Survivors of 2010 twin bombings give hope to Katwe youth

Growing up in Katwe slum can label a person for a lifetime.  However, Joyce Kyomugisha has a deviating view on it.

The 19-year old who has been living in Katwe slum for over 11 years say when given a chance they can become an asset in society.

"I was abandoned by my parents and started street life at the age of seven. Soon, I started using my body, begging and grabbing from people for survival. Last year, I was passing by Katwe playground and I found a graduation. I listened and I heard people giving account similar to my story.   At the end of the function, I reached out to the project coordinators who advised me to apply," Kyomugisha said.

She adds, "The project coordinators were welcoming and encouraging. I decided to enroll for hairdressing and pedicure course.  They told me that they were offering any course of my choice at free costs but I never believed them but I have turned out to be true."

The visibly jovial Kyomugisha gave her narrative while celebrating her graduation from Katwe's Skills Center in Kampala on Friday.

 Katwe is the leading slum area and widely known as a notorious harbor for criminality, prostitution and potential recruitment for extremist groups. This labels the community as a whole.

Street kids of Katwe celebrate during their graduation ceremony, over 120 students were awarded certificates in different skills including electrical installation, tailoring, air dressing

Kyomugisha was among the 124 at-risk youth from the Kampala's notorious slum of Katwe determined to become role models for the youth in Katwe after graduating in vocational training.

Among the graduates also included a 12-year-old who said takes care of her two siblings through selling her body (Position).

"I have stopped selling my body because this programme has equipped me with knowledge and skills and I am capable of starting my business," she said.

She revealed that her plan is to start up a beauty salon and also train those in need.

Katwe Skills Center was started by Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (UMYDF) headed by Ahmed Hadji together with Ngabo youth-friendly services, a Katwe based organisation.

They offer courses in fashion and design, photography, Art craft, electronical installation, mechanical engineering and hairdressing to youth in slum areas at free cost.  The project is funded by Finn Church Aid and Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

According to Ahmed Hadji, they came up with the idea of starting up a skills center for the youth living in the slums together with his friend Hassan Ndugwa after they survived the 2010 twin bombings.

The perpetrators of the 2010 twin bombing have since been convicted and majority of them were jailed for life in 2016.

"We started this project three years ago and the idea came from my friend Ndugwa after we survived the death in the 2010 Kampala twin bombings. We recognised young people with negative attitude needed to be given a sense of purpose and attention such that wrongdoers do not take advantage of them to terrorise people and so far this is second batch of the graduates we are passing out," Hadji said.

In the 2010 twin bombings the duo survived with major injuries and Ndugwa says he is still depressed with the occurrence, which he believe was masterminded by desperate people.

Hadji revealed that they believe that if youth can be able to do something, it might be hard to be taken advantage by wrong elements.

"I am sending a message to everyone not to judge a community as a whole before you give them an alternative way of life," said Hadji.

Using an analogy of Jamaican singer and songwriter late Robert Nesta Marley aka Bob Marley, Ngabo's Sadat Zziwa aka Zaga told the graduates that a person will never know how strong his is until it is the only option for him.

Zziwa called upon all youth at risk in Katwe to reach out to them to benefit from the training at free cost.

Nieminen Kaarina, a desk officer for East Africa at Finn Church Aid based in Finland said revealed that he was impressed by the project and they are ready to inject in more money to ensure that more youth at risk benefits from it.

Sam Rutahindwa Bamuhiiga, the monitoring, and evaluation specialist at Finn Church Aid office in the country urged the graduates to use the skills acquired to improve their livelihood.