+256 launces Hip Hop scholarship programme

I showed up as Chief Guest at the +256 Hip Hop Scholarship Programme launch. These days when you see young people you expect to see rebels, people who are rebelling against society, who will do those things that society does not want and does not expect. This problem of youth challenge is becoming more and more complex. Growing up as a young person, the number of young people was much less and the family was a very strong institution that disciplined the young people. You only found a few people in society who society expelled who were a mismatch between what society wanted and what they actually did. A small number of young people who did not go to school or dropped out loitered in towns doing odd jobs. It was not common to find them doing drugs as is the practice with a large number of youth today. 

With the increase in population, pressure on land, increasing urbanization, the picture of the youth and the activities is changing. Families have become bigger. There are more children out of wedlock, unwanted pregnancies, more dropouts from school who are finding hardship because there is little formal employment. More urban areas are forming in different parts of the country and the youth who are unemployed are now a key feature of these urban areas. Without a job and an income, young people have found escapism in drugs, alcohol, unwanted love relationships, unwanted babies, robberies and thuggery. Now and again, civil strife. Young people have now found in groups of those rioting and at times they don’t know why they are rioting. Young people are now involved in crime of all sorts. They are working in an environment that is also increasingly becoming hostile.

Besides the absence of jobs, the cost of education is escalating day by day. Corruption in government departments does not give equal opportunity to meritorious. This has exacerbated the challenges the youth face. The youth have responded in many ways as indicated. Many have taken to becoming social deviants, rejecting the accepted community practices. We have the street smart hustlers and those who have decided to do something genuine to find a living. But besides these, there is another group of young people that have decided to address these challenges in society through what is now known as social enterprise. They are undertaking activities supposed to help other youth either to overcome the challenges or to empower them through enabling them to exploit their talents. These youth are also addressing certain social needs through their efforts.

+256 Youth Platform is one such organization. Led by Meddie Mukuuza, an orphan who didn’t grow up with parents, Meddie with his colleagues in +256 is touching the lives of young people. +256 has various activities. These include support for kickboxing and boxing, making reusable pads for school girls, supporting Hip-Hop rappers among other things. +256 has a Centre in Iganga and the Centre is on borrowed land. They have a youth parliament, a gym and a training room. They collect young people who come to learn and share with them. A group of young people have been doing Hip Hop. These are young people from the age 14 to 30. They have been working on their talents as musicians, although some of them have dropped out of school. It was this that motivated Meddie and his colleagues to find money to find a scholarship for these young entertainers.

Society is changing tremendously. To be continued……