We are coming to you today from Uganda. A country with a very young population, few jobs outside of agriculture, wide spread unemployment, and poverty.
Yet amid all these obstacles we find a messenger of hope. My guest today is Prudence Uyungrwoth. She is a journalist, social worker, and teacher. She works with orphans and teenage mothers. Her message to these children is “You are great and capable.”
Interviewing with Prudence Uyungrwoth, a journalist, social worker, and teacher from Uganda. Prudence shared her remarkable journey of empowering young women and girls through vocational skills training, highlighting the challenges of education in Uganda and the transformative power of love and purpose.
Meet the Guest: Prudence Uyungrwoth
Prudence is dedicated to transforming the lives of orphans and teen mothers in Uganda. Through her program, she provides vocational skills training, particularly in crocheting, to help these young women gain confidence and self-esteem.
Prudence Uyungrwoth is a professional social worker, transformative leader and advocate for children, youths and women, who has extended a record of exceptional service to orphan and vulnerable children in her community.
Through the blend of art, crafts, nature and unwavering compassion, she has ignited the “I am Great And Capable’’ movement in Uganda, an initiative with a special focus of skilling teenage mothers, out-of-school girls and young underprivileged women to use art and craft, especially crochet, to improve their livelihood.
The desire to see a vibrant generation of young people champion change is what drives her to impart skills in the less privileged groups.
Prudence tells us about her program for teen mothers.
Many live with an extended family, may not have finished primary school and need to find a way to support their children. Our program provides free training to teach these young women how to make clothing, bags, scarfs and other apparel. So many of these young women feel hopeless; I was drawn to these women.
When the young women come to the program all I could see were sad faces and drooped shoulders of girls and young women, subjected to perform wife duties, motherhood duties while being children themselves. Having dropped out of school, in as much as it's desirable that some return to school, attain quality education, that was a dream we could never achieve in a short run.
We only had the opportunity to restore hope by reassuring them that, "You can still be happy if you never went to school. Let's work together, on learning this skill that you won't have to pay for, then you can decide what you want for your future."
One young woman told me "Aunt Prudence, I am done with this piece, I want to make a dress or bag, or scarf and so forth." I just asked her "How much yarn do you need, in which colors?" Before I knew it, there was a beautiful piece returned, curved out so beautifully I'd personally never create.
We look forward to re-writing the story of so many teen moms, out of school girls and young underprivileged women in Kamuli.
"“For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again" Job 14:7 🙏🙏
Her interests include; writing, reading, volunteering, crocheting, and building meaningful relationships.
🔑Key Takeaways:
- Empowerment through Vocational Skills: Prudence's program focuses on empowering young women with practical skills, boosting their confidence and self-esteem.
- Challenges of Education in Uganda: Education in Uganda is expensive and inaccessible for many, with vocational training often undervalued.
- Role of Love and Purpose: Prudence emphasizes the importance of love and purpose in transforming lives and communities.
- Impact of the Program: Prudence shares inspiring stories of how the program has transformed the lives of young women, helping them dream big.
- Self-Funding and Support: The program is primarily self-funded, highlighting the need for more support for such initiatives.
- Value of Vocational Training: Despite challenges, vocational training offers tangible skills that can lead to employment and self-sufficiency.
- Mental Shift Required: Advocacy is needed to change mindsets about vocational training in Uganda and show its benefits.
💡 Discussion Points:
- The impact of vocational training on young women in Uganda.
- Boosting self-esteem and confidence through skills training.
- Funding challenges and self-funding initiatives.
- The difficulties of education in Uganda and the need for support for vocational education.
- The importance of love, self-love, and purpose in transformation.
Watch the Full Episode:
Resources:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prudence-uyungrwoth-7a2a82228/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i_am_great_and_capable/
- Trust The Process: https://www.paradedeck.com/creator/trusttheprocess?track=pd
