Empowering Communities Through Education and Support

Mityana Open Troop Foundation is dedicated to uplifting vulnerable communities through education, health awareness, and support initiatives, fostering resilience and promoting children's rights since 1999.

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Community Impact Stories

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Organization Background:

Mityana Open Troop Foundation, is a Community Based Organization, Registered by the Government, started since 1999, by a group of Boy scouts, who had been affected by socio-economic issues resulting into dropping out of schools, while others had been affected by HIV/AIDS due to loss of their relatives/guardians. The initiative started as a community program by conducting sensitizations on HIV/AIDS scourge, Health talk shows, environmental protection, Child nutrition in most risky communities were kids are malnourished including promoting Children rights, promoting food security in communities, providing support and education to vulnerable people and conducting Functional adult learning among the illiterates.

Later in 2007, we embarked on Vocational Skills Training among Vulnerable Youths, due to high numbers of Unemployed youths at 65% Nation Wide, whom were idle and causing insecurity, involving in drug abuse.

However, Socio-economic factors, have contributed to high teenage pregnancies thus school dropout rates, lack of scholastic materials and sanitary pads to girls, leading to some parents forcing their young daughters getting married in exchange of money / dowrly! And this has caused high maternal deaths and children bearing kids at a very young age of 13 years to 15 years.

Context of Mityana District:

Mityana District, our operational area is a newly created district by an act of parliament effective 1st July 2005 from Mubende District. It comprises Mityana and Busujju counties, has 1.549 square km of land and an approximate population of 329,800. Taking the national population growth of 33%. 90% of the communities are farmers carrying out substance farming on small scale.

The average annual household cash income is USD $ 280, while the average savings is estimated at USD $ 3 making it one of the poorest districts in the central region of Uganda. The district was highly affected by the 1986 gorilla war and has also suffered greatly from the HIV/AIDS pandemic with great numbers of deaths registered in the 1990s. Although HIV/AIDS is currently on a decline, the area still suffers from the impact of HIV/AIDS with many AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in the care of vulnerable relatives.

ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES.

Vocational Skills Training:

The organization conducts vocational skills training among vulnerable youths, teenage mothers, to youths who dropped out of schools due to socio-economic factors including those wish acquiring sustainable job skills. They are trained in; hair dressing & weaving skills, tailoring & fashion making, motor vehicle / cycle mechanics and agriculture. Youths are trained for a period of 2 years and graduates with certificate along with start-up equipments to enable them be in position of starting own workshops. Since 2007 when the vocational project started, a total number of over 2000 youths have so far graduated and started up own workshops, while others got employed.

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Agriculture Skills Training:

Agriculture skills training is conducted as a compulsory lesson to all our Vocational project trainees, because Uganda depends mostly on farming. Currently the organization hires land where growing of seasonal crops takes place, such as maize and beans to feed project trainees.

With support of Government Agronomist / agricultural extension worker, our Organization carries out farm field school visiting among our selected 50 small scale farmers groups of 500 people, whom are trained how to harvest highly and manage gardens, fertilizing, weeding, post harvesting including harvesting the only ripen coffee beans emphasizing recommended coffee drying methods etc… Our Organization is mainly promoting a Fair For All in the coffee Value Change. Because poor coffee production, affects us all as a Nation!

ROBUSTA COFFEE GROWING BISINESS IN UGANDA 2023.

Uganda is the second producing Organic Robusta Coffee Country in Africa, following Ethiopia. And in the whole World, we are the fourth producer Country. And Coffee is the Ugandas Main cash crop!

However, most of our Ugandan farmers, lacks coffee farming skills, patriotism as they go on picking un ripe coffee beans including drying on ground dust of which spoils countrys coffee market standard!

As a result of small scale farmers not carrying out Value addition (pulping, processing) their coffee, including poor coffee handling, has resulted into Middle men, over exploiting the poor farmers! In addition, Ugandan farmers are doing, primary processing individually /in groups, so that they can grade products and sell direct to buyers, within the country and export abroad. Majority of our farmers on high land, specializes in Robusta coffee with few Arabic coffee farmers on mountains.

In 2024, Ugandas coffee Industry reached new heights, by Earning $ 1.55 billions from the export of 6.37 million bags. Making it the Top Coffee Exporter in Africa. This marks a major Leap in both Volume and Value driven by improved farming practices and rising Global demand. Coffee, currently plays a Vital Role in Ugandas economy, supporting millions of livelihoods and strengthening its position on the World Stage.

Planting & Harvesting:

Coffee seedling when planted, starts harvesting after 2 years, then later harvests twice a year. There are 2 main harvesting seasons in a year. That’s August and December. Each coffee tree per season, harvests a minimum of 3 - 6kgs. In 10 acreage of land, you can plant on 4500 Robusta coffee seedlings / trees.

Each plant is spaced in 10ft by 10ft, 3ft by 8ft. Uganda, mainly grows Robusta coffee which is resistant to pests and diseases , and weather. Having rare Rare Arabic coffee grown in mountainous areas of Uganda.

Application of fertilizers: Organic fertilizers or In-organic fertilizers per year, such as Urae, NPK.

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Advantages To Our Vocational Project & Farmers Groups.

When Coffee growing has been implemented, this will be another great advantage to our project, by utilizing the spaces in the plantation, planting in seasonal crops such as beans, maize (these are friendly to other crops with full of legumes and fertilizing soils too). Currently our project lacks land for growing on food to feed our project trainees, as we have shortage of food bought from the little school fees raised from trainees. Also this plantation will be used to teach our vulnerable youths agriculture skills, including the small scale coffee farmers Groups. At the same land, we shall set up a mother Nursery bed where high quality seedlings of which are resistant to pests and diseases, shall be acquired by small scale farmers.

Scouting Activities.

As the founders of Mityana Open Troop Foundation are Scouts, have done great in promoting Scouting among new generation.

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Our Organization Partners

- Pedals for progress USA.

- Fields of Life.

- compassion.

- Ministry of education and sports Uganda.

- Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board.

- Mityana District Local Government.

- Mityana Teenage Center.

- In Bound Kampala ltd.

- Mityana Joy Centre.

-Mityana municipal council.

-Rotary Club of Kabulasoke Gomba.

Way Forward.

-Calling upon partners / donors, to collaborate with towards the development of our vocational skills program plus Scouting program.

-Acquiring land to plant on enough food to feed the trainees at our Training Centre, as some times we feed them one meal per day, due to the high prices of food. At the same land, we shall be planting on Robusta coffee trees, of which shall be an Income generating source used to pay teachers salaries, setting up a Demonstration garden / nursery bed for high quality coffee seedlings for small farmers, and sustainability of the project.

At the same plantation, all project trainees will be trained Agriculture skills, as 90% Ugandans depends on substance farming. This is aiming at, enabling a youth grow food for home consumption and commercial. A person first goes in garden in morning hours then at work later, because businesses works seasonal.