What good can come from living in a refugee camp? Ask Turatsinze Mafigi Victor. He is the founder of the UNLEASHED programme, which empowers young refugees in the Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda by helping them grow their own food, fight against discrimination, and create income-generating activities to encourage refugees to become social entrepreneurs. Badru …

Hope in a refugee settlement Read More »

YOUTH WORK WEEK SPECIAL: Mohammed Sayed started offering lessons to students in Bangladesh’s slums while still at university. In Bangladesh, nearly two out of five people live below the poverty line, according to the UNDP. To mark Youth Work Week, Tahiya Islam, a 26-year-old Commonwealth Correspondent from Dhaka, Bangladesh, caught up with Sayed, whose non-profit …

AIM-ing high for Bangladesh’s children Read More »

YOUTH WORK WEEK SPECIAL: Building Tomorrow recruits and trains young Ugandan university graduates and sends them to rural and under-served schools and communities.  With nearly eight million young people in the country, Erisa Sserwadda, 23, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Kampala, Uganda explores how young people can be mobilised to be part of the education solution. …

Building tomorrow in Uganda Read More »

YOUTH WORK WEEK SPECIAL: Youth work is not a recognised profession in most developing countries. But with hundreds of highly skilled and talented young people leaving Nigeria each year in search of greener pastures, Abisola Onatoye, 24, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Ogun State in Nigeria, asks whether youth workers can help motivate young people to …

Supporting youth work can pay off for Nigeria Read More »

In high school, cheerleading was Stephen McCubbin’s favourite activity. It saved him from getting caught up in violence in his home country of Jamaica. Now, he’s using it as a tool to help young people feel valued and respected. Commonwealth Correspondent Jhannel Tomlinson, 27, from Kingston, Jamaica, spoke to Stephen– a finalist in this year’s …

Finding salvation in cheerleading Read More »

The sudden death of Commonwealth youth trainer, internationally recognized activist and TV presenter, Esther Nakajjigo has been like the falling of an Iroko tree whose thud has shaken her family, her homeland Uganda, and young people across the Commonwealth. 24-year-old Chimaobi Omeye, our Correspondent from Nigeria, penned this piece in tribute of the late activist. …

Goodbye champion for women and girls Read More »