Financial Independence for 40 Women in Uganda

Following the success of MindLeaps’ Virtual Academy program in Oruchinga, where 36 young women received their graduation certificates in December 2021, the next Virtual Academy program has just been launched at the Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement. Courses are open to youth ages 18 and up, with teaching modules covering Digital Literacy, Business Entrepreneurship, Communication, Project Management and Budgeting, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Child Development, and Inclusion.

MindLeaps received 100 applications to the program from 68 female and 32 male youth in the Rwamwanja settlement. After conducting interviews with the applicants, MindLeaps hit its target by selecting a total of 40 youth to participate. 30 young women and 10 young men, ages 18 to 25, have begun the program.

The Virtual Academy has provided these young adults with smartphones, and also briefed them on the modules of instruction focused on business and life skills. Students were given the course schedule, and two different study groups, each composed of 20 students, were created. The MindLeaps team made home visits to guide Virtual Academy participants on how to use the smartphone and applications, as some of them were unfamiliar with the technology.

Virtual Academy sessions began the third week of April, and will run through the third week of December 2022, a period of 8 months. Seed grants will be given out in June for the startup of businesses proposed by Virtual Academy participants, and will be monitored for six months. These may be in the form of cash grants, or raw materials that participants need to launch their businesses.

For more on the Virtual Academy see https://mindleaps.org/en/virtual-academy/

Back to School

In the first quarter of 2022, Uganda registered 163,301 cases of Covid-19, but vaccination is ongoing and the government has lifted all restrictions, ending a two-year closure on schools.

MindLeaps, too, resumed full activity after the school shut downs of last year. MindLeaps delivers its Dance & Data program to vulnerable children in Oruchinga Refugee Settlement and in Kampala. In Kampala, MindLeaps operates at its center in Nsambya as well as partnerships in cooperation with three local organizations – Agape World Ministry Program, Victory Church Gangu, and Save Street Children Uganda (SASCU). Through partnerships, MindLeaps can embed its curriculum in the workings of other organizations already serving at-risk children and youth locally. Almost 75 children total are currently enrolled in MindLeaps dance classes through its partner organizations in Kampala, and 200 in Oruchinga Refugee Settlement.

The 12-week dance program attracts kids to fun dance classes that are based on a carefully designed curriculum to develop seven fundamental cognitive and social-emotional learning skills: memorization, language, grit, teamwork, discipline, self-esteem and creativity. Throughout the program, students are individually monitored through the MindLeaps digital Tracker system to follow their progress in all the skills areas. The program equips children and youth with the capabilities they will need to meet challenges and make positive life decisions.

MindLeaps dance trainers go beyond the classroom to conduct home visits to follow up on students and get a better understanding of their home environment, as well as any individual problems they may be having. The home visits also keep their families informed and involved.

Positive Steps Forward with MindLeaps

8-year-old Rashid enrolled in the dance program through our partner Victory Church Gangu. Rashid is studying in Primary 1 and lives with his mother. There is no father in the home. His mother worried about him because he stayed home most of the time when not in school and had only one friend, who happened to be a neighbor. Rashid rarely went out to play, even with his one friend. His teachers at school had told his mom that he was quiet and didn’t want to make friends in class. He never wanted to talk to his mother about what was happening at school.

Rashid’s mother noticed a change beginning to happen after he joined MindLeaps. Rashid made new friends and now goes out to play with them. More friends come to visit him at home. Now he tells his mom more about what he’s doing. She’s happy to see him making friends and going out to have fun with kids in the community. His instructors at MindLeaps also see that his scores in the seven skills areas are steadily increasing. Rashid looks forward to dance class and says that his favorite pose is the butterfly position!