News from projects

Getting Connected in Uganda

50% of the population of Uganda are under 15 years old! So when I was lucky enough to visit a small community outside Kampala there were a lot of young people in single parent families and many without parents at all.

The small charity I went with runs a school and an orphanage, alongside a Christian Church. Although I am not part of the church I was hoping that my youth work and training background could be used to enable some young people to recognise the value of youth work interventions in the lives of other young people.

This combination allowed me to meet regularly with a group of 16 to 19 year olds. They rarely get the opportunity to discuss the issues that they encounter in their lives, and if they do, it often has a Christian bias. I first went out in January 2005, followed with another visit of two weeks in January 2006. This year I consciously took the Getting Connected framework, which I knew was a very good tool for opening and stimulating debate. Unfortunately, resources like paper, pens, markers and magazines etc are almost non- existent in Uganda, so the group work was, quite literally, just open discussion with the help of a chalk board.

I actually used unit A, Learning Outcome 1, as a focus for discussion, to get the group to reflect on their lives so far, and Learning Outcome 2 with a view to raising their self esteem.

I also used the whole of unit C to review their beliefs and their thoughts on right and wrong. This was particularly fascinating in the light of their faith and their attitude to power, discipline and freedom.

Was it valuable? The young people turned up every day and the other members of the group I travelled with said that the young people told them that they enjoyed the sessions a lot, so possibly. Will it make difference? I’m not sure. However, I have left a Getting Connected ‘Guide’ with a very bright 19 year old girl who is going to try and introduce it into her school in collaboration with her head teacher. So, if I’m able to go next year, maybe I’ll be able to answer that question more objectively.

If I do go to Uganda next year I’ll at least be equipped with a pile of flipchart pads and markers. All donations gratefully accepted!

Andy Pudduck
Getting Connected – Wales and South West Co-ordinator

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In May 2005,  the Bridge Mentoring Project in Bridgend, South Wales, was awarded a medium sized Lottery Grant to fund a full-time Getting Connected Co-ordinator.

The application was based on the idea of Emotional Intelligence and used Getting Connected as the framework for the whole project with the use of volunteer mentors to support the work. They also made a point of not having too tight a set of learning outcomes so, whilst accreditation for Getting Connected units was the main focus for the project, they were able to set less finite outcomes by recording “significant progress” for those young people who, for whatever reason, don’t manage to complete a unit. The Project gets referrals from various voluntary organisations as well as Social Services.

The value of Getting Connected for the young people is that they can use their own interests as the focus for their work. One young man is clearing and making a garden of the back yard at the project, which is enabling him to complete unit H, Using Information, as he needs to do a lot of research into how it should be done and what plants and flowers are best suited for the area.

Already more than 10 young people have completed units ready for accreditation.

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Giulia Cowap is a Getting Connected course tutor at Macclesfield College:
“Not all students were able to achieve five units this year but everyone has completed something. Additionally, they have all achieved certificates in literacy and a variety of vocational areas. I am very proud of them all and please note too that they are all enrolled on further courses next year.

As a point of interest, one of last year’s Getting Connected students has completed an AVCE year and is now applying to Manchester University for a Foundation course in Computer Design. I feel this stands as a testament to the value of the Getting Connected course.”

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At Skegness Youth Centre in Lincolnshire, 13 young people recently received OCN accreditation for the Getting Connected unit ‘Using information’.

The group decided to research several issues that they felt were important. These topics included poverty, bullying, fair trade and global warming. To collect information they contacted national agencies as well as local businesses, schools and youth centres in the area. Part of the research included visiting local supermarkets to compare popularity and prices of fair trade produce.

To cover the unit criteria the group had to decide how to transmit their findings so they chose to contact the ‘Skegness Standard’ newspaper and together wrote a press release.

This project led to three young women within the group participating in a recent Getting Connected ‘Roadshow’ in Skegness Youth Centre where they shared their views and comments on the work they have been involved in and the Getting Connected programme itself.