“I believe in innovation to solve poverty, starting with myself initiating a business to supplement my income.”

This is what Oluka Robert told us way back in 2020, as CPAR Uganda recruited its first cohort for its successful pilot project “mentoring young adults in Uganda into innovators against poverty.”

In 2021, after he had successfully participated in the CPAR Uganda mentoring project, he acknowledged the gift of knowledge and thanked us in writing:

“With great thanks, I would like to appreciate CPAR Uganda for coming up with a program of mentoring unemployed youth into Innovators against poverty.

Most NGOs do not consider unemployed youth as a vulnerable group and yet in real sense these are the people who need to be helped.

Personally, after graduating from the University, I had a dreamed of having a well-paid job. 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 things turned to be a nightmare.

After a long Hassel with life, I later realized I had ideas, but there was no one to back me up with motivation towards putting my Ideas into use.

Being the only graduate from my community, without any one to cling on, I equally remained vulnerable, like uneducated fellow youth in the community.

Until when I met CPAR Uganda, through its mentoring program of mentoring young adults into Innovators against poverty in January 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 program where I was able to gain the knowledge of developing a food basket, which is useful tool to determine balanced dieting.

And above all, it enables households to practice budgeting, which helps in minimizing 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.

One other challenge I had and learnt the solution from the mentoring program, is that innovation is not a rocket boom, but adding a value on something that makes it different from others, for one to benefit from it.

The knowledge again helped me not to give up.

Even after my motorcycle spare selling failed, I was able, immediately to come up with ideas of a savings group, where I raised capital to start up another business.

Money lending in my community. Targeting my fellow unemployed 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 a loan officer, but also mentoring fellow youth who are in the savings group with me.

I now see my dream coming through. I believe in innovation to fight poverty beginning by myself and then others.

Big-up CPAR Uganda.”

Fast forward to 2025, Oluka’s money lending business has expanded and continues on. As a matter of fact, Oluka has let us his loan officer, who is the volunteer resident caretaker of our CPAR Uganda Dr. Paul Hargrave Memorial Centre in Lira.

Profiled photo @ Oluka Robert and his father at his ancestral home in Ochelakur in Kalaki District in North-Eastern Uganda, On that day he hosted a field visit from the CPAR Uganda Managing Director.