ABOUT SCOUTING
 

SCOUTING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
 
 
Uganda like many other countries is still faced with youth unemployment, violation of children's rights, poverty, high school drop-out rates and gender based violence and many others. The youth are threatened by pandemic diseases i.e. HIV and AIDS; drug abuse and many of them have found themselves in difficult circumstances especially on streets without basic needs i.e. food, shelter, clothing and lack of education. Unfortunately a lot of financial resources both from Government and Development Partners have been spent to address these challenges but the impact is not commensurate to the investment and yet the beneficiaries i.e the children, youth and mothers do not have a platform to raise their voices or sadly have resigned to doing nothing. This calls for the need to wake-up the community and involve young people more in the affairs that affect them.

Youth involvement and participation is very important because young people have the right to be involved and to have their voice heard in decisions that will affect them. Participation is a fundamental right of all people regardless of age.

Today, Uganda Scouts Association in partnership with UNICEF are giving young people opportunities to participate in improving the quality of life in their community and acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to become real agents of development through the uReport Social Monitoring system. uReport is a free SMS system that Scouts use to report on what is happening in their community by establishing a vibrant two-way flow of communication. Beyond finding out what is happening in communities, uReport is used to deliver vital information to the reporters to mobilize the community to take action on several issues such as hand washing with water and soap, use of treated insecticide mosquito nets

uReport aims to stir community based action through Social Monitoring and has given Scouts an opportunity to contribute daily towards creating a better world, to find ways to be constructive, and not to leave society to the care of others, when they themselves can be helpful. Every Scout commits to using their competencies to help others, to share their knowledge, and to improve community life. Through uReport, Scouts have the ability to speak out on issues in their communities that they care about.

uReport is made of:
  • Weekly FREE SMS messages and polls
  • Regulr radio programs that will broadcast stories Scouts and other people report
  • Newspaper articles about stories you report

The mission of a uReporter is:
  • Speak out on whats happening on your community
  • Use uReport results and information to update and increase citizen awareness
  • Participate in nationwide campaigns to help improve your country
  • Share whats happening around Uganda with other uReporters
Become a uReporter by simply texting “JOIN to 8500 ALL SMS are free!