History and Background
Footmarks Initiative Uganda (FIU)
Footmarks Initiative Uganda (FIU) is a registered Non-Governmental Organization founded by a group of young people in 2018 to make the transition from youth to adult life seamless and interesting. Mindful of the challenges they equally faced growing up in Uganda, the founders of FIU sought to redress several challenges of young people including unmet needs for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), other health rights and education, unemployment, low income, and limited empowerment.
Our Vision
A World of healthy and empowered young people happily transitioning to adulthood.
Our Mission
To strengthen young people’s agency for self-help and influence on service delivery decisions that affect their wellbeing.
Our Goal
To improve the quality of life of youth through the integration of empowerment and sustainable development initiatives.
What we do
FIU core programs
FIU core programs are as follows; Research, Policy, And Budget Advocacy; Health and Wellness; Education and School Welfare; Youth Enterprise Development and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation.
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01
Research, Policy, And Budget Advocacy
FIU uses comprehensive strategies to raise profiles and visibility of youth issues in Uganda to ensure their needs and priorities are met in annual planning and budgeting process. Research is done on topical areas around youth issues to be used as evidence in the policy and budget advocacy process. This is through engaging with various communities and stakeholder to identify issues. Through lobbying and campaigns, the organization ensures the advocacy issues are addressed by relevant duty bearers and other stakeholders.
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02
Health and Wellness
Health is a critical component towards achieving the Human Capital Development Programme goal of increasing the population’s productivity through strategic investment. As well as achievement of SDG 3 of good health and wellbeing. Since March 2020, health has taken up a prominent role in the development discourse due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the youth, Peer pressure, insufficient sexual and reproductive health education to make informed decisions and some cultural norms are leading drivers to premarital sex and consequently teenage pregnancy leading to death. FIU implements comprehensive trainings, uses a unique peer to peer sensitization and referral approach and tailored awareness raising sessions to meet the needs of youth in Uganda to provide knowledge on dangers of teenage pregnancy, dangers of premarital sex and requisite sexual and reproductive health information. This is to equip them with knowledge to ensure better life skills, youth protection through improved personal capacities and familiarity with handling situations of crisis and threat.
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03
Education and School Welfare
Uganda, like many sub-Saharan African countries, faces major challenges in providing quality and accessible basic education to children and adolescents. To support an inclusive, relevant, and accessible education system and keep children learning, FIU initiatives supports different initiatives to ensure school going adolescents and youth go to school and those who are in school stay in school and are learning to attain their different learning outcomes.
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05
Youth Enterprise Development
Most youth are vulnerable economically. FIU empowers youth both individually and in groups through provision of practical life skills to enable them start up income generating projects. The organization currently empowers youth with knowledge and practical skills to become economically self-reliant and support them live dignified lives. Currently FIU supports youth with vocational skills and practical skills to make; liquid soap, baked products like; cakes, bread and bands among others, reusable sanitary pads, craft materials like paper beads, mats, necklaces, earrings, bags and bangles among others. FIU also organizes youth in groups to participate in Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLA) and supporting them to offer credit services to youth for their business expansion.
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Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
FIU believes youth need to be empowered on climate change as well as the mitigation strategies. More so, how their different activities are contributing to climate change. Therefore, the program supports climate smart social enterprise development and mentorship to ensure that all youth are economically empowered while ensuring their economic activities are climate smart.
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FIU Organisation
Structure and Capacity
FIU has a robust organization structure. At the top is the Annual General Assembly and the Board of trustees who provide oversight over the secretariat. The board is the policy making organ of FIU and oversees the implementation of FIU policies and strategic plans. The Board of trustees meets quarterly to review performance reports and approve quarterly work plans and budgets. The Board is comprising experienced individuals in the fields of human rights, social accountability, governance, finance, and other areas..
FIU Uganda secretariat currently has three staff members headed by a Program Manager, with experience and competence in the fields of health and education, livelihood and enterprise development, climate change programming and governance and citizen empowerment. The team members possess experience and hands-on expertise in working with and empowering young people through both advocacy and service delivery approaches.
Our Team
Hope Mutesi
Kooli David
Akurut Rita Frances
Current Areas of Operation
Pallisa, Dakolo, Kalaki, Kampala.
Partners
FIU works in partnership with other organizations having a well-matched mission, to enhance synergies for greater impact of programs.
