Outside Innovation

Give Inspiration for the Holidays!

As you’re checking off your final gift list, don’t miss the opportunity to send a unique inspirational gift to the young and young at heart on your list. The book that I midwifed—It Takes a Child to Raise a Village—is still available to be shipped out in time to arrive at a North American destination by Dec. 24th. The FULL proceeds from the sale of this richly illustrated 107-page soft-cover book—$25—go directly, without any admin fees, to the URDT Girls School. You’ll receive a receipt from the African Food and Peace Foundation, the 501c3 non-profit that supports the Uganda Rural Development Training institute and its programs, including this incredible free boarding school for 240 girls—ages 10 to 18. In the book, you’ll read the girls own stories and see their pictures of how they have taught their parents and their fellow villagers how to increase their income and improve their living conditions. This is such an amazing story of kid-led innovation and transformation! Your friends and family will be delighted and amazed to read it. And you’ll get a useful year-end tax-deductible contribution. We have about 50 copies left for sale and shipping before year end!

Turning Disaffected Youth from Urban Rioters to Rural Entrepreneurs

I just returned from my semi-annual trip to Uganda. I had the unique opportunity to mingle with a group of young adults who were on campus at URDT for a Youth Leadership training program sponsored by the Ugandan government. These 121 young men and 79 young women had been recruited from the slums surrounding the capital city, Kampala, and bussed out into the countryside for this three-month training.

While I was on campus, I gave a talk at the morning assembly about the “Occupy” movement in this country. These young people—many of whom had been involved in the Walk to Work riots in Kampala—were quite interested to hear about the growing income inequality in the U.S., the current unemployment situation, and the fraying of our social safety net. They were also interested to learn that the right of free speech and freedom of assembly make it quite a bit easier to demonstrate and to air your grievances in the U.S. than it is in their country—where both the police and the military take a rather dim view of public demonstrations. Since the Ugandan police tend to crack down quickly, the demonstrations often become violent.

I was impressed by the enthusiasm and passion with which these young people embraced the three months of education they were being offered by URDT, through the auspices of the Ugandan government. But what struck me the most is that many of these students told me they actually yearned to move back to the countryside where the air is clean and the surroundings are a lot less noisy than the city. They were re-discovering the joys of living close to nature, at the same time that they were learning new skills they could use to earn a living anywhere (in the city or the country).

This case study updates the one I wrote six months ago about the URDT Vocational Institute.

Turning Protests Into Realizable Visions
URDT Institute Is Transforming Unemployed Youth Into Job Creators in Uganda
By Patricia B. Seybold, CEO and Sr. Consultant, December 1, 2011