“I believe in innovation to solve poverty, starting with myself initiating a business to supplement my income.”
Oluka Robert, Young Innovator
This is one of the reasons that Ouka gave as to why he is the most deserving young adult to be awarded a scholarship and to be selected to participate in our CPAR Uganda programme: “Mentoring Young Adults into Innovators against Poverty.”
Oluka is of Kumam ancestry, from Kaberamaido District. He holds a degree in Development Studies from Ndejje University. We are delighted to have him as part of the first cohort of our mentoring programme and we look forward to working with him and to contributing to enabling him to achieve his long term goals.
In turn, it is our expectation that through him, we at CPAR Uganda will contribute to achieving our vision and that people in his home area, Akorot Village in Bululu Sub-County in Kalaki County in Kaberamaido District in North-Eastern Uganda, who come in contact with him will proactively work towards them living healthy and dignified lives during which their rights are respected.
With great thanks, I would like to appreciate CPAR Uganda
for coming up with programme of mentoring Unemployed youth into Innovators against poverty. Most NGOs did not consider unemployed youth as vulnerable group and yet in real sense these are the people who need to helped.
Personally after graduating from the University, I had a dream of having a well paid job and I would think in a short time I would build a four roomed house, marry and produce Four kids and drive a Four wheeled car but after graduating in 2016 all these turned to be a nightmare.
After a long Hassel with life I later realize I had ideas but there was no one to back me up with motivation towards puting my Ideas into use. Being the only graduate from my community without any one to click on. I equally remained vulnerable like uneducated fellow youth in the community.
Until when I met CPAR Uganda through mentoring programme of mentoring young Adults into Innovators Against Poverty in Jan 2020.
At this point in life I was really struggling with business of motor bike spare selling which was later affected by COVID-19.
The mentoring programme repackaged the theories I learnt from University and Ideas I had and added in more knowledge and dozes of positive thinking in me.
It’s through this mentoring programme where I was able to gain the knowledge of developing food basket which is Useful to determine balance dieting and above all it enabled household to practice budgeting which help in maximizing over expenditure.
According to the poverty tree diagram I learnt from the mentoring programme you realize that , poor dieting leads to poor health and poor health results into over expenditure and
hence poverty .
Besides learning food basket one other challenge I had from mentoring was that innovation is not a rocket boom but adding a value on something that make it different from others for one to benefit from it.
The knowledge again helped me not to give up even after my motorcycle pare selling failed was able immediately come up with ideas of savings group where I raised capital to start up another business of money lending in my community turgeting my fellow unempled youth, women who are small business owners among others. And yes I can the idea is working right now I have employed one youth who is working as aloan officer but also mentoring fellow youth who are in the savings group with me. I now see my dream coming through as earlier said I believe in innovation to fight poverty beginning by myself and then others.
Big-up CPAR Uganda.
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I real need that idea too so that I can also initiate a business for myself and help to guide others to own for themselves in my community
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Thanks so much CPAR Uganda for this Initiative, we hope to give our best to various communities of the Greater Northern Uganda. Am humbled.
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