Peliuannualreport2020 march5th2021(1)

1. ANNUAL
REPORT
20
20

2. Remarks from the Executive
Director
2020 was a year full of complexities and plenty of lessons. Covid-19
hit the world and changed the way we operate. We adopted to the new
world adjusted our programs and plans of action and learnt to work
remotely.
Our key strides include;
Under education program, at a time when schools remained closed
during the lockdown, our 12 community based libraries in Nyarushanje
Subcounty, Rukungiri District served as learning hubs and sources
of reading and learning materials. We registered 1,523 library users,
facilitated and guided household based reading activities in 107
households reaching 428 children at household level. We distributed
757 books (597 to households 160 to satellite libraries). We trained
5 Headteachers and 10 primary school teachers in reading promotion
activities and mobilised and distributed 5 book shelves and 6,040 books
to 5 (five) rural primary schools. We trained 28 primary school teachers
in digital literacy and we are working with 12 primary school teachers to
create content in respective curriculum subjects
Through our health programs we focused on covid-19 prevention and
mitigation. We sensitized village health teams (VHTs), made liquid
soap and sanitizer which we distributed to the vulnerable community
members and key service providers. We held dialogue sessions with
health centers on youth friendly service provision and trained PELI-U
staff and volunteers in youth sexual reproductive health (SRH/HIV/
AIDS) education and services.
Under our socio-economic empowerment program, through the
tailoring training unit we made masks and distributed them to key
service providers and vulnerable community members.
We collaborated with the community leaders and Subcounty Covid-19
task force to extend services to the community members.
We extend our sincere thanks to our development partners, stakeholders
and the people we work with for standing with us.
Mugabirwe Olivia
Executive Director
i
Annual PELI-U Report 2020

3. ii
Table of
Contents
i Remarks from the Executive Director
1 Who we are
1 What We Do
2 Our Impact
3 Achievements
3 Challenges
3 Lessons learnt:
4 Remarks from PELI-U Secretariat Team
5 Remarks from a Parent
5 Remarks from a Volunteer Reading Facilitator
5 The PELI-U Team
7 Our partners
Annual PELI-U Report 2020

4. 1
Who we are
PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELIU) is a community rooted children, youth and women focused Non-
Governmental organization that empowers communities through the Community Library and Empowerment
Center Model. PELI-U has a Coordination Office in Kawempe Division, Kampala and a Field Office in
Nyarushanje Subcounty, Rukungiri District.
What We Do
PELI-U follows three pathways in order to achieve its vision and mission.
1. PELI-U works to ensure that Ugandan youth and women have improved standards of living
and quality of life. PELI-U provides vocational, technical skills and entrepreneurship training
to youth and women. Youth and women are linked to employers and provided with career
guidance, internship opportunities.
2. Community members live healthier and more productive lives. PELI-U provides sexual
reproductive health/HIV/AIDS education sessions for youth and children, organizes annual
youth health camp, dialogue sessions between youth and health service providers, lobbies and
advocates for youth friendly healthy services in health centers.
3. PELI-U contributes to provision of quality education and works to ensure that Schools
and teachers Integrate ICT in teaching and learning and a culture of literacy is promoted
in households, schools and communities. PELI-U facilitates the setting up of community
libraries, household-based reading activities, provides reading materials, trains teachers and
school administrators on importance of reading and setting up of reading spaces. We empower
parents and care takers to facilitate children’s reading sessions, lobby and advocate for a
supportive reading environment in schools and communities.
Annual PELI-U Report 2020
Our Vision
A conducive and supportive
environment for children, youth
and women to thrive
Our Mission
To establish and strengthen community
based structures that respond to the basic
needs of children, youth and women in
education, health and socio-economic
empowerment in Uganda
Our core values
a) Whole Community Approach
b) Team work
c) Commitment to serve
d) Participation of the people we work with

5. 2
Education:
Socio-economic empowerment:
PELI-U implemented multiple literacy improvement
and promotion activities in a bid to contribute to the
improvement of learning outcomes and rejuvenating a
reading culture in Uganda. PELI-U has 12 community
based libraries. We registered 1,540 library users,
facilitated and guided household based reading
activities in 107 households reaching 428 children at
household level. We distributed 757 books (597 to
Through the skills development
unit we made 3,175 masks,
produced1,900litresofliquidsoap
and 217 litres of hand sanitizer
which we distributed to key
service providers such as District
task force, health center workers,
Village Health Teams (VHTs),
Subcounty administration, staff,
police, prisons unit, bodaboda
riders, religious institutions, shops
keepers and other vulnerable
community members.
Health:
We continue to work to ensure that youth, women and community members
live a healthier and productive life. Through our health programs we
focused on covid-19 prevention and mitigation. We sensitized 60 village
health teams (VHTs) on Covid-19 prevention and mitigation and produced
information, education and communication (IEC) materials in English and
Rukiga-Runyankore. We provided 300 bars of washing soap to vulnerable
households and set up 300 tippy taps hand washing points in households and
common community meeting points (trading centers, health center, schools,
markets and churches) for improved hygiene. 200 households were provided
with essential commodities (food stuffs, rice, maize meal, beans, sugar).
We held dialogue sessions with 2 health centers on youth friendly service
provision and trained 24 PELI-U team members and volunteers in youth
sexual reproductive health (SRH/HIV/AIDS) education and services.
Digital literacy for teachers Household based reading session
Outreach to Subcounty Council Outreach to Rukungiri District
Tippy Tap hand washing point
Our Impact
Amidst the Covid-19 crisis we utilised the community library and empowerment center model to implement
program activities in education, socio-economic empowerment and Health.
households 160 to satellite libraries). We trained
5 Headteachers and 10 primary school teachers
in reading promotion activities and mobilised
and distributed 5 book shelves and 6,040 books
to 5 (five) rural primary schools. We trained 28
primary school teachers in digital literacy and we
are working with 12 primary school teachers to
create content in respective curriculum subjects.

6. 3
Sustainability:
Our whole community approach and the community rooted library and empowerment center model helped
us to continue reaching out to the people we work with during the lock down period. We guided and empow-
ered parents to facilitate household based reading and learning activities. A team of 12 community based
volunteer library coordinators continued to lend books through 12 community based libraries. Our strength-
ened relationship with community stakeholders enabled us to join and contribute to Covid-19 prevention and
mitigation measures.
Institutional Strengthening: We are focusing on building a strong institution as part of the sustainability
measure. Most of our staff worked remotely and we formed resource mobilization and leadership committees
that engaged in continuous dialogue on how to sustain the organization and survive the turbulent times.
Financial Milestones: PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U) managed to raise 451,379,883 Uganda Shillings
UGX (123,666$) as annual income for 2020 through donations and local income.
Achievements
We came to appreciate and utilise Information communication technology (ICT) like never before. Even
in a rural setting where previously most of our staff found excuse to dodge using technology, the staff
communicated and worked remotely utilizing zoom, whatsapp, telephones and emails.
We built the capacity of 28 rural primary school teachers in digital literacy and 12 of the teachers are
engaged in content creation in the four key curriculum subjects (mathematics, science, English and
social studies.
There is increased utilization of community based libraries as learning and reading points. Parents
borrow books for their children and take to households. 3 new villages provided space for a library and
got volunteers to operate the libraries.
Challenges
Loss of local income from the sale of tailoring production assorted bags due to closure of businesses.
A great percentage of PELI-U alumni have lost their jobs and businesses this calls for start-up capital
and low cost loans to enable alumni skills development trainees to rebuild their lives to start up small
enterprises/business.
Most of the children in the communities we serve do not have access to radios, televisions and internet
thus are not benefiting from remote learning.
Amidst the Covid-19 crisis we lost one of our volunteer staff Ahumuza Moses who was murdered in
August 2020. It was a terrible time for all of us dealing with grief as a team. We thank all those who stood
with us and supported us. May Moses’s soul rest in peace.
Lessons learnt:
Parents/care takers are an important intangible force that contributes greatly to children’s learning. Their
role in education has become clearer during the Covid-19 era. There is thus need to step up efforts to
empower parents to facilitate household based reading and learning activities.
Complexity of achieving organization sustainability through social enterprises during the post Covid-19
period bearing in mind the fact that most businesses have collapsed. There is need to rethink other
forms of sustainability.
Rural teachers, parents and households do not have accesses to internet, smart phones, radios and
televisions yet during this Covid-19 period remote learning is the ideal and safe learning platforms. This
keeps the rural learners at a disadvantage and lagging behind. This necessitates for practical measures
to reach children and learners in rural households and to expose rural teachers to ICT and work to
ensure they are able to integrate it in their day to day operations.
Annual PELI-U Report 2020

7. 4
Remarks from PELI-U Secretariat Team
Remarks from a Library Volunteer
Remarks from the Field Coordinator
Remarks from the Program Officer
I am Lilian Atuhaire working with PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U)
as a Library Volunteer. I joined PELI-U after completing high school
in 2019. Working in the community library has enabled me to have
access to reading materials which has improved my English
vocabulary. I have access to computers and internet while doing
library work which has improved my Information communication
technology skills and enabled me to follow up tertiary education
programs. Having a youth corner in the library which is equipped
with sexual reproductive health education information has helped me
to live healthier and informed about decision making. Through the
library I interact with many people including community members,
PELI-U Staff, children, teachers and pupils through the different
library activities hence creating more friends, learnt how to care for
children and people management skills. This work has kept me
busy and focused during my long school vacation which has been
prolonged further by the Covid-19 crisis. I have also learnt how to
make reports and work plans through making weekly reports and
sharing work plans in weekly meeting. I’m confident that when I join
University I will be prepared for tertiary education and I’m already
equipped with some of the skills that employers look out for and I’m
confident that getting a job after studies will be easy for me.
Working as Field Coordinator has given me the opportunity to work
closely with the parents, stakeholders, households, schools and
community members. I now have a better understanding of the real
challenges and issues that communities face. Community members
can contribute greatly in providing solutions to the problems they
face thus the need to involve them and collaborate with them for all
interventions that aim at community development. Through the work
that we do my communication and leadership skills have improved. I
have learnt how to handle children and youth in view of their varying
needs.
Natukunda Moneck
My name is Evas Nimusiima Program Officer - Library Scholar
Reading Program. I have learnt that the poor standards of living of
in the households of our scholars affect their reading capacity. There
is need to create a supportive environment to facilitate household
based reading and learning activities. I have also learnt that parents
have a great role to play in supporting the reading and learning of
their children. The Covid-19 lockdown strengthened our interaction
with parents/care takers to support reading and learning through
phone calls and onsite visits at a time we could not hold sessions in
homes.
Annual PELI-U Report 2020

8. 5
Remarks from a Volunteer Reading
Facilitator
Remarks from a Parent
“ My name is Sheila Ahumuza a Primary School teacher and a
Volunteer Reading Facilitator of Ibanda Parish. I facilitate weekly
household based reading sessions during which parents and
children participate in the reading hour. I have acquired new skills of
teaching children how to read and developed more love for reading.
I have learnt how to cater for individual differences and learnt more
about the household environment and how it affects learning. I’m
using the new lessons and skills in my teaching career”.
“ The reading program has helped me to be more organised in
my home. I never used to mind about where my children’s books
and reading materials were kept but now we have a book shelf a a
reading table and chairs which we use for reading. I now spare time
every Sunday afternoon and sometimes after supper to sit with the
children as they read. Reading is now part of my family’s program.
I have also learnt how to write my name through reading with my
children. Hygiene and sanitation in my home has also improved
as a result of the teaching I get from the reading facilitators who
emphasize the importance of good hygiene”. Agypt Owembabazi,
Parent.
The PELI-U Team
Executive Board
S/N NAME PROFESSION DESIGNATION
1. Dr. Kibuuka Peregrine Senior Education Administrator Chairperson
2. Asinguza Eunice Lawyer Vice Chairperson
3. Mugabirwe Olivia Educator & Community Development Activist Secretary
4. Barusya Aggrey Journalist Member
5. Tumuhairwe Addy Accountant Treasurer
6. Kengingo Viola Quantity Surveyor Member
7. Tumukwasibwe Jovita Business Statistician Member
Annual PELI-U Report 2020

9. 6
Coordination Office Team
Field Office Team
VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY BASED READING FACILITATORS
S/N NAME POSITION
1. Mugabirwe Olivia Executive Director
2. Namono Janet Administrative Officer & Finance Manager
3. Bizoza Francis Volunteer (Teacher Capacity Building)
4. Alinda Bennett Francis Xavier Volunteer (Get on Board with Campus Life)
S/N NAMES PARISH
1 Rukundo Allen Nyabushenyi
2 Atucungwire Prima Bwanga
3 Ampumuza Sheila Ibanda
4 Akankwasa Scovia Kisiizi
S/N NAME POSITION
1. Natukunda Moneck Field Coordinator
2. Atuhaire Patience Field Accountant
3. Nimusiima Evas Library Scholar Reading Program Officer
4. Owaruhanga Faith Mary Volunteer Tailoring Production
5. Akampurira Augustine Volunteer Tailoring Trainer
6. Kyarisiima Christine Volunteer Tailoring Production
7. Saturday Crispus Volunteer Tailoring Production
8. Rukundo Smith Volunteer Tailoring Training / Production
9. Kyomuhangi Margret Emily Child Care Taker/Cleaner
10. Niwamanya Apollo Volunteer Catering, Baking and House Keeping
Annual PELI-U Report 2020

10. Annual PELI-U Report 2020
7
OUR PARTNERS
We are grateful and appreciate the support and guidance from our partners

11. CONTACT US
PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U)
P.O. BOX 34625, Kampala, Uganda
www.peli-u.org peerlinkinitiative2017@gmail.com
peerlinkinitiative
+256-782-728243 / +256-392003194
Field Office: Ibanda Parish, Nyarushanje Subcounty, Rubabo County Rukungiri District
Coordination Office: Kisaasi-Kyanja Road, The Village, Kanisa zone, Kikaaya parish,
Kawempe Division, Kampala.