RUKIGA- The State Minister for Youth and Children, Hon. Dr. Barugahara Balaam Ateenyi and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation Deputy Managing Director, who is eyeing the Rukiga District Woman Parliamentary seat on Friday triumphantly, arrived at Kakatunda Playground, Muhanga Town Council, Rukiga District, for the Kigezi Youths Summit.
Minister Barugahara and Dr. Sylivia Arinaitwe Mwanaki, were received by a number of people as well as convoys of boda boda riders and motorists all who expressed gratitude for the Minister’s visit and the development initiatives engineered by Dr. Sylvia Arinaitwe.
The event under the theme, “Building Unity and Patriotism for Transformational Leadership” drew huge crowds including Rukiga District leaders, led by the area Member of Parliament Hon. Roland Ndyomugyenyi Bish, Capt. Damson Christmas Kivumba and Katabazi Patrick, both hopefuls for the Rukiga Constituency Parliamentary seat.
Dr. Sylivia Arinaitwe Mwanaki who was the day’s keynote speaker at the Kigezi Youth summit encouraged the youths to engage in projects like piggery, poultry farming, and fishing to reduce unemployment. Dr. Sylvia used the day emphasize the importance of young generations establishing small income-generating projects.
Dr. Sylvia who doubles as the Deputy Managing Director of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) in charge of Finance further empowered the youths with a hatchery that has a capacity of 2,000 chicks per round.
This donation is part of her ongoing efforts to support the community, having distributed 10 million coffee seedlings in Rukiga district last year, accompanied by over 35,000 hoes and pangas for plantation use among other several projects under her stewardship.
She emphasized that these initiatives will contribute to poverty eradication at the household level, urging the youths to embrace hard work and actively participate in wealth creation programs, including government programs such as Emyooga and Parish Development Model-PDM among many others.
Speaking at the Kigezi Youths Summit, Hon. Roland Ndyomugyenyi Bish, the Rukiga County Legislator, urged the government to establish a vocational skilling center in Rukiga District to motivate more youths to take up the opportunities of acquiring skills therein.
Through the Minister for Youth and Children, Hon. Balaam Barugahara, MP Bish emphasized the need for such a facility due to the growing number of youth in the district, highlighting that “a youth with a skill, is a youth with employment”.
While officiating at the Kigezi Youth Summit in Rukiga District, the Minister for Youths and Children, Hon. Dr. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, encouraged young people to take advantage of government initiatives such as the Youth Livelihood Program, Emyooga, and the Parish Development Model to improve their livelihoods.
Dr. Barugahara also emphasized the need for transparency in the distribution of these funds, ensuring that resources reach the intended beneficiaries to foster youths’ empowerment and economic growth. He warned Youth to desist from using toxicity that destroys their future.
The Minister further asked them to embrace coffee growing instead of planting eucalyptus trees if they are to double their income thanking NWSC’s Deputy MD Dr. Sylivia Arinaitwe for supporting all farmers in Rukiga with coffee seedlings for economic development.
Kigezi Youth Symposium that took place at Paul’s Bukinda SSS Kakatunda playground attracted thousands of people who were entertained by different musicians.
This year’s Kigezi Youths summit was organized by Ms. Gloria Kamusime, PLU Youths Coordinator for Kigezi Region and was supported financially by Hon. Dr Sylivia Arinaitwe.
Dr. Arinaitwe’s commitment to empowering the youths and supporting community development is making her a popular figure in Rukiga district.
