Windle International Uganda in partnership with International Labour Organisation (ILO) is implementing an Integrated UPSHIFT project in Rhino Camp and Host communities in Madi Okolo District. The project targets youth aged 18-24 years who are out of school and stay in the same community. It will benefit 240 youths who will be supported to generate 48 innovations while ensuring equal participation of refugees and host communities with a gender balance.
The programme combines workshops, mentorship and a seed-funding model to equip adolescents and youth with the skills and resources to identify problems in their communities and opportunities to build solutions addressing them. Each cycle lasts 3 months and the youth work in groups of 5 to generate innovative solutions to their problems.
The project is delivered through co-curricular and non-formal education training. UPSHIFT starts with a training where the young participants learn to identify and analyse problems of particular concern to them, and later in the process, develop products or solutions to address them. The most promising of the solutions are selected to receive additional training, mentoring support and seed funding to further develop their project and bring it to life.
One of the initial activities for this project was to hold an inception meeting with key leaders in the seven settlement zones of Rhino and four sub counties of Madi- Okolo District Local Government. The meeting was attended by 26 (5 female and 21 male).