By Laura Cenge
On Friday, October 14, 2022, the School of Social Sciences, together with Rotary, held a graduation ceremony at the Principal’s hall at Uganda Christian University(UCU).
The Vijana Poa programme, under the theme “Enterprise Development and Mindset Change”, was able to send out 11 graduates from the programme after receiving training from experts in the entrepreneurial work space.
It is also set to guide the youth on what to focus on. There are no jobs, but the programme gives them the opportunity to start their own jobs and benefit from it.
The number was supposed to be higher than the one presented on graduation day, but it all fell apart when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Due to the pandemic, a number of candidates were unable to return to the program, affecting the program’s continued progress until everything returned to normal.
It is also for this reason that there were only 11 out of the 3 cohorts that were undergoing training that struggled till the end, having started the programme on November 23, 2019.
In its current edition, the programme is set to help with conflict and problem resolution in both families and communities. With this, they are looking at the average Ugandan, who lives on hand to mouth on a daily basis.
“We are looking at conflict and problem resolution in both families and communities,” she said
Different projects were started by some of the graduates, from which they have proved their success and are earning from it. From owning a supermarket to knitting scarves and caps to poultry farming,
The programme also assists the youth in areas of economic growth, marketing and financial planning,opportunity walks, business ideas and identification, business human resource planning and legal requirements for establishing a business.
“We believe we have nurtured that which is needed by you to a different person within your community,” he added
The event ended with the awarding of certificates to the different candidates that participated and completed the graduation ceremony.
Vijana POA Background
In 2012, Owekitiibwa Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, the Finance Minister of Buganda Kingdom, initiated the start of the programme under Rotary to help the youth create jobs for themselves.
UCU later joined in 2018 to help the younger generation create jobs for themselves rather than wait for and become job seekers. It is also a programme that leads directly to the National Development Planning of Uganda.
With UCU joining in the partnership, they provide themselves with the opportunity for community engagement and outreach, since the programme not only focuses on the students but even the surrounding communities.