Incubatee - Paul Ndiramiye, REALISING POSITIVE DIVIDENDS FROM THE YOUTH

                                                                                                                      

Benjamin Solomon Carson sr. (Ben Carson) is currently the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development in the Trump Administration, he was a candidate for republican’s nominations for the US presidential race in 2016, and he was first to do the only successful separation of Siamese twins and was the youngest Director of neurosurgery at John Hopkins Hospital at only 33 years of age. He is a highly respected surgeon, author, politician and a family man.

Ben Carson was raised by a single mother with limited resources but this did not in any way deter him from rising to the top. Even here in Uganda, many people including myself were raised in poverty and lived in a slum but together with all my siblings, we have been able to move out of such conditions and today I work in one of the top banks in Uganda, my sister is a teacher and currently a Woman Councillor representing the people Bukasa parish of Makindye Division, my other sister is a Food Scientist.  I do also Know Dickson (works with UNICEF), Goodwill (Medical doctor), Tumusiime (a pharmacist and works with NDA) and Allan Kizza is currently pursuing his degree in Petroleum Engineering.

This is proof that, everyone is gifted uniquely and has a fair opportunity to achieve their goals in life if only they could desist from the temptation to use the circumstances around as excuses for their failure. The environment you are living in is not a good excuse and cannot exonerate you from being unproductive and being unable to harness the opportunities, however small, to excel.

The youth therefore have to make a resolution to get out of their comfort zone-the excuses- and get close to someone who can help them to focus their energies on what is important to them so that their time is well utilized.

We have many young people around us with immensely huge potential deposited in them  that need to be exploited by first of all helping the youth realise they have it and how it can come out to benefit them, their family, community and nation.

These young boys and girls need someone, a Sonya Carson (Ben’s Mother), who can tell them” your dream is still in reach if you can stretch a little more.”A voice that tells them;  “I will hold your hand until you cross over the bridge, do not give up, do not stop, keep moving.”

I have resolved in my heart that I will reach out to that young boy or girl who is entangled with all sorts of reasons to give up their dreams and ready to be swayed by whatever the world offers them, and tell them, you at least have to choose your next step, make one right choice at a time and eventually, these series of right choices will lead you to your desired destiny.

I for one, am a product of intentional and deliberate guidance, and will therefore offer my time and resources to guide and counsel young boys and girls in my community so that their energy is well channelled to do good and embrace values such as truth, justice, fairness, honesty, faithfulness, trust, excellence, and many more, that will propel them forward and make them responsible members of their communities.

I am convinced that as I care a little more about the lives of the children in my neighbourhood, the boys and girls that no longer go to school, the ones that gather in number at betting booths, the ones that seem to be raising themselves, and went out and tried to help in whatever way possible, these young people’s lives could be turned around for better.

Uganda is blessed to have a young population, 77% of the population is below 30 years of age and 7.3 million youth are aged between 15-24 years. It is our responsibility to engage these youth in activities that maximizes their creativity, energy and passions for their own good and of their communities. It is important to note, that if we don’t intentionally and deliberate guide the youth in the way they should follow, we will see undesired results such as prostitution, hard core criminals, gambling, drug abuse and a society that we are afraid of rather than proud of.

Whereas the government of Uganda and various NGOs have had interventions around alleviating the poor youth from his problems, they still fall short due to lack of resources that would facilitate continuous contact with these young people. This means the interventions are short lived and the communities are left with few beneficiaries and majority are left out.

I have resolved to work with parents, local leaders, the youths and all other people that are committed to have the youth move from their current status to a place where the youth as a whole are fully engaged and are playing a central role in the development of the country.

I am calling upon you to be a guide, a mentor, an encourager, a teacher and a parent to these young people and help them to channel their energies to contribute equitably to the development of their communities and nation at large.

Therefore I solemnly charge that: you and I need to be in control of what will come out of the youth. This means we need to be intentional and resolute about this and come out to save the next generation.