From ‘hopeless youth’ in society’s eyes to agent of change

Even after joining Gulu University in Northern Uganda, Yoanah Lokwiyon never imagined he could be a person of substance in his Karamoja community, a pastoralist group famous for their nomadic life and livestock keeping.

Lokwiyon, who is studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in biosystems engineering, by his own admission saw himself as a “hopeless youth” in the eyes of society, and never imagined he could one day be an agent for change in his largely conservative cattle-loving community in north-east Uganda.

“I appreciate that our grandfathers did their part to get my pastoralist Karamoja community where it is today. They faced many difficulties [such as] using guns to protect their livestock, but those were their times.

“It is now time to change the story of Karamoja and to change its image as an insecure region to that of a peaceful one. From being seen as a cattle-rustling to a productive cattle-keeping region, and from an uneducated to an educated community,” he said.

The reason he now believes he can help bring about change for his people is because of a scholarship he won in 2018 from the Mastercard Foundation and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) to fund his degree programme at the university.

Lokwiyon and other beneficiaries of the initiative underwent an orientation programme at Egerton University in Kenya under the Transforming African Agricultural Universities to Meaningfully Contribute to Africa’s Growth and Development (TAGDev) project, where the need to become agents of transformation in their communities was impressed on them.

Trial and error

But his studies were again in doubt in April 2020, when the institution was closed because of COVID-19. At home, with little to do and with the country locked down, he decided to start a small poultry venture, rearing chickens for commercial purposes.

With money he had saved, he bought a small plot of land for 2.5 million Uganda shillings (about US$704). “I decided to set up the poultry house without poultry while I looked for [more] money,” he said.

“Fortunately, RUFORUM sent us COVID-19 contingency cash for upkeep amounting to 500,000 Uganda shillings, part of which I used to buy the stock and feeds,” Lokwiyon said.

After five months, he had lost some of the birds to diseases and theft. Discouraged, he decided to sell the few remaining birds, which earned him 847,000 Uganda shillings.

But he was not giving up altogether. He bought some books on poultry and pig farming, and decided to pursue the latter. With the money he made from selling the chickens he bought 10 piglets for 50,000 Uganda shillings each.

Some months later, the lockdown was lifted and universities reopened. He entrusted the farm to some community and family members and left for school.

When he returned home after the second lockdown was announced, he found that his pig stock had grown. He decided to sell the male pigs from the initial stock to local butchers, which earned him 556,000 Uganda shillings.

“Presently, we are raising 30 piglets and four lactating sows. With good management and commitment, we shall successfully earn a net of 18,545,000 Uganda shillings in around May 2022 once we sell the piglets,” Lokwiyon says.

He says his farming is now having a positive impact on the community. He employs some young people who also learn about pig-keeping.

Mentorship and support

Dr Anthony Egeru, programme manager for training and community development at RUFORUM, said students require opportunities to discover their potential, as well as mentorship and support beyond the usual financial constraints in entrepreneurship development.

Despite the COVID-19 disruption, many of the youth enterprises under TAGDev have survived, and RUFORUM was helping these enterprises “bounce back better”.

“Universities are under immense pressure to demonstrate their relevance to society and, in the African context, many perceive the university as a gateway out of poverty.

“However, frustrations have been increasingly building as the average time to the first job for many graduates is around five years from completion of studies,” Egeru noted.

“We have seen that universities can be active players in helping to nurture talent and practical business acumen of young people. The youth are able to create viable businesses, create jobs and make profits.”

Entrepreneurship, he says, is a pivotal approach for supporting and enabling youth transition from university to the world of work. It is implemented as an experiential learning process in which students have the opportunity for practising, developing business plans and implementing a business while on campus.

“They have the opportunity to make profit or make losses, but the bottom line is the skills and learning that emerge out of the whole process. Once the students have created the company, they can then transition with their successful business out of the university and expand their enterprise’s growth.”