Greetings!

I’m here to talk about youth and how Covid -19 has affected their livelihood. As an organization we have carried out a survey and found out that very many youths have been affected by Covid- 19. I sympathize, empathize and will rise with them throughout this period.

It is exactly one hundred and eight days ever since Uganda recorded her first Covid- 19 case. It was a sombre midnight when the government, through Dr. Ruth Aceng announced that the country had recorded her first case. Three months since then and the youths who are substantially vulnerable have not yet recovered from the pandemic that has sent shivers all over the world. Although by being the majority it also directly implies being the most affected, little has been done to shield them from the bewilderment predicament.
Day by day, night by night they rode their bodabodas, tilled their land, retailed, fumigated, slashed, drew or wrote, to mention but a few. They are unable to continue due to the impact of the epidemic. Bodabodas, the most efficient means of transport for youths has since been temporarily banned because of their reasonably foreseeable risk towards government’s effort to curb the spread of the pandemic. Saloons, bars, taxis, arcades and shopping malls have either not been functional or have been partially functional. With two families to feed, most youths have been left in indifference since they lack experience in tackling such problems. Most of them are closing down their shops, and have used up all their savings on food.

Creative Youth Agency carried a survey to find out the impact of COVI D-19 on SMEs run by the youth. 95% of youth businesses were affected by this pandemic. As an organisation, we have come up with creative solutions to help the youth recover from the pandemic and also have resilient businesses to sustain any unforeseen circumstances including pandemics, economic recessions etc.