Over 1,000 youth in Lamwo enroll for two–year digital skills training

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A total of 1,066 youth in Lamwo District are undergoing a two–year digital skills, social innovation, entrepreneurship, and life skills training.

The training being conducted at Paluga Youth Centre in Paluga sub-county and Awich Youth Centre in Palabek Refugee Settlement targeted the refugee youth as well as school dropouts, child mothers, and orphans from the host communities, ages between 16 and 26.

The initiative, dubbed Life Skills and UP–SHIP training modules, is being funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with War Child Canada, according to Sammy Godfrey Poro, an Adolescent Development Specialist at UNICEF.

Consulate Akun, a Senior Project Manager at War Child Canada, revealed that the initiative is not only targeting the youth in Lamwo District, but also their counterparts in Adjumani and Yumbe District.

According to her, they have established seven youth centres across the three districts, with two in Lamwo, where the youth shall be trained.

Akun noted that the two-year program shall conclude in November next year, having commenced in November last year.

“After completing the training, participants are expected to emerge as innovative problem solvers, using local solutions fueled by their creative thinking,” Akun revealed.

What leaders say

Officials at Palabek Refugee Settlement, as well as the district leaders, have hailed UNICEF and War Child Canada for skilling the youth, saying scores of refugee youth are indulging in criminality with the high rate of school drops among them, and the drop in food rations by the World Food Program.

Joyce Oyella, the Palabek Refugee Settlement Commandant under the Office of the Prime Minister, noted that specific areas within the settlement are witnessing a troubling surge in criminal activities as some youth resort to theft out of desperation.

According to her, initiatives such as this shall help mitigate the rampant criminality, since most youth would be engaged in productive activities upon coming out of the skilling program.

John Pasquale, the refugee representative at Palabek, corroborated these observations, stating that his office is overwhelmed with complaints regarding rising thefts, not only within the settlement but also in the surrounding host communities.

He reported a startling increase in school dropout rates, early marriages, teenage pregnancies, rising divorce rates, child neglect, and even fatalities due to hunger and malnutrition among the refugees.

“The youth are not going to school; instead, they are foraging for fresh leaves in the bush,” Pasquale lamented, adding that, “mothers are taking on petty jobs in the gardens of the host communities to support their families, while others have chosen to abandon their homes and marry into the host communities because their partners can no longer provide for them.”

Refugee status in Uganda

Morgan Joel Okongo, the Lamwo District Youth Chairperson, has echoed the urgent plea for resources to support the youth in the district.

Uganda is currently home to approximately 1.7 million refugees, with the Palabek settlement hosting over 80,000 South Sudanese individuals, nearly half of whom are youth.

In May 2025, the World Food Programme announced a drastic 40 percent cut in food rations while gradually phasing out various categories of refugees from the food assistance list.

The organisation cited dwindling funding as the rationale behind this critical reduction.