PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U)

About us

PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U) is a community rooted children, youth, women and elderly focused non governmental organization that utilizes a whole community approach model to empower communities. PELI-U works through a Community Library and Empowerment Center which serves as a one stop point center through which in and out of school youth, children, women and other community members access information, education materials, reading space, vocational, technical and soft skills development training opportunities, Sexual Reproductive Health/SRH/HIV/AIDS education/information and linkage to health services.
PELI-U started in 2003 as a school exchange program between teachers and students of two (2) urban schools and one (1) rural school providing a platform for vulnerable students to speak out on sexual reproductive health/HIV/AIDS challenges/issues. As a result of the experience attained, PELI-U was transformed into an NGO in 2006. PELI-U has a Head Office in Nakawa Division, Kampala District and a Field office in Nyarushanje Subcounty, Rukungiri District.

Our Vision
A conducive and supportive environment for children and youth to thrive

Our Mission
To set up and strengthen community based structures that address the basic needs of children and youth in education, health and social economic empowerment in Uganda

Program areas
PELI-U focuses on three program areas that is education, socio-economic empowerment and sexual reproductive health/HIV/AIDS.
• Education Program: Under this strand, PELI-U focuses on community driven sustainable reading initiatives, cultural preservation, sports and recreation. PELI-U works to ensure that a culture of literacy is promoted in households, schools and communities. Households are supported to set up reading spaces, allocate reading hours and parents are encouraged to support their children in reading activities. At the same time community-based satellite libraries are set up to ease access to reading materials to distant communities. Schools are encouraged to develop improvement plans that incorporate investment in reading, prioritization of reading through inclusion of a reading hour into the school schedule..
• Socio-economic empowerment Program: Under this strand, PELI-U works to ensure that Ugandan youths especially women have improved standard of living and quality of life. PELI-U provides skills training opportunities to women and youth in entrepreneurship, soft and job readiness skills for first year university students as well as vocational skills for out of school youths.
• Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH)/HIV/AIDS Education Program: Under this strand, PELI-U focuses on providing in and out of school youth with SRH/HIV/AIDS information and education to help them cope with SRH/HIV/AIDS related challenges and make informed decisions. PELI-U targets youth and women to implement several SRH/HIV/AIDS activities working closely with key stakeholders.

Ongoing Projects
• Library Scholar Reading Program supported by Pace Able Foundation focuses on promoting household based and school based reading promotion activities/interventions.The household based activities include weekly household reading sessions, provision of reading materials and household improvement activities. The school based activities include (library scholarship fund for primary 3 going children), school stakeholders dialogue sessions on literacy promotion, guiding schools on setting up functional libraries/reading spaces and lobby and advocacvy for a supportive environment for reading.
• Strengthening the Community Library and Empowerment Center Project: The project builds on the Nyarushanje Community Library and Empowerment Center Project that PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U) implemented from 2013-2018 with support from MISEREOR Germany. Through the project a one stop community based center was set up through which children, youth and community members access information, education services, vocational skills training, sexual reproductive health education and linkage to health service providers. Through the project 7 community based satellite libraries have been set up. Strengthening the Community Library and Empowerment Center project focuses on strengthening reading promotion activities implemented by PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U) through Nyarushanje Community Library and Empowerment Center. The project focuses on facilitating school reading outreaches, strengthening 8 community based satellite libraries, providing reading space and reading materials, organizing child reading activities (read and dance, read and play and Early Child Care and Development – ECCD event
• Skills Development and strengthening Production Units Project: This project focuses on providing soft and job readiness skills to first year University students and entreprenuership, vocational and technical skills training to Out of school youth in tailoring and multimedia crafts, catering, baking and housekeeping.
• Organizational Capacity Strengthening and Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Project focuses on strengthening the organizations capacity to provide quality services and scale up activities. This is done through staff capacity building, networking, partnership building and linking PELI-U to local and International partners, learning exchange visits, systems set up and operationalization. It also focuses on implementation of several SRH/HIV/AIDS activities working closely with key stakeholders. These include; SRH/HIV/AIDS sensitization sessions, an annual youth health camp, PELI-U also engages health service providers on youth friendly service provision and law enforcement personnel to create awareness on existing support structures and reporting path ways. PELI-U also train teachers and school administrators to provide a supportive environment.
• Get on Board with Campus Life: This is an annual event that targets first year University/tertiary institutions students and engages them in a series of discussions and dialogues to brainstorm and share information on the academic field, employability skills, community service and sexual reproductive health related issues, excelling at campus, financial management at campus, challenges at campus and positive styling up at campus.
• Inspire Readers Program supported by National Library of Uganda (NLU) in partnership with Book Aid International focuses on working with PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U)‘s Nyarushanje Community Library and Empowerment Center to work with 5 public primary schools to strengthen school based reading activities through provsion of book shelves, books and conducting reading outreaches.
• Teachers Capacity Building Project focuses on linking in-service teachers and providing them with training in participatory learner centered innovative teaching methods and Information Communication Technology, team content creation, leadership and community service.

Olivia Mugabirwe is the Founder and Executive Director of the PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.