Irene, popularly known as Irish is 18-year-old living in Buwiiri village in Luuka district. Irish dropped out of school after senior four because she could no longer afford school fees. with limited basic skills that could make her employable, Irish solely depended on her parents in spite of them having financial struggles. this brought a lot of frustrations to Irish.

Irish poses for a photo in the BONGA kitchen garden

After years of struggles, Irish joined Kisa Kya Mukama Girls’ Bonga center in July 2024. During this time, Irish was taken through topics such as equipping adolescents with life skills, reproductive health knowledge, and human rights empowerment. Because of her active participation, Irish was selected to be a peer leader at her Bonga center and served on the bridging committee as the chairperson. She started co-facilitating with the animator and as her to confidence grew, Irish began to perceive herself as a leader. She started volunteering at local community events, sharing her knowledge with peers, and mentoring younger girls at the Bonga centre and in her village.

The Bonga project targets out of school adolescent girls and boys between 13-19 years and equips them with social skills and numeracy, reading and writing skills. It also economically empowers them through vocational skills programs in order for them to lead financially sustainable lives.

Irish’s exceptional leadership skills and passion for empowering others didn’t go unnoticed. Staff from an NGO, focusing on youth development, mental health and psychosocial counselling attended one of the Bonga’s community events and were impressed by Irish’s facilitation skills and charisma.

Irish presenting a poem during a community outreach

After the event, the NGO staff approached Irish and offered her a volunteer mentorship role in their organization. They were looking for a young, dynamic, and peer mentor to work with their adolescent programs, and Irene seemed to be a perfect fit. Irish was thrilled and humbled by the opportunity. She accepted the offer, underwent their orientation training and began mentoring adolescents in nearby villages.

Irish also traces her real turning point on the 10 basic life skills sessions that were key in enhancing her ability to analyze problems, make critical decisions and also adapt to the changing dynamics of the society. She says “Three key life skills; self-awareness, empathy and copying with stress and emotions helped me to do my self-evaluation and know my strengths and weaknesses. That’s why I could tap into opportunities that came by”. She further testifies, “I realized that its humane to be empathetic and offer a hand of help to others.”

Currently Irish is volunteering with the Organization and she believes that she will utilize the skills that she is acquiring to counsel adolescents with mental health issues as well as help her fellow peers in the Bonga program. She still participates in the Bonga program and hopes to acquire the skills in hairdressing, save resources and pursue a professional counselling course.

Bonga project has transformed the lives of over 200 out of school youths in Luuka district. You can be part of this movement by supporting anyway you can. Be part of this movement creating a generation of leaders who will drive positive social and economic change in the communities.