Our commitment is reaching young people in order to have transformed and meaningful lives. We have been in existence for 24 years empowering youth to make informed decisions about their lives. We have 18 full time staff, 4 part time staff and more than 45 volunteers working in offices of central Uganda (Head office), Eastern Uganda and Northern Uganda Branch Offices.

 

Leader’s message

Youth for Christ- Uganda has existed over the years to support positive transformation of youth in and out of school. According to the Uganda National Housing and population Census 2002, 56% of Ugandan Population is 18 years and below. This shows that Uganda has more than 14,560,000 teenagers and the number has increased over the years since the survey was carried out. However, young people have continually been challenged by issues of dropping out of school, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, STD’S, substance abuse, delinquency, sexual abuse, abuse in families among others. These are on the increase among young people in Uganda which have negatively impacted their lives physically, socially, spiritually and psychologically therefore making our services to young people extremely relevant.

Over the years, we have impacted many youths, schools, local communities and families have been transformed through our outreach ministries in schools and communities. Uganda’s crisis pregnancy rate is at 23% according to Monitor, July 2013. We therefore provide interventions to care for rejected pregnant teenagers and young mothers.

Mission statement

“Our mission is to provide relevant information to youth so as to make positive life changing decisions that will lead to positive transformation and support, love and care for vulnerable pregnant teenagers and young mothers.”

Objectives:

• To encourage young people to make informed decisions about their lives especially following Christ.
• Extend the love and compassion to those faced with unplanned                           pregnancy so that they don’t turn to abortion.
• Encourage behavior change and spiritual development of youth.
• Promote self-reliance among youth.
• Build capacity of families
• Enable young people live exemplary lives.

General overview of what the organization does.

The organization has three main Departments: Leadership Development, Counseling and Education Departments.

1. The Leadership Department reaches out to youth in schools and communities with life skills education, leadership trainings and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our current focus areas are Kampala, Iganga, Gulu and all their neighboring Districts.
2. The Counseling Department provides counseling and care for pregnant teenagers rejected from home by their parents/guardians, counseling for families and counseling trainings.

• Education Department provides education opportunities to young mothers and children through scholarships, vocational training and young mothers gatherings.

Success and Milestones

In the last three years, we reached 73,451 youth with life changing information of which 9,579 committed their lives to the Lord and 29,099 committed to abstinence. Many of the youth, teachers and community leaders have given us feedback of the transformation experienced in their lives, families, schools and communities. There has been change of behavior and attitudes, youth have been able to stay in school, embrace positive peer pressure, delay sexual intercourse, reduce or get off drugs, develop better attitudes about their parents, teachers and make positive decisions. Three hundred people who included school prefects, youth leaders and community leaders were trained in leadership skills.

We offered 1,081 counseling sessions, cared for 138 pregnant teenagers and 88 babies were born to the center. We reached 565 parents in parental seminars, reached 472 young mothers through gatherings in different parts of the country and educated 142 children in different schools in three years and trained 37 young mothers in vocational training in Suubi Home. Through the three years, counselors have worked with the parents/ guardians with a success of 98% reconciliation between them and their daughters. Young mothers have grown to love their babies and make the right choice of nurturing them in godly ways. Their commitment is seen through the way they have cared for their children, and which is observed during the follow-up visits and gatherings at the Centre.

Conclusion

Educating and equipping youth with knowledge of the gospel and skills is a great contribution to their future success. Further studies have showed that no matter the challenges they face in life, while given opportunity to education they have higher chances of success than those that did not. Therefore, as an organization we are committed to reaching out to youth with the gospel, which is life changing information, caring for pregnant teenagers, educating and training many young mothers with the support of like-minded partners.

We believe that together we can continue to positively impact and transform the lives of many vulnerable youth through education and holistic care which will lead to continuous transformation of families and communities.