Why we do what we do

In Uganda 70% of youth are not formally employed, 5.1% have reached above secondary level and refugee youth face a double burden, the universal challenges of youth unemployment and the compounding realities of displacement. Across the country, millions of young people are trapped in low-skill, low-income activities with little pathway to meaningful economic participation.

For the young people of Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, these barriers run even deeper. Interrupted schooling, overcrowded classrooms, and limited access to learning resources mean that many children and youth struggle to build even the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that education should provide. Without that foundation, the path to employment, entrepreneurship, and civic participation becomes steeper still.

Many youth find themselves neither in employment, education, nor training not by choice, but by circumstance. Yet the potential within these communities is undeniable.

Educators, employers, and community leaders alike recognise that what young people need most is a continuum of support from quality foundational learning in their earliest years, to the practical, digital, entrepreneurial, and soft skills communication, critical thinking, and socio-emotional resilience that allow them to thrive in work and in life. This is precisely the gap YIDA Youth Initiative exists to close.

We firmly believe in the boundless potential that awakens in young people when they are met with the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

YIDA Youth Initiative’s programmes transform lives and expand opportunities for refugee youth in Kyaka II. We equip young people with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to build sustainable livelihoods, pursue education, launch and grow enterprises, and take their rightful place as active contributors to their communities and beyond.

Mission

  • To Educate and Develop communities in Africa
  • We seek to provide a quality education that forecasts creating sustainable careers.
  • YIDA seeks to educate youth and children in African communities to have a sustainable life. The mission is being achieved through school construction, mentoring, influencing policy change and community engagement

Vision

  • Employed youth in Africa.
  • We envision educated youth in African communities and fully employed with dignified and fulfilling work

OUR SUPPORTERS AND DONORS

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Objectives

  • YIDA capacity sharing and sustainability building
  • ECD – Youth Initiative Kindergarten
  • Primary – Youth Initiative Primary School
  • Scale the Entrepreneurship component
  • Scholarship Connection