Fighting HIV/AIDS among the youth

We are strengthening preventive services: We provide sexually active HIV positive adolescents with appropriate information to prevent unintended pregnancies and HIV transmission.

LUCOF makes pregnancy safer for HIV positive adolescents: 13 percent of female HIV positive adolescents have experienced a pregnancy. We help identify pregnant HIV females earlier and we offer PMTCT and other antenatal care services in order to avoid transmitting HIV to their babies.

We involve parents to openly discuss sexuality: since parents rarely discuss this with their children

Re-orient service providers/counselors: LUCOF ensures that orienting counselors and service providers is a reality, where they offer warnings about the potentially adverse outcomes of sex instead of providing practical information, guidance and support to the young people.

Establish transition clinics: Some of the care centers are not age-sensitive as they bring together children from the age of 8 to 17 years. Some of the adolescents transiting to early adulthood are not yet comfortable obtaining services from the adult care centers, but they no longer fit in the pediatric clinic setting. HIV/AIDS treatment centers should therefore consider setting up transition clinics that are adolescent-friendly to cater for these young adults. We as LUCOF bring these clinics near to such groups

LUCOF helps strengthen support groups: Many HIV positive adolescents already belong to support groups, which means that these groups are a potential avenue where they can obtain critical sexual and reproductive health information and services. We implement this strategy through school-based programs, care and support NGOs, support groups, etc.

Youth campaigns: We use these campaigns to sensitise and unite the youth to fight HIV as one force, e.g. Youth of purpose, LUCOF youth camps, Peer to peer counselling, big brother big sister outreaches, Peer education, and psychotherapeutic interventions etc.

HIV/AIDS testing campaigns for all ages of people at our functions, workshops and most of our calendar events, such as on world AIDS day, youth day, labour day, environment day, sports days, food day, girl-child day etc.

We work with public health centre iii and iv, as well as private health centres in teaching and sensitising the populace about HIV/AIDS and other STDs and STIs, such as Madina medical centre Kasangati health centre, zirobwe health centre, Mayanja health centre, Faith Muliira health centre etc.

Training of counselors and mentors by our health team, and medical volunteers to preach to the communities about how to prevent HIV/AIDs, Sensitisation, tireless efforts on the prevention of mother-to-child infections, by ensuring proper care during birth, breast feeding, and medication post-birth, emphasising and concentration of peers, young mothers and child-headed households is also a priority in LUCOF’s HIV/AIDS interventions. We also use sports, games, culture and art in our endeavors to prevent and control the spread of the virus in our communities. Our primary instrument and weapon since our start has been the use of the ABC criteria (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use, in attempt to teach out communities). Training in and out of school peer educators in sexual and reproductive health. LUCOF also provides condoms to youth to curb HIV.

Youth management and leadership training

The main goal of this program is promoting excellence in leadership and unveiling the entrepreneurship potential empowering individuals to take charge of their own destiny and excel in today’s modern world regardless of educational background. We aim to raise awareness of the Uganda youth on their personal and professional capabilities and potentials. 

We aim to enhance the capacities and competitive advantage of rural youth to enable them to enter the job market as qualified employees and business owners. LUCOF痴 belief is that a strong leadership and entrepreneurial approach practically implemented  at  the grass roots gives an effective path to creation of sustainable development opportunities in effort to meet the  essential human needs.

Capacity building, youth counselling and guidance

Youth camps

Youth camps are intended to provide an opportunity for the youth to gain life skills to facilitate their personal development through discussion, fun activities, movies, games, community service, and presentations.

Various themes have been developed in the past camps including: AIDS awareness and its impact on the youth, Leadership and personal development, Education and social responsibility, etc.

Community service

It is important that our youth be raised to become socially responsible citizens. Besides providing youth with material and technical support, our youth are encouraged to engage in socially aware projects and activities that will promote the good of the community. These projects will help students become aware of the needs of people in communities around them. It is an opportunity to learn and share talents and gifts with those who are underprivileged, especially the elderly, single mothers, widows, child-headed families, and the sick. Vocational students and the youth in our youth groups involve in some of the following projects, building houses for poor families, making furniture to donate to families in the villages. Courses in carpentry are offered at the school, renovating and rehabilitating community roads by slashing bushes, covering pot holes, as well as clearing and reclaiming community wells to provide clean water, web designing for local schools, churches, and businesses. Students will use their computer skills to bring technology to other institutions in the area, cloths donation. Those learning tailoring will donate cloths or repair cloths for orphan children in the village, gardening for the elder, volunteering at orphanages and homes for the elderly, tutoring kids from the villages who may need help with school work.

Youth Entrepreneurial Training (YET)

Vocational training support

Vocational skills training is aimed at achieving skill levels sufficient for the vulnerable young people to find either employment in the competitive market conditions or to start gainful self-employment. It is a weapon that has helped reduce unemployment, increased household incomes, and consequently reduced poverty.

LUCOF Youthnet is planning to up a vocational training centre. Please help support our initiative to help youth get equipped with the necessary skills for a better life. such as,

• piggery
• poultry
• mushrooms
• cabbages
• tomatoes
• other vegetables maize growing
• beans
• bananas
• gallic
• onions
• cassava
• potatoes etc.

We also train the youth ourselves in making

• paper bags
• foods
• soaps
• cosmetics, etc.