Nearly one out of every six people of the current inhabitants of the world is suffering from poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy, and the majority of them are in Africa. Of the four critical issues poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy, Education is often referred to as the great equalizer: It can open the door to jobs, resources, and skills that help a person not only survive, but thrive. This is why access to quality education is a globally-recognized solution to poverty, hunger and disease. Education helps to remedy many of the other issues that can keep people, families, and even whole communities vulnerable to the cycle of poverty. At its core, a quality education supports knowledge and skills acquisition to earn higher incomes and build successful lives. According to African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) 2020, the Sub-Saharan Africa has over 289 million unskilled labour and this has created a significant skills gap.
Uganda has the highest idle and unemployed young population below 30 years of age which account for 75% of the total population. This is attributed to lack formal education, skills and knowledge for creating new economic and employment opportunities. This situation has created economic, social and political problems. Even though some of these groups are somehow literate, there are no enough jobs to absorb them. This implies that they have no incomes at all. As a result, this situation has created high criminality, idleness and other deviant behaviors and involvement in illegal activities such as theft, gangsters, kidnapping, murder, drug and substance abuse and are prone to any situation that destabilizes society. The key problem to address in this initiative is the need to provide quality and adequate skills training and to strengthen the value chain that is required to meet their physical, social and economic demands of the women, youth and vulnerable communities (refugee), actual and potential entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Uganda and even beyond. Opul Skilling Foundation Africa (OSFA) Initiative for Africa shall contribute to improving perspectives of young women, youth, refugees in Africa through increased job creation and income opportunities.
