UYO has grown from a self-help group to a community-based organization, from tailoring training to multiple apprenticeship training and livelihood programs.
Ubuntu Youth Organization (UYO) is a local Non-Profit refugee-led organization started by a group of refugees and Kenyans in Dagoretti south constituency as a self-help group in Nairobi Kenya. UYO started in February 2016 from the need presented by the harsh living conditions that urban refugees experience in their day-to-day lives. The organization realized that many young people and single mothers’ refugees and Kenyans aged 15 to 35 years are at risk of living without skills due to a lack of financial support. The term Ubuntu means “I am because we (you) are”, this gives us the confidence to empower others, to give them what we have, that is why we say “We are empowered to empower Others.”
UYO started at a tailoring shop as a small group of volunteers as a self-help group. We extended our programs in 2019 through seed grant support from Aid to Artisans.
Now we have expanded our programs to reach more young refugees and hosts living in urban areas. We loved being a refugee support network and we’re excited about continuing our story as Ubuntu Youth Organization (UYO).