YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
From the 1990’s when SOS CV Uganda first opened its offices in Uganda, our major focus of our youth empowerment initiatives was on the youth who were growing through our alternative care program specifically our family-like care. We soon learnt that it was more impactful if our youth empowerment initiatives targeted youth who are in alternative care, youth who have recently left alternative care, youth in family strengthening program areas including young parents of children at risk of losing parental care, and other vulnerable youth in communities, including youth in emergency situations.
Our youth empowerment program package seeks to address needs of the youthful population by providing:
― Positive youth development interventions (sense of identity, belief in the future, self-regulation, and self-efficacy as well as their social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral competence)
― Skills for employability
― Entrepreneurship
― Mental health &Psychosocial support
Our success stories in this regard are tremendous, in 2022, we reached 265 youth in AC, and 5,909 under FS. We have focused on initiating new projects, currently, we have three projects focusing on youth programming i.e., 1 standard project implemented across our four program locations, and two grant projects focusing on youth employability and MHSSP funded by BMZ & ODW respectively. Our target is to deliver an integrated youth programme which offers opportunities for 30,000 youth annually