Creativity will Improve Youth LiveliHood

By Brian Nambale

Ugandan Youths today –whether Urban or Rural based face enormous obstacles towards their own self-development, and creating change that they seek for their families, communities, country and even the world.

They are confronted with a statistical reality that the more education they complete the more unemployed they are likely to be. So often they are directed towards mainstay disciplines (teaching, healthcare, Lawyers, accounting extra), not out of the pull they feel towards them.

Most Youths out there cry for Capital whenever you give them business ideas but in real life, we need to ask ourselves a question do they have entrepreneurship skills, can they sustain long-term business empires like Madvani and Mukwano?

This is what obviously ends in a big NO because even our mentors and big businessmen die with their empires; Most businesses collapse after the death of the proprietor.

The Birth of SACCOs, revolving Youth lively-hood funds, Parish development Model and Emyooga following the death of productive cooperative societies have created a weak unproductive mindset of most youth waiting for the government to give them. Yes, fortunately, some who get lack sustainable skills to benefit from the government revolving funds end up on the run due to failure to pay back.

On the other hand, they have the freedom to create associations, be part of the cooperatives and form the businesses that they aspire to build with no much faith in their own system, society’s sense of fair play and real freedom to complete what they set out to do without bribing or being extorted their little money.

Youth Unemployment is more severe in rural places than in the cities leaving our rural youth ending up in drunkenness, unproductiveness, uselessness and demeaning leaders at local council level with frequent begging and abuses that they don’t assist them due to frustrations. Evidently, there are increased paupers of Graduates in society with a thought of witchcraft and the educated becoming Lawless into scammers, fraudulent and gambling betting. 

The cash economies that are now an established condition force them to perform as day–labourers, and that is provided they are fortunate enough to have those chances.

Boda Boda Riding, Going to the Middle East for kyeyo & urban migration is the only alternative for so many, even when their real dream is to remain in their communities and develop them since that’s where their hearts are. Youths are now selling off productive fertile land to enter Cycling in order to earn a daily wage. 

The inadequate levels of rural education compel young families to move to the cities or private educational facilities while searching for good and average grades. Considering the strong will among youth to alter their reality, there are successes. But way too few and those that are fortunate enough to secure funding for new projects appear to be the exception. 

Shockingly Uganda is fed by old men like Prof. Ogenga Latigo who have invested in modern Agriculture most of the youth are farming for consumption and very petty money.

With all this said, there is brightness, and the light of change is also rooted in the Ugandan condition. People’s participation in their own development through production should be the solution.

Agro business empowerment, reducing taxes on all farm equipment, and reducing taxes on internet & on CCTV cameras can allow youth to improve on modern agriculture Reducing. Many Youths are storming churches for Miracle money –Churches should also be fixed in this plan.

We need a national Youth framework for Youth development with the concern that the youth are tomorrow’s adults and are potentially are the most effective vehicle towards catalyzing and facilitating the local participatory development movements sought by the nation.

This should stay because Uganda’s population has about 76% of youths who need engagement in bringing communities together to plan and manage their projects to enhance and fulfil their lives for Uganda’s best future. Said simply: Uganda’s sustainable development, how and whether it becomes real for all people will be determined by the role played by the youth of the Nation.

How do we move forward & How does this Embody True Entrepreneurship?

Whenever we are acquiring and forging new skills, we need to learn best simply by doing it.

We need to;

• Build capacities around evaluating past actions to build future courses.
• Learn from the experience of the previous Youth Lively-hood Program and so should our youths do.
• Understand that we begin by beginning and time and life are short; the youths are becoming adults day so we must begin now.
• Entrepreneurship should start as early as Primary five

We are often taught to think that entrepreneurship comes from our own innovation and often encouraged to believe that to be most creative, strategic& successful doing what develops from our own entrepreneurial selves is about ourselves, and rests in our mind’s ability to invest and decide.

I write this to say that this outlook is categorically false, misleading and even antithetical to sustainable development and progression towards a satisfied society. Entrepreneurship rests on what we give towards drawing out and realization of people’s ideas. Innovation is the embodiment of a thousand voices intersecting and made into one agreed-upon surge for community development. Our creativity is a reflection of how we assist others in understanding and pursing their own hopes for the future.

Youth entrepreneurship is not an endeavor of individual youths but is a matter of all youths, building themselves by building their communities’ development course, driven by the public.

As a local council leader, I hear and imagine the heavy burden that the Ugandan youth experience and people’s participation in development and even the spirit of community service like spring protection & small road maintenance completely dying off.

This is painstaking and a difficult road until the concerned parties come back on the ground our generations shall be hopeless and continue to beg the government for assistance; there’s urgency to this call we may head to extinction.

For God & My Country
To Love & Serve the Nation
Lweliswa Ninzowatsona Ye Bamasaaba