Community Consortium Uganda (CCU) is dedicated to promoting well-being for marginalized groups like refugees and adolescent girls. The organization’s overarching mission centers on ensuring equal opportunities and empowerment for all while promoting community resilience. To date, CCU has reached over one million refugees and marginalized communities through programs focused on life skills training and ending stigmas relating to mental health. CCU has reached more than 3,000 adolescent girls through its Theatre for Change (T4C) program, which provides an innovative approach to teach girls how to think critically and make independent decisions. CCU also implements the Obstacle Race Against Stigma and Shame program (ORASS), which merges mental health education, sports, and mentorship to break down stigmas relating to mental health and has reached more than 1,200 children.
CCU aims to make a lasting impact in the lives of adolescent girls within Uganda, who currently face many challenges which hinder their potential, including poverty, early and forced child marriage, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and limited access to education. CCU offers targeted support to refugee children, who comprise nearly 61 percent of the total refugee population in Uganda. Among them, adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to child marriages and the traumas of displacement. Many are fleeing conflict and violence in neighboring countries, and CCU recognizes the importance of programs tailored to meet their needs.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund will support the Theatre for Change and Obstacle Race Against Stigma and Shame programs. T4C is strategically designed to address the challenges of child marriage and displacement. Through this initiative, CCU aims to reach 2,000 adolescent girls with life skills training, enabling them to think critically and break cycles of early marriage. Through the Obstacle Race Against Stigma and Shame program, CCU will engage adolescent girls and community members to reduce mental health stigmas using education, sports, and mentorship. Community engagement and advocacy will be a key part of this project, reshaping harmful social norms which perpetuate child marriage. In sum, CCU will take a holistic approach by empowering girls through T4C, fostering mental well-being through ORASS, and transforming social norms through widespread community engagement.
Through these projects, CCU aims to create long-lasting, positive change in the communities it serves. The programs will impact girls in multiple ways, teaching them essential life skills and empowering them to resist early marriages. In turn, girls will have more opportunities to pursue their education and improve their health outcomes. CCU’s vision aims to improve the overall well-being of communities, understanding that girls’ education and empowerment creates a ripple effect that goes beyond the impact on each individual girl.
See more projects: Africa, East Africa, Arts & Culture, Child Marriage, Health & Wellbeing