purpose of this report is to share CFUs achievements/outputs aimed at enhancing adolescents' ability to grow and achieve full life potential.

To share how the project has impacted and supported the health needs of adolescents

Implemented Activities (output indicators)

CFU conducted community mobilization, health, nutrition, sex education, and counseling sessions during community outreaches. The objective of the sensitization was to educate adolescents on health education and promotion tailored to the needs of youths, good hygiene practices, menstrual hygiene, teenage pregnancy, HIV/STI, and the dangers of abortions.

Topics covered included;

• Sex education
• How to locally make sanitary towels
• Basic knowledge of income-generating activities
• Caring for a  child      
• How to identify malnutrition
• Good hygienic practices

The CFU medical center together designed and operationalized adolescent group formation as a strategy for youths to engage in income-generating activities for improved standards of living and access to basic needs. Youth were able to identify projects of their interest after group formation and these groups were trained and funded ready for implementation.

Drugs and medical supplies such as condoms, post-exposure prophylaxis, and lab tests/scan were availed to the youth for free and subsidized prices to enable adolescents to grow and achieve their full potential.

Training and Job Aid in the local language availed to the youth for peer-to-peer education as a strategy to reach out to many more adolescents and youth.

Impact indicator

With the knowledge attained from training conducted by CFU, adolescent numbers that approach health centers for condoms and other medical services have increased to 71%. There is a decline in teenage pregnancy and sex education has been placed into practice and change in behavior.

 CFU Activity plan for next quarter

In a bid to enhance the ability of adolescents to grow and achieve full life potential, CFU will continue with stakeholders meetings, school teacher training, and engagement plus plans to manufacture homemade sanitary pads are in progress.

This project will build a skills lab in Kamuli and train adolescents to make sanitary pads and hence improving the menstrual health of 200 women and girls and preventing them from giving away their bodies in exchange for pads and hence reducing the sky-rocketing number of teen pregnancies and HIV infections among girls and married women.

Some of the activities that were carried out in the previous quarter included:         

a)      Staff Training on adolescent-friendly services

b)      Youth Leaders Meeting with the medical officer & Operations Officer

c)       Sensitization of adolescents

d)      Planning for the pads making workshop in January 2022

The program has reached 45 youth in the last three months. We conducted orientation training for the CFU staff in Nawansaso in November 2021. This training involved eight staff who were to help work with the youth. Secondly, we engaged seven youth leaders in Nawansaso parish and other neighboring parishes. These leaders were trained in mid-November 2021, on mobilization skills and communication and that was oriented on the project of making pads and how they will be integrated into the facility activities.

Other activities that are planned for include:

a)      Sensitization of about 30 adolescent girls and boys about this skills program at CFU. This will be conducted quarterly in the coming year of 2022.

b)      We then plan to conduct three sessions on how to make menstrual pads per quarter. A total of 12 sessions are expected to be carried out during the coming year.

c)     We shall carry out campaigns to raise awareness about this issue on social media and within the communities in Kamuli.

In the coming year, we hope to skill several (120) adolescent girls in making pads and improve not only their livelihoods and their communities but also their menstrual health.