Commonwealth funds Gulu youth centre
Oct 29, 2007
A COMMONWEALTH-funded youth centre being constructed in Gulu district for training war-affected children and other vulnerable youths will be ready by November, the northern youth MP, Denis Hamson Obua, has said.
By Denis Ocwich
A COMMONWEALTH-funded youth centre being constructed in Gulu district for training war-affected children and other vulnerable youths will be ready by November, the northern youth MP, Denis Hamson Obua, has said.
The Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre, located in Labora, Omoro County, about 15km outside Gulu town, will offer various vocational courses, including fish farming.
“The formerly abducted children and other young people from Acholi, Lango, West Nile, Teso and Karamoja will be given skills and tools to earn an income,†Obua said, adding that the three-phased construction will be completed in two years.
“The first phase will cost sh2.5b and will be complete by November,†said Obua, who is also the spokesperson for the Commonwealth Youth Forum.
The bulk of the funding is from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, but the Government of Uganda has also made some contributions. The Office of the Prime Minister is overseeing the project. Gulu District Land Board gave the 30-acre land on which the centre is being built.
“This mega project is a special gift from the Commonwealth to the people of northern Uganda and it will be the biggest of its kind in Africa,†Obua said recently during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala.
It is hoped that the head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II will officiate at the unveiling of the youth centre.
“We hope the Queen will be the one to open the centre, but if she cannot make it, then the chief guest might be a high-ranking member of the British royal family,†Obua said.
A COMMONWEALTH-funded youth centre being constructed in Gulu district for training war-affected children and other vulnerable youths will be ready by November, the northern youth MP, Denis Hamson Obua, has said.
The Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre, located in Labora, Omoro County, about 15km outside Gulu town, will offer various vocational courses, including fish farming.
“The formerly abducted children and other young people from Acholi, Lango, West Nile, Teso and Karamoja will be given skills and tools to earn an income,†Obua said, adding that the three-phased construction will be completed in two years.
“The first phase will cost sh2.5b and will be complete by November,†said Obua, who is also the spokesperson for the Commonwealth Youth Forum.
The bulk of the funding is from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, but the Government of Uganda has also made some contributions. The Office of the Prime Minister is overseeing the project. Gulu District Land Board gave the 30-acre land on which the centre is being built.
“This mega project is a special gift from the Commonwealth to the people of northern Uganda and it will be the biggest of its kind in Africa,†Obua said recently during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala.
It is hoped that the head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II will officiate at the unveiling of the youth centre.
“We hope the Queen will be the one to open the centre, but if she cannot make it, then the chief guest might be a high-ranking member of the British royal family,†Obua said.