Kampala Chapter village outreach strengthens URF’s community participatory development model

I was touched and inspired when we interacted with the students and the people in the villages. You could sense strong enthusiasm and hope for a better life… it’s like an array of light  in a thick forest.“– Prossy Namayanja, Chapter member

URK Kampala Chapter members, July 2011

On the weekend of July 15-17th, 2011, a team of 23 Kampala Chapter young professionals traveled to Kyetume for community outreach. On Saturday morning, the team held general assembly and breakout sessions with students at Hope Academy. These sessions focused on mentorship, motivation, career guidance, and social interaction.

On Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, small teams of three or four members visited URF Zones (a cluster of two or more villages) to follow up on the Community strategic planning workshop conducted in June.  Members were thrilled to see a lot of efforts put into community mobilization and project planning by the locals. Some Zones had URF Project Committees formed already and budgets drawn up for their proposed projects. For instance, Zone C had many people who had pledged various material for construction of a kindergarten in the community. They have pledged sand, bricks, trees, later, etc.

URF’s role is to do the mobilization, facilitate dialogue about the planning and implementation of the project, and assist them with logistical matters. Our goal is to empower people to tackle the most challenging problems in their communities themselves, in an effort to promote participatory community development.

Sessions with the students

 

Meetings in the villages

 

Briefing with Headmaster

the campfire experience

the campfire experience in Kyetume