Katwe is probably the biggest concentration of informal yet creative businesses in Uganda.
The Kampala suburb is always a beehive of activity of ghetto, educated and unemployed youth put their skills to work to create products that will put food on their tables.
With hope, the youth have innovated, created and survived at the backdrop of rising costs of living, poor working conditions and government crackdown on their informal businesses.
Their products, mostly metal fabrication products have provided cheap solutions to the housing challenges in the city and beyond.
No wonder, the hub was chosen by the Uganda Youth Network as the venue for the launch of their weeklong activities to mark the International Youth Day celebrations.
According to Sahara Akello, UYONET’s Advocacy Communication & Membership Manager, the informal sector has been the backbone of Uganda’s GDP but it rarely receives as much funding.
“That is why we decided to come here in Katwe where most of the youth craftmanship and ingenuity happens so we can involve the youth in our activities,” she said.
Although it is not a dedicated industrial park, the practicality used to create some of Kampala marvels cannot be dismissed.
It is not a town for the white-collar as most of the dwellers don dirty coveralls and don’t mind getting their hands dirty.
Bosco Ssempebwa, a mechanic who also runs his own auto mart (read spare parts shop) near Ngabo Youth Centre.
He currently employs six youth all of whom have trained at his workshop. For him, he has nothing but love for Katwe for creating an environment where he could put his skills to good use and “survive in the city.”
“I came to Kampala in 1996 with only Umoja slippers. Now I have a shop worth over shs50m and we are still growing,” he added.
Ssempebwa’s story is not different from that of Polly Kakooza, 26, who left his village in Kayunga to “look for bread” in Kampala.
“I used my village mates coming and in 2012, I decided to also come. It was hard at first but when I came to Katwe, I realized I could make saucepans from scrap metals of old cars. I got to work.”
Over time, hundreds of youth have flocked to the streets of Katwe each with a dream to create something that will outlast him.
The most memorable, yet overly ambitious creation that has come out of Katwe was a ‘helicopter’ that could not land although it could fly.
The engineers thought it was a good idea to tie its flaps with ropes and the result – a complete disaster.
For many, this was a failure but for the youth with no training in aerospace engineering and mechanics, it was a representation of how high their dreams could take them had they had proper funding, support, and specialised training.
The other perhaps most significant product of Katwe is Disney’s $15m blockbuster, Queen of Katwe featuring the slum’s own, Phiona Mutesi, a chess prodigy that rose through the ragtag kiosks to win at the world’s stage.
As Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate the International Youth Day on Sunday, August 12, 2018, the UYONET and cohort of other Civil society Organisations have urged government to create safe spaces for youth in the formal and informal sectors to showcase their creative and participate in governance and policy issues.
The CSOs will throughout the week hold several activities including countrywide dialogues, a health camp in Mpigi, a Youth Festival at Makerere University among other activities.