How to pick up after dropping out of school

“They usually lack practical skills that they can earn a living from, have no collateral to convince commercial banks to give them loans, have no idea how to start and manage a business, have negative mindsets about life in general and also have no social capital to help them navigate these self-employment challenges,” he says.

So far, 425 disadvantaged young people (60 percent female) aged between 18 and 30 years from rural and urban areas who have either lost parental care or are about to lose parental care as well as young people from SOS Children's Villages have benefited from the project. The participants are affected by poverty and have limited access to education and training.

Indirectly, the project is expected to reach a total of over 4,000 additional people across the country.

In Kangume’s case, the project trained her in life skills, networking, and savings, which included financial literacy and business-related skills. The training also focused on how to start a business. She, like others received startup capital of Shs 230,000.

“After being identified in our village, we went through training and later formed an association of 28 members, all of whom are youth. We started saving weekly, and it has now been three years of consistent savings, something I had never done before,” she said.

Through her savings and an additional loan, Kangume raised Shs950,000 by the end of 2022 bought a cow. She now earns Shs15,000 per month by selling two cups of milk daily, while other cups are left at home for consumption."On August 27, 2024, I bought a piece of land for Shs5 million and ventured into agriculture, growing cabbage and green pepper. This is my second season of cabbage farming.

Another beneficiary, Peter Byabasaija, 23, says before joining the project, he had dropped out of school and started a chapati stall. However, after receiving a series of trainings from SOS, he was able to improve his business.“At the start of the training, we were many, but some dropped out before completing it. Those of us who endured and completed the training formed three youth groups, and each member received Shs 230,000 as startup capital," the Senior Two drop out from Mabale-Kajwenge village in Kichwamba sub-county, Kabarole district, says.

“Through the training, I gained valuable skills on how to improve my business. Before, my sales were low and I could only sell between one to two baked packets of chapatti a day because customers used to complained about the quality. I had no idea that adding more ingredients could make a difference," he explained.

"During the training, I learned how to make better snacks by adding more ingredients. Since this was already my business, I did not change my idea but instead focused on improving it," he said.Each day, he makes sales worth Shs200,000 and has two employees, each earning a monthly salary of Shs 90,000.As a member of a savings group, he and other members are required to save between Shs2,000 and Shs 10,000 every Thursday."Last year (2024), I saved Shs 630,000 in one group and Shs 500,000 in another. I used these savings to buy more equipment for my business," he shared.

Phionah Kebambazi, 32, has since become a trainer.Following an intensive training in in entrepreneurial skills, Ms Kembabazi, a resident of Mabale-Kajwenge village in Kichwamba Sub-county, Kabarole district received a startup capital of Shs230,000 and borrowed an additional Shs140,000 from her savings group to purchase soap making materials. It took her three days to produce 30 liters of liquid soap."Last year, I trained several groups across Kabarole District, earning Shs100,000 per day. I also trained students, and for every two-hour session, I was paid Shs15,000," she added.

According to Mr Webare, the training exposure that was given to them has played a pivotal role in the beneficiaries’ lives.“Most of them had been so much dragged in the public domain and now they find themselves being able to meet government officials, colleagues from other communities and exchange notes about their lives and challenges they encounter. They realize they are not alone in these challenges so they become confident that they can make a difference,” Mr Webare says.

Regarding the impact of the project, Mr Webare says 88.2 percent of the targeted youth (425) either got formal employment (56) or started a small business of their own (340).“30 youth got actively involved in government policy process by way of presenting a youth issue paper to the National Planning Authority which later integrated these in the National Development Plan IV that has just been finalize,” he says.

The network of employers and young people also developed and presented their policy position paper to Government for consideration while developing youth policies and agenda/ programmes.

“At a more micro level, we have observed: self-efficacy, self-confidence, better positive future orientation, social and empathy skills among the targeted youth; improved saving, saving and investment behaviour leading to better economic outcomes; young people have started, improved and expanded their businesses; improved social skills and networking among youth.”

Challenges

Reflecting on his journey, Byabasaija acknowledged some challenges."Over the past three years, one of my main challenges has been occasional losses when all the chapatti I bake do not sell. Also, when I am away, some of my workers do not provide proper customer care, which affects business," he says.According to Mr Webare, young people are mobile, and you can be sure that every time there is going to be a section of them that will not attend.“There are weekly meetings, however some members are students and when they leave for school they become dormant until they return for holidays. Other members leave in search of greener pastures abroad which leads to the collapse of their business.”[email protected]