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The purpose of the workshop was to provide a platform for former child soldiers to deliberate upon the prospects of rebuilding peace; with them becoming peace guardian angels and facilitating peace and dialogue in their community.

The purpose of the workshop was to provide a platform for former child soldiers to deliberate upon the prospects of rebuilding peace; with them becoming peace guardian angels and facilitating peace and dialogue in their community

CYP delegation in Uganda to assess progress of Project Hope: Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre

15 June 2007

Dr Fatiha Serour, Director and Head of the Commonwealth Youth Programme was in Uganda from 30 May to 7 June to assess the progress of NUYDC

Dr Serour and the project team arrived in Kampala on 30 May where they held talks with officials from the government of Uganda. The aim of the meeting was to assess the progress of commitment made by the government for the construction of the development Centre.

In reality, the government of Uganda has pledged one billion shillings towards the Centre, and the purpose of the meeting was to persuade the government for early release of the money to speed up the construction of the Centre.

Discussions were also held with a representative from ILO on a joint proposal formulated in January for creating employment opportunities for young people trained at the Centre.

Dr Serour met with Vic Craggs, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council to engage in discussions with the Head of Security and Head of Protocol about the sixth Commonwealth Youth Forum which will take place from 16-21 November a few days before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Dr Serour then made her way to the north of Uganda where she went to the Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre (NUYDC) in Gulu District with a view to assess the progress of the building work. She was later joined by Mrs Valencia Mogegeh, Regional Director of the CYP Africa Centre.

It was concluded that the building work needed speeding up and that more workers should be employed in order to complete the construction work by November 2007 for a visit by Heads of States during CHOGM.

Dr Serour and the CYP delegation held partnership talks with development partners including USAID and ILO. On behalf of CYP, Dr Serour signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth Youth Programme and the World Food Programme on a project to support young people who have started a fish pond.

Dr Serour launched the first consultative workshop on youth and peace building. The purpose of the workshop was to provide a platform for former child soldiers to deliberate upon the prospects of rebuilding peace; with them becoming peace guardian angels and facilitating peace and dialogue in their community.

The workshop was attended by three traditional rulers who gave their own perspective about building peaceful environment; young women who became mothers as a result of rape; and Alice Apiyo and Patrick Omony, both 15, provided a testimony on their experience as child soldiers (both travelled to London in March for the 2007 Commonwealth Day Celebrations).

Patrick and Alice were abducted from their villages by the Lord’s Resistance Army to fight in the 20-year civil war that has left tens of thousands of children severely traumatised, dead or missing.

The conflict has affected young people in many ways. Many young people in the region have missed the opportunity of a formal education, the poverty level is abysmally high, and most of them are unemployed and still remain most vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.

Alice, who lost her father in 1999 to the war and her mother in 2003 to HIV/AIDS, eventually did escape and, like Patrick, found her way to the Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre (NUYDC).

The NUYDC is a government of Uganda Project located in Gulu District, currently supported with funding from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

This project is currently supporting some 200 former child soldiers in an attempt to repair the trauma of their lost childhood and by offering vocational skills for their future.

The goal of the project, also known as ‘project hope’ is to contribute to the rebuilding of Northern Uganda in partnership with youth through decent employment; positive living and peace building initiatives.

The project will initially target young people aged 15-25 years in Gulu District and will subsequently expand to cover the Acholi sub-region.

The longer term vision is for the Centre to become one of excellence in youth businesses, livelihoods and peace building.

Joseph Okema, NUYDC's project manager, said that their goal was to make young people in northern Uganda free from fear and hunger.

"The programme covers education, conflict management, HIV/AIDS and the environment," stated Mr Okema, whose work is guided by the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

CYP is currently in the process of mobilising resources and as the project gains momentum, it presents an excellent opportunity for development partners, including the private sector, foundations and the United Nations family to come on board for financial and in-kind support.

For more information please contact Joseph Okema, Project Manager, at joseph_okema@yahoo.co.uk or call +256 (0) 772706615.

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