Mbarara Skilling Centre Empowers Disadvantaged Youth, Including Refugees

In Mbarara City, a skilling initiative is offering a lifeline to vulnerable young people, addressing Uganda’s significant youth unemployment challenge. The Excel Hort Consult Agribusiness Centre has trained more than 6,000 individuals since its inception in 2015, offering skills in diverse fields such as tailoring, hairdressing, weaving, bakery, and agricultural production.

The center actively recruits from disadvantaged backgrounds, including youth from refugee settlements like Nakivale and Oruchinga. Many beneficiaries, like 19-year-old Doreen Ninshaba, who dropped out of school due to pregnancy, see the training as a path to self-sufficiency and a brighter future for themselves and their children.

Evelyn Natuhire, 18, is pursuing tailoring and fashion design after being unable to continue her education due to financial hardship. She expressed optimism that the skills acquired will enable her to start a business and eventually fund further education. The program’s impact extends to refugees as well; Jolly Umwiza, originally from the DRC, underwent training and now runs her own successful tailoring centre within the Nakivale settlement, employing 15 girls.

Ms. Grace Bazitire, head of skilling and talent development at the centre, highlighted the importance of linking graduates to government programs like Emyooga and the Parish Development Model to ensure they can access capital and market their skills. The initiative also relies on partnerships with the Directorate of Industrial Training, Private Sector Foundation Uganda, and the U.S. government.

Recently, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi visited the center, emphasizing the need for skill hubs to maintain databases of their graduates to better connect them with government opportunities. This call was met with enthusiasm by Ms. Bazitire, who believes such a system will provide much-needed support and motivation for the young people striving to build independent livelihoods.

This Mbarara-based skilling centre is not only transforming individual lives but also contributing to community development by reducing idleness and redirecting youth away from potential criminal activities, as noted by a local resident. The centre’s work underscores the critical role of vocational training in fostering economic empowerment and social stability. https://www.monitor.ug/uganda/news/national/mbarara-skilling-centre-gives-hope-to-disadvantaged-youth-5506024