U-TOUCH

Happy Friday everyone! We hope you’ve had a wonderful week and wish you a great weekend filled with relaxation. Today we’ll be exploring one way the internet is used as a tool to bridge the economic gap in developing countries. Babra, a university graduate in Uganda, found herself unemployed for a period of two years after completing her education. Struggling to support herself through a stable income, she heard about our free ICT training at U-TOUCH, and saw a great opportun...ity to further her skill in order to become a better candidate for employment. During her time in the program, Babra acquired ICT, entrepreneurial, life, and vocational skills. With these new-found skills under her belt and support from her family and friends, she used funds to start her own grocery shop. Babra now uses her smart phone to market her products, and even communicates with her clients by using the internet. Without access to the internet, she wouldn’t have been able to reach a wider audience of customers, nor be able to run her business as successfully as she does now. This is why it’s vital we educate the youth about technology and introduce technological devices into their communities so they can access the internet and use it to their advantage. They are able to start businesses, conduct important research, communicate with others, and use many other functions that help them in their daily lives. With help from you, we fund students and provide the curriculum and technology necessary to boost developing countries economically and socially, creating a more equal playing field for students globally. The internet can transform the world! #Utouch #Utouchtheworld #Friday #Developingcountries #economy #Uganda #Africa #University #ICT #income #employment #skills #entrepreneur #groceries #family #internet #technology #world #community #phones #businness #dreams #hope #future #betterfuture #education #helpothers See more

Happy Monday to all! We hope you had a wonderful weekend and are staying safe through these taxing times. For today’s post, we wanted to highlight why providing a free education to the youth in Uganda and other developing countries is important. One student who exemplifies this is Phionah. Having just completed her Advanced Level(equivalent to 11th-12th grade), Phionah was fueled by her passion for working with computers and wanted to take computer courses in order to get the... education she needed to apply for jobs she wanted. Unfortunately, Phionah grew up from a humble background and her parents weren’t able to aid her in furthering her education. When she heard about U-TOUCH’s free ICT Program, Phionah saw the perfect opportunity to complete her higher education while not having to worry about the financial burden of costs. During her ICT training, Phionah immersed herself in the carefully planned curriculum, learning ICT skills that would help her stand out as a university applicant. After successfully completing the program, she applied to university, where she is currently pursuing a degree in media, and aims at becoming one of the best media personalities in Uganda. Not only is Phionah using her ICT skills to do her research, but she’s also helping other students at a cost, enabling her to pay off tuition and meet her personal needs. Phionah’s story shows why our programs are important to students like her. Without worrying about the financial burden of educational costs, students are able to further their education through our free Women’s Empowerment, ICT, and Sponsored Students Programs. This, in part, gives them the skills they need to study in esteemed universities, apply for jobs, and even start their own businesses. As Christine Gregoire said it best, Education is the foundation upon which we build our future! #monday #education #youth #free #developingcountries #computers #technology #tech #highschool #jobs #ICT #programs #educationforall #finances #university #media #helpingothers #community #womensempowerment #studenttuition #business #Utouch #Utouchtheworld See more

Happy #womensempowermentwednesday to all! As students go back to school, and zoom chaos ensues, we wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy academic year. And if you’re not partaking in it, we hope you are staying safe and healthy during these trying times. For today’s post, we wanted to highlight the success journey of Sarah: a mom of six who found herself in a hopeless and desperate situation. Prior to joining our program, Sarah relied on her husband to provide for the f...amily, as she took on a more traditional role like many Ugandan women do. Her husband wasn’t able to provide much financial relief, though, because he was a laborer and didn’t have the required skills for stable, well-paying jobs. As Sarah found herself struggling to take care of her family while providing for them basic necessities such as food, medication, and education, she decided to enroll in our Women’s Empowerment Program. There, she acquired knowledge and skills including business, technology, life, and vocational skills that helped her formulate a plan to jumpstart her own business that hand-makes wallets out of beads. Not only is Sarah now able to sustain her family by providing family basic needs, but she also trains other women in her community how to make the beaded wallets so they can sell them and sustain their families through the income they earn. As a graduate from the WEP and grant winner of U-TOUCH, Sarah is an exceptional example of what a dream and hard work can do. We are so proud of her here at U-TOUCH with her admirable persistence to empower other women and help transform their lives. When women support each other, incredible things happen! #backtoschool #onlineschool #UTouch #utouchtheworld #women #family #business #technology #community #wednesday #dreams #education #developingcountries #skills #providers #breadwinner #stayhealthy #school #zoom #jobs See more

Happy Tuesday everyone! We want to introduce a new segment titled #ITuesday where we talk about our ICT Program here at U-TOUCH, and share the success stories of our fellow graduates who have transformed their lives. Today, we wanted to highlight Eriya’s story: a dedicated young man who faced many challenges throughout his life and managed to come out triumphant through his hard work and determination. As the eldest in his poverty-stricken family, Eriya’s parents struggled to... be able to afford basic necessities, let alone his education. They relied on Eriya to help alleviate their financial situation and bring about development in their family so as to ensure they have a stable income and can pay for essentials. Prior to entering U-TOUCH’s ICT(Information and Communications Technology) Program Eriya lacked knowledge of basic computer skills and wasn’t able to sustain himself monetarily. After completing his training with our wonderful U-TOUCH staff on deck to assist him, Eriya learned a variety of complex computer skills that enabled him to excel in nursing school. With his new-found confidence and clarity of direction for his future, he’s fully self-reliant and dedicates his time to conducting research in his medical profession. Eriya is proud to say he supports his family, and pays for his siblings’ school fees, using his training and skills to advance his life and his community. With U-TOUCH’s free ICT Program, we are able to educate the youth about vital computer training in a world where being technologically advanced is important. By bridging the digital divide between developing and developed countries, doors of opportunity are opened to a new generation that will change the course of the future through their undeniable passion for knowledge. As Kofi Annan said, Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family! #utouch #utouchtheworld #ITuesday #KofiAnnan #ICT #computerskills #medicalprofessionals #africa #uganda #poverty #Education #outofpoverty #developingcountries #careereducation #family #skills #youth #children #resources #knowledge #tuesday See more

Happy #WomansEmpowermentWednesday everyone! Today we wanted to highlight one of our students who graduated from the program and went on to start a successful career. Following the completion of her senior four year(equivalent to the U.S.’s 10th grade), Joy decided to enroll in U-TOUCH’s Women’s Empowerment Program, searching to better her self-confidence and learn new skills to help her find employment. Since she had no funding to continue her education, and had a child to ra...ise with no support, Joy was in a hopeless and desperate situation. She had to find a long-term solution that would aid both her and her child in providing for themselves and being able to afford necessities such as nutritious food, medical care, and education. Shortly after completing the program and earning her U-TOUCH certification, Joy felt empowered to plan out her own business with her new-found confidence and set of business skills. She’s now the proud owner of a chapatti making business, and is able to sustain her family’s needs, including extended family, with the income she earns. With help from U-TOUCH, Joy found an opportunity to better her life and chase her dreams of becoming a fortuitous entrepreneur. Because young women, such as Joy, are vulnerable and lack the skills for self-sustaining jobs outside of the traditional maternal role, it’s vital we educate them so as to give them the tools necessary to transform their lives independently. U-TOUCH gives these women a chance to learn how to prosper from their hardships and become self-reliant so they can empower their communities and change their lives. As Michelle Obama said it best, There’s no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish! #Utouch #utouchtheworld #MichelleObama #Obama #Uganda #Women #wednesday #developingcountry #independence #inspire #tech #skills #business #womeninbusiness #femaleleadership #womensempowerment #utouchtheworld #utouch #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #medicalcare #entreprenuer #genderroles See more

Happy Monday everyone! Today we wanted to talk about why youth employment matters in developing countries. In a nation filled with influxes of refugees from bordering countries that experience socio-political and military conflicts, 48% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 15. This leaves the large community of the youth to care for themselves and figure out a way to survive the harsh conditions they live in. A huge problem they face is a lack of resources, such as clea...n drinking water, and access to electricity, health care, and education. All of these problems lead to bigger issues: diseases, early child marriage, and children populating the streets. This furthers the cycle of poverty, passing this burden down to future generations who have no option but to conform to traditional culture and carry on the arduous tasks of providing for their families. Because Uganda lags developmentally behind the rest of the world due to the results of more than 20 years of war, it’s important we educate the youth to help them from falling below the poverty line. With a lack of finances and resources, many of the children are unable to continue their education past Primary school, causing them to fall into that cycle of poverty. We here at U-TOUCH provide a community where these disadvantaged people(orphans, single mothers, and school drop-outs)are able to transform their futures through our sponsorships. With our extensive month-long curriculum, students acquire business, job, and ICT skills which enable them to start and manage small businesses, reducing the poverty rates through the income they earn. With their U-TOUCH certification, they become more attractive candidates to employ, increasing their chances of finding a good paying, safe job that will help them support their families. This effect on the economy is called a demographic dividend:the economic growth that occurs when a population shifts from one with many dependents and few working-age people to one of many working-age people with less dependents. To ensure this dividend continues to expand, countries must invest in the education of their youth. To guarantee a change in the course of the future of Uganda, we must support the youth and give them the necessary tools to succeed, empowering future generations. As Ben Franklin said it best, An investment in knowledge pays the best interest! #utouch #utouchtheworld #africa #uganda #poverty #Education #outofpoverty #developingcountries #careereducation #family #ICT #skills #youth #children #resources #demographics #knowledge #monday See more

Happy #womensempowermentwednesday everyone! For today’s topic, we wanted to start a conversation on a difficult and sensitive issue that is prominent in Uganda: violence against women and girls. Gender based violence (GBV) is a widespread concern many women and girls face in developing countries, particularly those where women are outnumbered in the work force and primarily partake in fulfilling traditional roles. According to a Uganda Demograohic and Health Survey, 56% of wo...men ages 15 to 29 have experienced physical violence and 28% of women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. With the prominent gender-based discrimination women face daily, it’s vital we give them the powerful tool of education to prepare them for a bright future where they rely solely on themselves for financial needs and can be fully independent. Here at U-TOUCH, we implement STEM education through our rigorous curriculum in our Women’s Empowerment Program so women and girls can learn the skills needed to participate in the current digital economy. Through our program, our students not only improve their financial agency and self-sufficiency, but they inspire others in their communities to do the same. One woman at a time, we can shape the future of what it means to be successful in a male-dominated sector. One story we’re proud to share is that of Brenda’s. Before joining our WEP, Brenda was a housewife who solely relied on her husband for basic needs. After completing our program and earning her U-TOUCH certification, she was fortified with self-confidence and, with her new business, leadership, and technological skills, started her own business: a fruit and vegetable shop. Brenda is now able to support her family with her highly successful business, and has broken many gender-based barriers to get her where she is today. With your help, and our amazing instructors in Uganda, we’re able to inspire and empower future generations of little girls to challenge norms and harmful misogynistic messages in Ugandan society. Little girls with dreams become women with vision! #genderbasedviolence #Uganda #Women #wednesday #developingcountry #independence #STEM #economy #inspire #tech #skills #business #womeninbusiness #femaleleadership #womensempowerment #utouchtheworld #utouch #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #opportunity #publiceducationmatters See more

Happy Monday everyone! Today we wanted to talk about our donation process and how each donation makes an impact. One way donations are used is to fund the educational sponsorship for orphans through our Sponsored Student’s program, something which U-TOUCH has been doing since 2006. Currently, we are funding early childhood education through high school, university, and graduate level educational programs. The students who participate in our Sponsored Students program work tow...ards earning their degrees so they can move forward with finding employment with their new-found confidence and skills. The jobs they work in range from a wide variety-physicians, lawyers, veterinarians, doctors, computer scientists, and social workers. A second way we use donations is to fund IT sponsorships. In our IT program, students gain hard skills that include Microsoft Digital Curriculum educational programs, as well as soft skills that include life, leadership, and vocational skills. With the help of donations, U-TOUCH is able to fund 30 students per class, giving them an opportunity to learn technical expertise so as to give them a competitive edge for employment with their U-TOUCH certification. The students are placed in a highly competitive position for being selected for a job given their highly regarded rigorous U-TOUCH education. The training also enables the graduates to advance their IT training at U-TOUCH. They can take our online advanced training classes and become independently self-employed with the ability to work online. Lastly, we use donations to fund our Women’s Empowerment Program. Similarly to our other two programs, we sponsor women who are in tough financial situations and lack the knowledge to plan a successful career path. For this program, we are able to sponsor 50 students per class. We also provide WEP business grants for the top four women in each class who write the best Business Plans and can demonstrate the appropriate steps toward developing their new business, becoming successful entrepreneurs. Every donation truly makes a difference in the lives of those who need it the most. You can change the course of a child’s life, giving them an opportunity for an education that will shape their future, allowing them to put their siblings in school, creating a ripple effect. We appreciate all of your kindness and hope together we can make the world a better place. The lives you change are the lives U-TOUCH! #sponsoredstudentspotlight #utouchtheworld #utouch #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #womeninbusiness #learn #technology #poverty #developingcountries #monday #donate #education #IT #microsoft #careers #womensempowerment #entrepreneurs #business #children #betterfuture #kindness See more

Happy #womensempowermentwednesday everyone! Today we wanted to focus on the importance of entrepreneurship and how it contributes to the social and economic development of a country. Here at U-TOUCH, our three programs offer training in ICT, vocational, life, and entrepreneurship skills that encourage the youth to formulate their own business plans and create their own career. By being their own employers, they not only create jobs for those in their communities, but increase... competition and productivity, generating foreign income and alleviating poverty. A reduction in unemployment rates stimulates the economy while simultaneously increasing the living standards and quality of life for millions of Ugandans. All of these factors contribute to a better national income in the form of a higher tax revenue and government spending. One entrepreneur that we are proud of and would like to highlight is Annet; an opportunistic and self-made young woman. When Annet graduated from our ICT training program, she developed a plan to open her very own auto mechanic shop in Mbale. With the help of the skills she gained from our program and the support from U-TOUCH trainers, Annet opened her shop. Now all auto mechanics in Mbale come to her for parts and any other needs they have for their businesses. We are proud to see Annet successfully run a business that is typically seen as a male-dominated role while encouraging other women in her community to start their own businesses and go after their dreams. She is able to support her parents and siblings’ needs (food, education, health care )while helping her community grow with her strong business skills from U-TOUCH. As Anne Sweeney said it best, Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live! #utouchtheworld #utouch #womensempowerment #women #wednesday #family #charity #education #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #womeninbusiness #outofpoverty #learn #teach #tech #skills #technology #poverty #developingcountries #automechanics #femalebusinesses #economy #ICT #community See more

Happy Monday everyone! For today’s post, we wanted to touch on a delicate and complex topic: child marriage. In Uganda, it’s not uncommon to see girls getting married as early as 15 and uprooting their lives to go provide for their husbands. Other than traditional and social norms, there are many factors that contribute to driving child marriage: many include a lack of education and basic needs, displacement, adolescent pregnancy, and poverty. According to a UNICEF study, 40%... of girls in Uganda are married before their 18th birthday, and one in ten is married before the age of 15. Uganda not only has the 16th highest rate of child marriage in the world, but is also the tenth highest absolute number of child brides globally. Due to ongoing traditional customs, it’s difficult to prevent child marriage without the much needed resources these young women are lacking. Though this issue is wide scale and multiplex, there is one solution that is powerful and vital in ending child marriage: education. We here at U-TOUCH believe it is our duty to combat the exploitation of child marriage by educating the youth and encouraging young women to create their own future, one without the burden of marriage. By placing young women in our educational programs, such as the Women’s Empowerment, Sponsored Student’s, and IT programs, we are preventing child marriage one woman at a time. One success story we would like to share is that of Goretty. Born the eldest of three children, Goretty experienced war and poverty at the early stages of childhood. At age 9, she lost both her parents and had to care for her younger brothers by acting as a maternal figure and taking over a leadership role. For many years, Goretty struggled to salvage food and seek shelter for her family, causing her to lose hope and succumb to the effects of poverty. Thankfully, her grandmother started taking care of her family, and gave the children firewood to sell so that they could pay for the continuation of their education. Soon after, Goretty started training in U-TOUCH’s Sponsored Student’s Program, where she gained IT, life, and vocational skills to aid her in creating a bright future for herself. She is currently studying to become a early childhood education teacher so as to give back to her community and combat the increase in child marriage in her country. U-TOUCH believes education is a precious gift that can change the course of the lives of the youth, and with your support we will continue to fight child marriage and educate the women of Uganda! #utouchtheworld #utouch #womensempowerment #women #monday #family #charity #education #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #womeninbusiness #learn #teach #tech #skills #technology #internetaccess #poverty #developingcountries #community #IT #childmarriage #children #orphan #marriage #future #Uganda See more

Happy #womensempowermentwednesday everyone! Today we wanted to share the success story of one of our most dedicated and hardworking U-TOUCH instructors: Ketty. Ketty was born to a family of five children in the Mbale district where her father was killed in the army and her mother poisoned herself due to hopeless circumstances her family was in. Soon after, Ketty’s four siblings died due to malnutrition and malaria, leaving a 6 year-old orphan to fend for herself. Later on, Ke...tty’s Aunt took her in and acted as a maternal figure to her for years to come, putting her through education up until high school. Because she didn’t have the financial means to further her studies, Ketty lost hope for her future and dreams, putting her in a dark place. This is when U-TOUCH stepped in to offer Ketty a chance at achieving her dreams and furthering her education with the aid of funds from La Jolla High. She’s currently completing her Bachelor Degree in social work and social administration, and has gone on to change the lives of thousands of youth, uplifting them with the skills she learned through our WEP and ICT Program. Ketty has helped many of her students become employed, empowering women so they can become confident and take leadership positions in their communities-examples include medicine, teaching, and government jobs. She has trained women in her class to share what they’ve learned so as to impact communities on a wider scale, greatly reducing gender based violence and early child marriage. Ketty has two children, a boy and a girl whose education she supports with the help of LJHS and Muirlands Middle School. She is one of many amazing students who have unlocked their inner potential to help impact the lives of those in her community, and we are proud of all she’s done! We rise by uplifting others! The photo shows Ketty with her son Elvis. #utouchtheworld #utouch #womensempowerment #women #wednesday #family #charity #education #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #womeninbusiness #outofpoverty #learn #teach #outofpoverty #tech #skills #technology #internetaccess #poverty #developingcountries #community #IT #ICT #WEP

Happy Monday everyone! Today we wanted to talk about the different programs we offer here at U-TOUCH. As you’ve most likely seen with our previous posts, we offer three programs in Uganda:Women’s Empowerment Program, ICT Program, and Sponsored Students Program. In these month-long intensive programs our students are equipped with various skills through our certified curriculum to help them thrive in their communities. When they complete the program, we help them find employme...nt, start businesses, and utilize their new found skills so they can transform their lives and create a better future for their families. Our goal is to allow our graduates to end the cycle of poverty experienced in their country and help improve Uganda’s socio-economic status so as to bridge the gap between developing and industrialized nations. With our abundance of success stories, we have seen time and time again how our sustainable and multiplicative scalable model has impacted many lives by introducing them to the digital world and instilling hope in the hopeless. They are able to provide nutrition, education, shelter, and health care for their families while empowering their fellow community members. With your help, we are able to touch the lives of wonderful and bright men and women, and change the course of the future for Uganda! #utouchtheworld #utouch #monday #charity #education #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #everychildmatters #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #educationispower #womeninbusiness #outofpoverty #learn #learning #teach #outofpoverty #tech #technology #internetaccess #poverty #developingcountries #IT #skills #ICT #family See more

For today’s #sponsoredstudentfriday we want to start a discussion on a tool that is immensely valuable to the students in our Sponsored Students Program: technology. With the rate at which modern technology is consumed in today’s world, oftentimes we dismiss its value and overlook the major role it plays in our lives. Technological applications such as Google, Facebook, and Viber allow us to search information and communicate with others through the tap of a finger. Though it... has become an everyday routine for us to scroll endlessly through social media and look up anything we wish to, it’s not so common for people in developing countries to have internet access. In fact, as reported in March of 2020, only 42% of Uganda’s population has access to the internet, meaning 19 out of 44.5 million people. Why is it important for developing countries to have access to the internet? There are many benefits to accessing the internet, such as lifting individuals out of poverty, increasing the ease of communication, and growing access to education that allows these countries to develop their socio-economic status. Thus, it is crucial we provide our Sponsored Students with access to the internet so they can learn IT skills, search topics, and stay connected to the modern world. As we participate in Zoom meetings and stay posted on the latest news, remember how Technology is best when it brings people together. #sponsoredstudentspotlight #utouchtheworld #utouch #sponsoredstudent #charity #education #africa #dreams #student #school #careereducation #blackcommunity #friday #everychildmatters #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #educationispower #womeninbusiness #outofpoverty #learn #learning #teach #outofpoverty #tech #technology #internetaccess #poverty #developingcountries #IT #skills See more

Happy Wednesday everyone! For this week’s #womensempowermentwednesday we wanted to highlight the importance of education and the role it plays in the lives of the women who partake in our Women’s Empowerment Program. In Africa, women are seen as the backbone: bearing children, caring for their families, working the garden, and walking for hours to collect water. Much of the time they are overlooked and dismissed in value, causing them to fulfill traditional roles and never go... beyond the realm of being the caretaker. With our WEP, our graduates are able to redefine what it means to be a successful woman and break down the barriers of gender roles with their education and new set of skills. After graduating from the program and earning certification, these women go on to start businesses, gain employment, and enrich their communities-changing their lives and empowering their fellow women. As the well-known African proverb says, If you educate a woman, you educate a nation! https://u-touch.org/ #womensempowerment #utouchtheworld #utouch t #charity #education #africa #womenseducation #dreams #school #careereducation #women #womenempowerment #kids #pupils #blackcommunity #friday #everychildmatters #opportunity #publiceducationmatters #educationispower #womeninbusiness #outofpoverty #learn #learning #teach #teachersofinstagram #blackwomen