Co-creating Community Agency for Self-reliance

MEMA was a community-based initiative that empowered mothers and school-going children (P1–P7) across two government-aided primary schools in Kityerera Sub-County, Mayuge District, namely Bugadde Primary School and St. Joseph Bukoba Primary School.

Objectives: The initiative focused on four core goals: promoting collective ownership among mothers in savings clusters towards their children’s education; strengthening the financial capacity and resilience of mothers; equipping women with livelihood and financial literacy skills to sustainably meet their children’s educational needs; and training pupils in co-curricular activities that boosted their interest and engagement in school.

Key successes: MEMA recorded remarkable milestones since its launch. School enrolment rose significantly from 40% to 75% at partner schools, driven by skills programmes in football, netball, debates, and sewing. A registered Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) enabled mothers to grow their savings from zero, with the highest-saving mother accumulating UGX 133,000 within just four months. Mothers were further upskilled in tailoring, knitting, book-making, and financial literacy under the 3S Module of Sell, Save and Survive. Additionally, through PEPFAR-funded scale-up, MEMA addressed HIV prevention and treatment among adolescent girls and young women, using drama, music, and model farming to build healthier and more resilient communities.

GEKAT, meaning “help your fellow friend to study and we develop ourselves,” was a community-based initiative in Mayuge District that worked to increase school enrolment and retention among school-aged children. The project formed and empowered Pupil Support Groups (PSGs) that collaborated with Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs), School Management Committees (SMCs), teachers, and Local Council I (LC1) structures to identify and encourage out-of-school children to enrol.

Objective: The project aimed at forming and empowering PSGs to identify and mobilise out-of-school children back into school; training role model students and community patrons to provide peer support and guidance; equipping youth with career guidance, sexual and reproductive health education, and economic skills; and promoting co-curricular activities to sustain children’s interest and engagement in school.

Key successes: The project successfully identified and appointed role model students and community patrons who had completed their own education to serve as inspiring figures within the PSGs. These groups were trained in career guidance and counselling, sexual and reproductive health education, rights awareness, and economic skills including vegetable growing, which were subsequently passed on to their peers. Co-curricular activities including sports, games, and drama clubs were promoted across schools, keeping children actively engaged and attracting out-of-school peers to enrol, ultimately fostering a culture of collective responsibility towards education within the community.

The Bedi Ki Woro Bakery Youth Group was a community-based initiative that economically empowered disadvantaged youth through bakery skills training in Lamwo District, Northern Uganda. The project responded to the high unemployment levels, low literacy rates, and limited access to skills training that affected approximately 70% of rural youth in the district, including teen mothers, school dropouts, and unemployed young women.

Objectives: The project aimed at equipping disadvantaged and unemployed youth with practical bakery skills at the village level; mobilising youth into cohorts for structured, skills-based training; promoting economic self-reliance through the production and sale of bakery products; and replicating eco-friendly baking solutions across villages in Lamwo District.

Key successes: The project successfully trained over 140 disadvantaged youth and young women in bakery skills using low-cost, eco-friendly ovens made from locally available materials alongside electric ovens. Trained youth underwent a two-week incubation period during which they produced and sold bakery products including cakes, shortcakes, and doughnuts. Funds generated during incubation were reinvested to purchase group-specific eco-friendly ovens and raw materials, enabling replication across other villages. The initiative introduced the first locally produced bakery products in Lamwo District, reducing dependence on imported goods from Kampala and creating sustainable livelihoods within communities.

This project identified and added value to the existing skills of 120 youth in Palabek Kal Town Council, Lamwo District, Uganda. The project engaged local and youth leadership alongside the youth themselves to identify commonly practiced skills, and subsequently grouped participants according to their skill areas for targeted training and development.

Objective: The project aimed at identifying and strengthening existing skills among youth in Palabek Kal Town Council; instilling life skills to address behavioral challenges including drug abuse and negative attitudes toward work; building personal financial management abilities including saving, bookkeeping, and credit management; and equipping youth with entrepreneurship skills to transform their existing abilities into sustainable businesses.

Key successes: The project successfully engaged 120 youth through a structured training programme that covered life skills, personal financial management, entrepreneurship, and technical skills development in areas such as carpentry and tailoring. Youth were organised into skill-based groups and supported through sessions designed to build both practical and business capabilities. Upon completion of training, graduates were marketed through the Palabek SACCO network to potential clients and customers. Successful participants were further supported to access loans through the SACCO to grow and sustain their businesses, creating a pathway toward long-term financial independence and improved livelihoods within the community.

This project built the capacity of smallholder farmers to intensify maize production during the winter seasons, enhancing food security in drought and flood-prone communities in Bitilinyu, Nsanje District, Malawi. The project worked closely with government extension workers, lead farmers, and Village Civil Protection Committees (VCPCs) to deliver practical agricultural support at the community level.

Objective: The project aimed at strengthening farmers’ capacity to intensify maize production during winter seasons using residual moisture; promoting good agricultural practices to improve crop yields; training farmers in post-harvest management to reduce grain losses; and expanding the role of VCPCs from disaster response to proactive food security prevention within their communities.

Key successes: The project successfully equipped farmers with improved maize production techniques delivered through government extension workers and trained lead farmers who provided voluntary extension services to fellow community members. Farmers were introduced to the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags, a cost-effective, chemical-free three-layer grain storage technology designed with USAID support, which enabled storage of legumes and cereal crops for over one year after harvest. This gave farmers firsthand experience of the technology’s effectiveness in reducing post-harvest losses, encouraging long-term independent adoption. The VCPCs were also repositioned as proactive agents in preventing seasonal food insecurity beyond their traditional disaster response roles.

This project trained youth in modern agricultural practices to enhance food security in Nsanje District, Malawi. The project engaged both in-school and out-of-school youth, as well as young parents, through community-identified modern farms and youth leaders who mobilised participants into organised groups based on their specific interests in crop production.

Objective: The project aimed at training youth in modern intercropping, crop rotation, and soil and water conservation techniques; organising youth into interest-based groups to promote focused and practical agricultural learning; connecting trained youth to agricultural extension services and relevant inputs; and providing land-less youth with continuous incubation opportunities on established farms in view of future employment.

Key successes: The project successfully mobilised and trained youth through already established farms practising modern agricultural approaches, ensuring hands-on, practical learning experiences. Trained youth with land were supported in accessing agricultural inputs through government extension workers, while those without land were connected to established farms and incubated as volunteers. Youth were categorised and trained according to their specific interests and land ownership status, ensuring targeted and relevant support. Additionally, government frontline workers including agricultural extension officers and community development facilitators continuously monitored the progress of trained youth, ensuring accountability and sustained impact within the community.