This project is about reaching out to youths in a local slum called `Katanga` who are somehow promising, but lack knowledge of doing business and are many times looked down upon. It will involve capturing success stories of youths who have made it in business, how they made it and recording these stories on You tube in the local language. These video success stories and tips will then be made available to the youths in the slum. The project will also train few youths in the slum on how to create group blogs to share business ideas. these will eventually train others to create blogs.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Kampala
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
Underprivileged youths in the slum area of Katanga who are often neglected yet they are enterprising. Most opportunities reach out to youths who are graduates neglecting those youths that did not reach high academic levels. This is an opportunity to uplift those youths in the slum area to give them tips on how to succeed. I will also work with youths who have made it in business and succeeded who will share their stories that will be recorded and made available to the other youths to get some tips. They did not play a big role in the proposal development, but welcomed the idea. Level internet familiarity is very low and this is why one aim of this project is to identify a few who can be trained in creating group blogs for sharing ideas. These can then subsequently train others.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
-Mainly the youths who have succeeded in business
– A few other adults who have also been successful will be brought on board.
Specific names have not been identified as yet.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The project aims at capturing success stories of youths who have made it in business focusing on how they started, challenges faced, how those challenges were overcame and offering valuable tips to youths on how one can succeed. Photographs of those youths will also be captured. These stories will be put on You tube and made available to the youths in the slum. The project will also train a core team of youths from the slum in how to create and share business/social ideas using group blogs. These will eventually become trainers of other youths within their community.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
I hope to partner with the IT unit of my institution (Makerere University) to assist with the issues of creating You tube videos and training youths in creation of blogs.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
Am looking at at least 30 youths. Their participation will be sought through the local Chairperson of the area. Initial meetings will be held with the local leadership to sensitize the youth about the project. Those willing to take part will be invited to register and I and a few other colleagues from IT will screen to identify those youths with more potential to progress into the project and with ability to become trainers once trained. Their participation will be sustained through few incentives like break teas and lunch to keep them available.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
We shall need IT experts who will assist in creation of You tube videos and training youths in blogs. These experts are available in my institution. We shall need computers and internet connectivity to execute this project.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
We shall use the IT labs at Makerere University. Each IT lab can accomodate about 50 people, each with a computer, so computer access will not be a challenge. The university also has internet connectivity throughout the day in some IT labs. We might however need to buy internet modems since internet sometimes is too slow.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
I have worked with the Katanga community before on community health projects and am aware of their local leadership. I have a good relationship with the local leadership and they will grant me community entry pretty fast.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Mostly is the level of internet literacy among these youths. Many are school drop-outs with limited or no knowledge of the internet at all. This will be a challenge. We hope to overcome this by identifying those youths with some minimal level of literacy and train those first on creation of blogs. These can then train others. No other challenges anticipated.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
-I will do focus group discussions after some time to get opinions of participants.
-I will also monitor to identify small business enterprises that have been started by the youth as a result of this project.
-We shall also monitor the group blogs with the IT team to see if the youths are blogging and sharing stories with each other.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
-April 2014: Select the youths in Katanga, identify success stories, identify key partners from IT unit in Makerere university
-May 2014: Record success stories and capture videos
-June & July 2014: Share these stories with the youth from Katanga
-August, September and October 2014: Identify core team of youths and train them in blogging
-November 2014: Do rounds of focus group discussions with the participants to get their opinions about the project
-December 2014: Writing up project report
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
-Internet modems: 300 USD
-Sensitization meetings: 200 USD
-Travel and communication: 300 USD
-Co-ordination: 300 USD
-Time compensation for people telling stories: 400 USD
-Technical services i.e creation of you tube and blogs: 400 USD
-Training costs: 300 USD
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Technical expertise in monitoring and evaluation of the project.
Contact name
Mubuuke Aloysius Gonzaga
Organization
N/A
