Youth Initiative for Community Empowerment

Description

Youth Initiative for Community Empowerment (YICE) is a registered Youth-led Community Empowerment Initiative founded in May 2011 by Youth volunteers in Mubende district-Central Uganda. YICE works to empower youths and women with knowledge, skills and services in the fields of food security and nutrition, women Enterprise development, youth employment, community health and hygiene, water and sanitation, sexual reproductive health and HIV/AIDs, Orphans and other Vulnerable children, vocational training and youth skills development.

YICE was conceived in response to limited access to valuable information and community development services gap that existed in Mubende district; as a result of very few service providers implementing youth and women empowerment development programs. For example, only one international organization (Action Aid) was implementing women empowerment and human rights program in the entire district, without grassroots organizations supporting this development work. It can therefore be noted that, a lot was desired to be done so as to promote integrated sustainable development at grassroots level and enable the poor especially youths and women live a descent and dignified life; which gave birth to YICE.

Since its inception, YICE has grown into an influential grassroot organization in the field of youth and women empowerment and support. The organization’s services have grown to cover a wide range of programs that include, women network for enterprise identification and development, food security and nutrition promotion, youths’ capacity building and training, orphans and elderly livelihoods improvements, sexual and reproductive health awareness; and hygiene and health awareness clubs in schools and care for people living with HIV/AIDs and disabilities. All this work is done though YICE’s community groups.