Investigating a model for the economic empowerment of youth with disabilities in rural Uganda

This is a cohort study nested within a multi-year service delivery programme in which youth with disabilities are enrolled and provided with basic vocational skills training, equipped with start-up kits and actively linked to local businesses, entrepreneurs and financial institutions for financial services, internships and job opportunities.

It has been argued that increasing the employability and employment of young men and women with disabilities would enable them to gain a livelihood, lead dignified lives and contribute economically to their families and communities, but this proposition has yet to be tested in resource poor settings. This study sets out, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, to examine this proposition in rural Uganda.

In many developing countries, limited employment opportunities continue to undermine the ability of young women and men with disabilities to earn enough income and contribute economically to their families and communities. In collaboration with the Uganda Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda and Uganda National Union of the Blind, Sightsavers has been working in the Bunyoro sub-region of the country since 2012 to increase opportunities for employment and access to financial services for youth with disabilities.

Funded by the European Commission, the programme sets out to provide these young people with basic vocational skills training, equip them with start-up kits and actively link them to local businesses and entrepreneurs for financial services, internships and job opportunities. The catchment area for these interventions has since been expanded to include the neighboring Acholi sub-region.

The nested research is documenting the experiences of project participants and their adult household members and discerning the effect of broader household and community social support and policy dynamics on the economic empowerment journey for the participating youth with disabilities.

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