African women are brave, and there cannot be just one day to celebrate them

By Diana Alaroker, Global Fellow from Uganda In Northern Uganda, where I grew up, educating a young girl like myself was not a priority. My culture is patrilineal, so my worth would have been negligible in many other families. Indeed, the dropout rate for girls in my region is 78% for primary school. Girls are… Continue reading African women are brave, and there cannot be just one day to celebrate them

Prevention, Reintegration, and Healing of ex-Child Combatants in Northern Uganda

Early this year, I and Diana attended a two days’ workshop in Nairobi organize by the Antislavery Knowledge Network (AKN) with the aim to contribute to a critical conversation on modern slavery and the value of methods from the arts and humanities in addressing it. In 2018, YOLRED had been awarded a one year large… Continue reading Prevention, Reintegration, and Healing of ex-Child Combatants in Northern Uganda

YOLRED Hosts Annual Cultural Celebration to Promote Healing

By Geoffrey Omony, Goldin Global Fellow, Uganda In Acholi, song and dance are fundamental parts of cultural heritage. They are used to retell important historical events as well as critique and pass on cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. With over 10 types of dances, the Acholi had a particular dance for almost… Continue reading YOLRED Hosts Annual Cultural Celebration to Promote Healing

It is Never Too Late to Learn

YOLRED Host Celebration for 12 Never Late Graduates Like the famous Chinese Proverb states: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” On July 20, 2019, at least 21 women and men who were formerly abducted and forcibly conscripted into the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel activities, started a journey to literacy… Continue reading It is Never Too Late to Learn

Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda

Warm greetings from Uganda! On Saturday, April 20, Youth Leadership for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) organized a community dialogue, called a ‘Kabake,’ where the community was granted a platform to share their experiences and derive solutions. The dialogue was attended by, among others, local council leaders, the police, child rights activists, business men and women,… Continue reading Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda

She Will Rise!

Young girls from Northern Uganda were ambitious and had dreams like children born in different parts of the world. They had dreams of becoming great leaders, doctors, pilots and engineers but all these were shattered when they were taken into captivity. They were forced to drop out of school and were made to leave everything… Continue reading She Will Rise!

Nothing For Us Without Us

On the 3rd of October, 2018, we at Youth Leaders for Reconciliation and Development (YOLRED) hosted our community visioning summit, an important part of the Gather curriculum, which was attended by 56 community members from various categories including youths, older people, and local leaders. During the sessions, participants were formed into four groups by Diana… Continue reading Nothing For Us Without Us

Going Big in South Africa

What a year! What a week! Two years ago, I set out on a crazy journey of helping African youths discover their light – their creative talents – and supporting them to shine this light by transforming their creative talents into solutions to critical challenges facing their communities. I founded an organization called Global Leading… Continue reading Going Big in South Africa

“Community Parliaments” Launched in Uganda

Last February, Goldin Institute’s partner in northern Uganda, YOLRED, piloted its first “community parliament” in the villages of Bwongatira, sub-county, parish of Punena/Lukoid; as well as Lamogi sub-county, Gurguru Parish. “The idea for this came when we were doing the music therapy program,” explains Charles Okello, logistics officer and organizational co-founder. YOLRED’s music therapy program… Continue reading “Community Parliaments” Launched in Uganda