Clean-up Exercise in Matugaa (Wakiso District)

SGD-Uganda last week carried out a cleanup exercise activity in Matugga trading centre; in Wakiso District. This exercise brought on board several key stakeholders in the community such as the Uganda Police, Areas leaders, the prisons officials, several youth within the community, SGD-Uganda members.

The Community Cleaning Exercise carried out by SGD Uganda is part of the project activities that form the components of a currently ongoing project ‘Promoting Civic Responsibility Among The Youth In Uganda’ that was development by SGD Uganda with the aim of preventing a culture of violence among the youth through exposing them to productive engagement that facilitates a sense of civic responsibility among the youth. The youth in Uganda are a very vulnerable category of people who are increasingly exposed to adopting a culture of violence as a way of surviving through the enormous pressures placed upon them given the challenging environment of life’s demands in Uganda. Given their lack of employment, lack of business/investments, lack of startup capital, lack of current disposable money in their pockets, the youth have become used as paid instruments to engage in violent actions that end up benefiting unscrupulous people while drawing the youth into crime, time wastage and inculcation into dangerous culture. Unless such youth are exposed to more productive engagement through which they learn responsible living, the youth will end up into a wasted lot of people. Engaging them in community cleaning exercises is one way SGD Uganda finds it essential to draw away vulnerable youth from an environment that exposes them to a culture of violence and other irresponsible behavior.