By Otai James
Reach a hand has passed out over sixty University students and senior six leavers who have been trained and equipped with sexual reproductive health and rights information with a focus on young people.
The Peer educators were flagged off to go back into their communications and became agents of change.
Their role is to disseminate the information and skills they acquired during a month long training at Victoria University.
The Peers will pass this information onto their peers and use it to promote and support the sexual reproductive health of young people in Schools and in their communities.
Speaking during the invent, the Founder who also doubles as the founder of the organization, Humphrey Nabimanya, told, participants the initiative was started way back in 2014 to train and equip young people with in-depth information and skills on sexual reproductive health and rights, deriving his quote from the training he said, the peer Educators develop transferable work related skills such as communication, presentation skills, Counselling, leadership and teamwork.
Through the multiplier effect, they transfer these skills and information to other young people, helping them make informed choices.
The teaching model is based on the reality that many people make changes in their opinions and actions of their close peers, these young people speak to each other in language only they understand.
At the end of one month training, peer Educators are distributed in 25 different Schools, attached to different organizations and mentored for the next eleven Months, under this approach, behavior change starts directly with the peer educator. The change peer educator the influences a positive change among a fellow youth in Schools among fellow youth in schools, and mainly from sexual reproductive clubs.
The ceremony was also an opportunity to celebrate the service of peers educators class of 2019,a movement of young people who by the end of 2019,had directly reached over 16,612 young people in Schools and communities across the Country peer learning sessions, dialogues and communities outreaches. These peer educators also provided a valuable link between young people and health services through the sautiplus referral system.
Reach a hand Uganda is a Youth lead organization focused in youth empowerment programs with an emphasis on sexual reproduction Health, HIV and Aids awareness and promotion.
Reach ahand Uganda is supported by the Segal family Foundation Rugers, Global Livingston Institute and Victoria University.
During the invent 12 outstanding peer educators together with cultural icons were given different awards in appreciation on their commitment and hard work during their time of service.
Leadership award Hamza Businge
Best SRHR Advocate Juma Muwanguzi
Cultural icon Patrick Salvador
Cultural Icon Cleopatra Koheire
Journalism and Media Award Canary Mugume
Best Use of Social Media James ocen
Raising star Award David Kasule
Achievement award Emmanuel Fokushaba
Innovation Award Henry Mughenyi
