Under the stewardship of its founding father Hon. Stephen Keddi, the KEDDI Foundation has partnered with Uganda Police to have the children and youths off Kampala streets. This is part of his ongoing campaign to redeem the social and economic life of ordinary people across the globe.
During several engagements, Hon. Keddi has been seen engaging hundreds of youths, enrolling them into mechanical and engineering workshops in different parts of Kampala- the capital. He has also rented several premises and spaces from where, street children are fed and nursed daily.
“To find a sustainable solution for the wellbeing of street kids, we have scouted some schools where they are going to be enrolled whereas the youths will be enrolled for technical studies especially in motor mechanics, hair dressing, tailoring and electrical engineering,” noted Hon. Keddi.
The campaign compliments efforts by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) of not only decongesting the city, but also restoring sanity. Whereas Ugandans are generally known as welcoming and hospitable people, the Kampala downtown streets were being seized by rogue elements, especially the youths to steal from unsuspecting pedestrians and motorists.
Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala metropolitan deputy police spokesperson lauded efforts by the KEDDI Foundation saying, it ha come at such a time when a multitude of delegates are flying into the country for several conferences and engagements.
“Among all the beautiful things that this country has got to offer, we cannot be seen to harbour street kids and thieving youths. This is a big opportunity for the youths and we encourage them to seize it because if they continue with errant tendencies, Police shall not hesitate to arrest and charge them in courts of law,” Owoyesigyire remarked.
Elvis Musiige, the head of research under KEDDI Foundation said, the pro-active move will go a long way in assisting security organs to prevent crime in urban centres. “When these youths are busy with a meaningful economic activity, they wont engage in dubious acts such as thieving and causing havoc in the city,” noted Musiige.
Over 500 ghetto youths and street children have so far been enrolled in this programme, which is expected to continue running with proper assessment. Keddi has so far injected $12m (over shs45b) in the programme.
Most of the youths have so far been enrolled at Kanyike youths killing center- Nansana’s based ghetto project aimed at skilling ghetto youth in mechanics, hairdressing, catering among others. “We hope to roll out this programme to other parts of the country including Northern, Western and Eastern Uganda,” Keddi stated.
About The Author
