The Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda has said the level of crime has drastically reduced within the city and its suburbs because of the Presidential Initiative on Skilling the Girl and Boy Child (PISGBC).
“I reside in Kisenyi, but many of the ghetto youth have reformed and even transitioned away from criminal behaviour,” Hajjat Kabanda said.
She noted that due to the positive impact the six-month program has had on Kampala youth, she was compelled to enroll her granddaughter in the Mutundwe Skilling Centre.
“I can testify because before I brought my granddaughter to join the bakery class, I used to buy baked products from Dr. Katana but now Jazira can bake all these products for me,” Hajjat Kabanda revealed.
The minister made the remarks at the Mutundwe Skilling Centre, which shares premises with All Saints Church in Mutundwe, during a showcasing ceremony for students.
She advised Ugandans to ensure they have their family members and children skilled in various disciplines, arguing that this reduces the amount of money a household can spend on items sold in shops.
According to Kabanda, there are fewer thieves and fewer prostitutes on the streets compared to the number before skilling centres were set up by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in 2017.
She expressed gratitude to President Museveni for the initiative and commended Dr Faith Katana and her team for being strict.
Kabanda believes that this verification strategy ensures all bonafide youths who want to enroll for this skilling program are properly vetted and verified by the Local Council (LCs) in their respective villages of
residence.
This helps to eliminate the deliberate migration of beneficiaries who are allegedly transported by certain self-seeking politicians from out of Kampala.
The Special Presidential Assistant on Skilling and Education and Head of PISGBC project, Dr. Faith Mirembe Katana showcased a variety of pottery items and said this newly introduced skill will be taught with effect from the next intake scheduled for late March this year.
During the same event, the centre officially launched a magazine.
According to Stuart Musinguzi, the centre’s Guild Speaker who is the brain behind the magazine dubbed Mutundwe Herald, they managed to fundraise shs700,000 on the first day of the magazine’s launch, with each copy of the full-colour magazine priced at shs50,000.
The bi-annual magazine highlights activities at the centre such as the scripture union, religions including Islam and Christianity, as well as dedicated pages towards health and discipline.
A captivating testimony of transformation was shared by Mutundwe’s student leader, Samuel Katana (the centre’s health minister), who confessed that he had spent an entire decade in various rehabilitation centres trying to fight drug and alcohol addiction, among other bad habits that he is not proud of.
“While at UCU, during my university days between 2009/10, I was caught up in peer pressure and became addicted to Cocaine, heroin, alcohol and weed,” a youthful Katana narrated his past life.
Despite his very affluent family connections, he was unable to break the shackles of bondage as this negative behaviour spiralled out of control.
“I have been to four rehabilitation centres since 2016 until last year. I even had to attend my father’s funeral last year while I was enrolled in rehab,” he revealed.
His mother had earlier testified how this addiction does not spare the wealthy from ruining their lives; this is what inspired her to be very passionate about rehabilitating others.
The 34-year-old Katana also advised his fellow youths to endeavour to engage in productive activities as a coping mechanism.
He also cautioned them against bad influences and peer pressure, which he said led him down the dark path that cost him ten years of his young adulthood.
“But I am glad I joined here and acquired tailoring skills. I can easily earn sh15,000 a day from this skill. I have lived a very reckless lifestyle, but I did not get anything from it,” Katana said with a trace of regret in his voice.
Another testimony came from a 31-year-old Nelson Mugabo, who is a shoe-making student and disciplinary minister at the Mutundwe-based centre.
He has so far sold three pairs of shoes that he made himself; this earned him shs120,000 in less than four months, while he was studying.
“I thank Instructor Doreen Mbabazi because she encourages us and keeps us focused,” Mugabo said with gratitude.
