Our partner: YSA

The Youth Social Work Association Uganda (YSA) promotes the welfare of the children and youth of Uganda and across East Africa.

By targeting social workers, youth leaders, youth groups, district youth officers, NGO staff and actively involving the young people themselves, YSA aim to alleviate the plight of an entire generation left scarred and vulnerable by the civil war and atrocities of recent years.

YSA’s focus is to build a society where young people enjoy a sense of well being, have their opinions heard and thereby can develop to their full potential and live a decent life in harmony with one another. Their constantly expanding activities cover six northern Ugandan districts of Gulu, Lira, Kitgum, Pader and Dokolo, Arua in West Nile, Mbale in eastern Uganda and Bushenyi in the west.

The YSA approach is to be tolerant, witty, innovative, global and accountable – or TWIGA- a Swahili word for giraffe. Working through community based projects the young people are actively engaged in life skills challenges and group roles to build up their abilities. Training sessions through role play, brainstorming sessions and animation games allow them to express their views about what is most suitable and appropriate for them.

Cord is helping YSA to strengthen its training programmes for staff and to build on its internal systems so that it can more effectively help young Ugandans to play a part in building a peaceful future for themselves and their country.

It costs YSA:

• £13 for a social worker to avert/protect a child from abuse by a teacher, other children or parents.
• £15 per child/ young person for YSA to follow up a child who has been missing, is malnourished or displaying signs of post traumatic stress and to provide emergency intervention.
• £56 per school (of between 600 to 1200 students) to run a three hour session with teachers on children’s rights and their protection.