TONIMO Foundation’s Alebtong Youth Voices and Leadership Program. It will include:
- Program Description
- Relevant Skills Training Sessions for Northern Uganda
- Community Engagement Workshops List
- Resource Map
- Steps for Monthly Advisory and Working Committee Meetings
Alebtong Youth Voices and Leadership Program
For Social Inclusion, Mental Well-being, and Empowerment
The Alebtong Youth Voices and Leadership Program is designed to promote mental well-being, social inclusion, and access to culturally relevant resources for young people in Northern Uganda. Through skills development training and community engagement workshops, TONIMO Foundation empowers youth with practical tools while creating safe spaces to address mental health, heal from trauma, and build leadership capacity.
To prepare for program delivery, TONIMO conducted:
A literature review, needs assessment, and environmental scan, creating a resource map.
Two youth focus groups, capturing lived experiences, challenges, and insights from those most affected by displacement and conflict during the Northern Uganda war.
Monthly advisory and working committee meetings, guiding the development of peer mentor training materials, which have now been finalized and are ready to be launched.
Skills Training Sessions
The program will deliver targeted skills development training relevant to the realities of Northern Uganda:
- Agriculture and Agri-Business Skills: Modern farming practices, food security, and small-scale agribusiness opportunities.
- Entrepreneurship and Income Generation: basic business skills, savings groups, and financial literacy for youth self-reliance.
- Digital Literacy: training in essential computer skills, mobile technology, and online opportunities.
- Leadership and Advocacy: building confidence, teamwork, communication, and decision-making for active civic engagement.
- Crafts and Creative Arts: tailoring, beadwork, and handicrafts as pathways for income and self-expression.
- Peer Mentorship and Facilitation Skills: training youth leaders to become mental health advocates and community mobilizers.
Community Engagement Workshops
Workshops will create safe, participatory, and culturally meaningful spaces:
- Mental Health and Well-being Workshops: guided discussions and coping strategies led by trained facilitators.
- Drama for Healing and Expression: youth-led plays exploring mental health, peacebuilding, and resilience.
- Conversation Cafés: With open dialogue circles to share experiences, strengthen inclusion, and build solidarity.
- Storytelling Workshops: empowering youth to share lived experiences, preserve history, and inspire healing.
- Comedy and Creative Expression: community comedians and performers delivering mental health awareness through humor and fun activities.
Resource Map
TONIMO Resource Map – Alebtong Youth Voices Program
This map highlights available resources and services that youth can access for empowerment and support:
- Mental Health, Local counseling services and Community peer mentors
- Referral pathways to clinics and hospitals
- Education and Training Resources
- Skills development centers (vocational institutes, training schools)
- Local NGOs and community-based organizations offering youth training
- Community Engagement Spaces and digital learning hubs
- Youth centers, schools, churches, Safe spaces for girls and women
- Community drama, arts groups, Support and Advocacy Networks
- Local government youth offices and Faith-based organizations supporting youth well-being
- TONIMO peer mentor network, Monthly Advisory and Working Committee Meetings
To guide program development and ensure sustainability, TONIMO will hold structured monthly meetings with advisors, community leaders, and youth representatives. Steps include:
- Preparation
- Share agenda, training drafts, and updates in advance.
- Assign clear roles (chair, note-taker, timekeeper).
- Review and Feedback and Revise content based on feedback.
- Assess progress of training materials and Gather insights from committee members.
- Document challenges and propose adjustments.
- Peer Mentor Training Input
- Ensure cultural relevance and accessibility.
- Pilot test modules with selected youth mentors.
Decision-Making
- Approve final revisions collectively and Assign follow-up responsibilities.
Communication
- Share meeting outcomes with the wider TONIMO team.
- Update youth and partners through newsletters or website posts.
Evaluation
- Review effectiveness of past decisions.
- Adjust strategies for the next month.
Closing Statement
Through this program, TONIMO Foundation places youth at the heart of healing and change in Alebtong. By building resilience, promoting mental well-being, and equipping young people with practical skills, we are nurturing a generation that will transform trauma into leadership, despair into hope, and exclusion into lasting inclusion.
