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Phase: Final Review

P4T YOUTH-FRIENDLY CENTRES

P4T seeks to set-up Youth-friendly Centres to ease access to SRH education and services for the youths in refugee camps in Uganda.

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What specific problem(s) are you trying to address?

The youths constitute the highest demographic segment in Uganda (77%), yet sexual and reproductive information and health services to meet their needs are still limited. It is estimated that approximately 60% of the youth in Bunyoro region where Kyangwali Refugee Settlement is located do not use health facilities due to lack of youth friendly services. Many youths fear to discuss SRH issues due to stigma from the health staff, others fear to disclose their conditions to nurses due to traditional factors. The young people in the settlement face health challenges similar to those faced by young people in the rest of the refugee camps in Uganda: early or unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections and sexual abuse.

What are some of your unanswered questions about the problem(s) you are working to address?

The health sector in Uganda is characterized by lack of enough health workers, insufficient health centres, lack of essential medicines in the limited health facilities, delay in delivery of drugs, and insufficient funding among other problems. This has led to huge challenges to health services provision in hard to reach areas, emergency and crises areas in the country. This does not also spare refugee communities living in refugee camps in Uganda. Girls miss school because of menstruation.

Explain Your Idea

Majority of the youth in refugee camps do not use health facilities due to lack of youth friendly services. Many youths fear to discuss SRH issues due to stigma from the health staff, others fear to disclose their conditions to due to traditional factors. Youth-friendly centres can help to solve these problems. Youth-friendly centres will aim at attracting youth to receive information and SRH services like contraceptives use, condoms and STI management. The facilities will be set up in a way that promotes an atmosphere of relaxation and are fully equipped with games like quizzes, reading materials, and education videos. The Youth-friendly centres will engage youth through interaction with peer educator counselors and youth volunteers trained in providing youth friendly services. At the Youth-friendly centres, learning activities on primary preventive approaches like contraceptive use to prevent unintended pregnancies and HIV/AIDS will be done with the participation of youth themselves which will allow expression of their views on issues that affect them. This platform will equip the youth with correct knowledge and shape a positive attitude towards health choices not limited to safe sex practices but also life skills and a positive shift in health seeking behaviors. The Centres will also provide Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) to change attitudes, gender and social norms, and build self-efficacy and re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels.

Name the three most important ways that your idea will address your identified problem(s).

1. The Youth-Friendly Centres will provide youth friendly services, where the youth will be able to discuss SRH issues and reduce stigma from the health staff. Comprehensive sexuality education and re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels to use during their periods will be provided to the girls. 2. The youth will also be free to disclose their health conditions to the people they feel free with and be able to get relevant information and treatment. 3. The Youth-Friendly Centres will help to control and prevent early or unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections and sexual abuse in Refugee camps in Uganda.

How is your idea unique?

Currently there are youth friendly corners in selected health centres which are run by much older people and management and these corners are still within the same health centres where youth fear to go. The uniqueness of this idea is that there will be separate youth friendly centres set up away from the normal health facilities to attract more youth to the centres. The centres will be managed by the youth and services will be provided by well trained youth health professionals. They will provide a wide variety of educational and recreational activities, for the youth. The activities will follow an active learning methodology, which in turn will support the youth centres’ aims and ideology, including the effective involvement of the youth in the management of their centres. The centres will also acts as social meeting points where the age groups can meet, interact, and learn from one another informally, as well as formally. There will be re-usable low-cost sanitary pads and towels.

What are some outstanding concerns or questions that you have regarding your idea?

Currently the health sector in Uganda faces enormous challenges including poor pay to health workers and lack of adequate essential drugs in the health centres. My idea is coming to work in this similar environment and as such the biggest worry is how these youth friendly centres will be facilitated with both the health facilities (drugs, health information, utilities, equipment and recreational programs among others) required as well as the well paid personnel to run the Youth Friendly Centres.

Who are your end users?

Girls will be provided with re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels to use during their periods. The reusable sanitary pads support girls to continue with their studies during their periods. This will provide the girls with a sustainable method to handle their menstruation. Reusable pads are cheaper than the disposable ones because they can be used again and again. Girls will be provided with re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels to use during their periods. The reusable sanitary pads support girls to continue with their studies during their periods. This will provide the girls with a sustainable method to handle their menstruation. Reusable pads are cheaper than the disposable ones because they can be used again and again.
This project will benefit the Youths especially girls and women in Kyangwali and Palabek Refugee Settlements. The Youth-Friendly Centres will provide youth friendly services such as counselling, care and treatment, where the youth will be able to discuss SRH issues and reduce stigma from the health staff. The youth will also be free to disclose their health conditions to the people they feel free with and be able to get relevant information and treatment. The Youth-Friendly Centres will help to control and prevent early or unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections and sexual abuse in Refugee camps in Uganda. The project will basically focus on ages from 9 to 25 years because these are the most vulnerable.

Where will your idea be implemented?

  • Uganda

What is the primary type of emergency setting where your innovation would operate?

  • Armed conflict
  • Prolonged displacement

Tell us more about the emergency setting that you intend to implement in

Kyangwali refugee settlement is a home to an estimated forty thousand (40,000) refugees from DRC, South Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi among others. Due to the nature of their plight, most refugees are youths vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to family fragmentation, frequent movements, greater socio-economic vulnerability and sexual violence like rape, defilement and sexual exploitation especially among women and girl-children. Kyangwali Refugee settlement lacks youth friendly SRH services.

What is your organization's name?

Planning For Tomorrow Youth Organization (P4T)

Tell us more about you.

P4T is a humanitarian youth-led Community Based Organization (C.B.O) that was started by refugees in Kyangwali refugee Settlement, Hoima –Uganda. We began in 2007 and got the legal status in 2013 with Registration number CD/WG/0199/13. P4T operates with vision of “A healthy and self-reliant community that is empowered with knowledge and skills”. We operate in all the villages in Kyangwali Refugee settlement, communities surrounding the refugee settlement and the shores of Lake Albert. Community structures have been created already in most villages to facilitate P4T's easy implementation of projects and as a strategy to achieve the greatest level of success. We will partner with AAH which is responsible for all health centres in the camp.

Organizational Characteristics

  • Youth-led organization
  • Displaced person / refugee-led organization
  • Locally/community-led organization

What is the current scale of your proposed innovation?

  • Community - 1+ communities within 1 country

Experience in Implementation Country(ies)

  • Yes, for more than one year.

Expertise in Sector

  • Yes, for more than a year.

Organization Location

P4T is a humanitarian youth-led Community Based Organization registered in Kyangwali refugee Settlement, Hoima and Palabek refugee settlement, Lamwo–Uganda. Registration number CD/WG/0199/13

What is your organizational status?

  • Registered non-profit, charity, NGO, or community-based organization.

What is the maturity of your innovation?

  • Early Stage Innovation: exploring my innovation, refining, researching, and gathering inspiration.

Website

http://planningfortomorrow.org https://www.facebook.com/p4tpage

How has your idea changed based on feedback?

CSE will include improving fundamental knowledge & self-esteem, changing attitudes, gender and social norms, and building self-efficacy. In this project, we will use the International Planned Parenthood Federation Framework for Comprehensive Sexual Education as it is a model that considers power dynamics that affect sexual choices and decision, which consequently affect the adolescent's development. CSE will include improving fundamental knowledge & self-esteem, changing attitudes, gender and social norms, and building self-efficacy. In this project, we will use the International Planned Parenthood Federation Framework for Comprehensive Sexual Education as it is a model that considers power dynamics that affect sexual choices and decision, which consequently affect the adolescent's development.
In the two refugee camps of Kyangwali and Palabek where we met the intended beneficiaries, we were told of the growing problem of girls missing school and others dropping out of school due to menstrual cycles. Girls will be provided with re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels to use during their periods. We shall also find a partner who can train the girls in making sanitary pads using locally available materials. In the two refugee camps of Kyangwali and Palabek where we met the intended beneficiaries, we were told of the growing problem of girls missing school and others dropping out of school due to menstrual cycles. Girls will be provided with re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels to use during their periods. We shall also find a partner who can train the girls in making sanitary pads using locally available materials.
From the feedback we got on the ground, we have been compelled to highlight on specifically two ideas of Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and Re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels. Comprehensive sexuality education: CSE will include improving fundamental knowledge & self-esteem, changing attitudes, gender and social norms, and building self-efficacy. CSE is recognized and accepted in empowering adolescents to help them make appropriate, safe and personal decisions in regards to their sexual and reproductive choices and practices. Re-usable sanitary pads: Girls will be provided with re-usable sanitary pads and low-cost sanitary towels to use during their periods. The reusable sanitary pads support girls to continue with their studies during their periods. This will provide the girls with a sustainable method to handle their menstruation. Reusable pads are cheaper than the disposable ones because they can be used again and again.

Who will implement this idea?

The project will be implemented by Planning For Tomorrow Youth Organization (P.4.T) in partnership with AAH and UNHCR. P4T is a refugee based youth led organization operating in Kyangwali and Palabek Refugee Settlements. AAH is responsible for all health centres in the refugee settlements and it will provide health workers to the idea. UNHCR is mandated to take care of all refugees and it will provide the logistical support and recurring expenses like wages and salaries to run the youth friendly centres. P4T will be the lead organization ensuring the smooth operation of the project through provision of management and administration personnel to coordinate all the activities in the youth friendly centres. P4T and all the staff are based in the refugee settlements.

Using a human-centered design approach, you may uncover insights that lead to small or foundational changes to your organization’s existing strategy or processes in order to unlock the potential of your idea. How would your organization go about making such changes?

Every five years, P4T revises its strategic plan for the next five years. Through this exercise, the organization collects feedback from its beneficiaries on various projects that have been initiated in the last five years. The organization collects the views of the people for whom projects are designed. The organization designs projects to suit the peoples’ needs and the projects are subjected to scrutiny by the intended beneficiaries, after which the organization refines the ideas and finally implements them as the beneficiaries deem fit to solve their challenges. The organization involves a number of people in designing its projects including partner organizations, local leaders, government through the settlement commandants, and the beneficiary community.

What challenges do your end-users face? (1) What is the biggest challenge that your end-users face on a day-to-day, individual level? (2) What is the biggest systems-level challenge that affects your end-users?

Most women and girls have suffered a number of violence ranging from sexual abuse and exploitation, human rights abuse, psychological and physical torture, and no means of livelihood. High number of single mothers and child mothers, early and forced marriages, high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and SGBV, low self-esteem, and most people living in extreme poverty are some of the indicators of these sufferings. Most women and girls have suffered a number of violence ranging from sexual abuse and exploitation, human rights abuse, psychological and physical torture, and no means of livelihood. High number of single mothers and child mothers, early and forced marriages, high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and SGBV, low self-esteem, and most people living in extreme poverty are some of the indicators of these sufferings.
There are very many illiterate girls in Kyangwali refugee settlements vulnerable to vices like sexual exploitation, SGBV, HIV/AIDS and early pregnancies among others. There are very many illiterate girls in Kyangwali refugee settlements vulnerable to vices like sexual exploitation, SGBV, HIV/AIDS and early pregnancies among others.
Kyangwali refugee settlement is home to over 40,000 refugees comprising of Congolese, Sudanese, Kenyans, Rwandese, Ethiopians, Somalis, and Burundians among others. The main concern of P4T is the kind of life they lead while in the settlement. Most girls, women and youth do not have formal education. Most women and girls have suffered a number of violence ranging from sexual abuse and exploitation, human rights abuse, psychological and physical torture, and no means of livelihood. High number of single mothers and child mothers, early and forced marriages, high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and SGBV, and they live in extreme poverty. The settlement lacks youth friendly sexual and reproductive health services for the girls and women.

Tell us about your vision for this project: (1) share one sentence about the impact you would like to see from this project in five years and (2) what is the biggest question you need to answer to get there?

The vision for this project is to extend the services of Youth Friendly Centres to all Refugee settlements in Uganda by 2022 serving over 200,000 girls and women refugees. The question for this project is how are we going to ensure sustainability of the services to the increasing number of refugee girls and women in Uganda in terms of financial and logistical needs to run the Youth Friendly Centres?

What is it that most attracted you to Amplify instead of a more traditional funding model?

Participation in the Amplify challenges offers more than just winning funding for your project. Amplify provides a platform for learning project designs which can develop your skills in problem solving and guaranteed success of project implementation. Therefore, I am attracted to Amplify for more insights about designing of winning projects in terms of success in implementation. The Amplify human-centered design is a very exciting idea that every project should undertake.

Do you intend to implement your Amplify idea in refugee camps / temporary settlements?

  • We aim to implement our Amplify idea in a refugee camp / temporary settlement.

How long have you and your colleagues been working on this idea together?

  • Between 6 months and 1 year

How many of your organizations’s paid, full-time staff are currently based in the location where the beneficiaries of your proposed idea live?

  • Between 5-10 paid, full-time staff

Is your organization registered in the country you intend to implement your idea in?

  • We are registered in all countries where we plan to implement.

My organization's operational budget for 2016 was:

  • Under $50,000 USD

What do you need the most support with for your innovation?

  • Business Development / Partnerships Support

Attachments (1)

Youth-friendly sexual health clinics .pdf

This inspired (1)

Ideal Sensitive Human Buildup Project
Ideal Sensitive Human Buildup Project

2 comments

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Spam
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Team

Hi JOHNAM and team!

An important reminder, Refinement Phase closes this Thursday, October 26 at 11:30pm PST.

We can only consider complete submissions, so please make sure that you have reviewed the Feedback and Refinement Phase Checklists and answered all of the questions on the platform. Note that we added one more multiple choice question to the end of the form.

If you're having trouble figuring out how to edit your idea, please refer to this guidance: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQUuV2N-wO8Oy8MysMAza3CbKUA1ZcMenollZjPh4FA0fGgIDcVXwWtEe6CLh36_Wik5AypEHixreFH/pub

Best of luck!

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Spam
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Team

Hi JOHNAM  and Team,

We’re excited to share feedback and questions with you from a set of experts that are supporting this Challenge.

We encourage you to think about this feedback as you continue to improve your idea, whether that’s refining it or adding more context. You are welcome to respond in the comments section and/or to incorporate feedback into the text of your idea. Your idea and all associated comments will all be reviewed during the final review process, but all critical information should be in the body of your contribution somewhere.

Some things Experts were excited about:
One expert shared, “Great insights around what has been done before with youth centers (e.g. having them run by adults, part of clinics where youth don't want to go). I like the idea of having them as separate spaces, with fun things for young people to do, such as games.”
Another shared, “it's great that this idea has identified a problem with current health service provision the settlement, and presents a solution to reach a large section of the population with services they need.”

Some questions Experts had were:
1) Can you expand on who is currently staffing these spaces? Then, how might you create a friendly experience with providers that are might be reticent to provide these services to young girls, what does the flow of service look like?
2) Additionally what does the training for health workers around this look like? 3) What does community buy-in and education could look like? What are the messages + key "ways in" to the conversation that will help families feel confident sending their daughters to the center?

Thank you for sharing the important work you are doing.

In case you missed it, check out this Storytelling Toolkit (ideo.to/OZznV4) for inspiration on crafting strong and compelling stories as well as the recorded Office Hour (ideo.to/Gf1Cs6). Storytelling is an incredibly useful tool to articulate an idea and make it come to life for those reading it. Don’t forget - the last day to make changes to your contribution on the OpenIDEO platform is October 26 at 11:30PM PST.

Have questions? Email us at amplify@ideo.org

We look forward to reading more, and thank you for the important work that you are doing!

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