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African development action with informed and engaged societies
Soul Beat Africa
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Gulu Youth for Action (GYFA)

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Gulu Youth for Action (GYFA) is a youth-led non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to increase awareness and communication about reproductive health problems and gender-based violence, as well as to support girls' education. GYFA works with internally displaced adolescents in the district of Gulu in northern Uganda. Using a rights-based approach, GYFA collaborates with local health, education and human rights bodies and government officials and NGOs and involves youth through education meetings and discussions, radio presentations, and drama. One of their main objectives is to see youth as leaders and not victims who should have ownership in addressing youth concerns.
Communication Strategies

GYFA is a youth-led organisation (the key leadership is in their early 20s) that was formed to help youth who had been displaced due to the conflict that began in 1986 between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. The organisation was identified by Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children through a participatory study it conducted in northern Uganda in 2001 in which young people interviewed their peers about the concerns of youth. Through this study, youth were trained in survey methodology and data analysis, and learned to advocate on the issues that were identified by their peers such as desire for education, jobs and health care. After the study, the young researchers founded GYFA to focus attention on the needs of adolescents/youth displaced by the conflict.

GYFA promotes community participation in development activities to ensure sustainability, community ownership and trust in leadership. GYFA has undertaken youth-led human rights and conflict transformation monitoring and advocacy efforts as well as HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence prevention programmes among young people in the several internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and throughout Paicho Sub-County. GYFA has spoken at the United Nations about youth participation and rights during armed conflict. They are a key youth member of the NGO Forum sponsored by DANIDA in Gulu.

Development Issues

Youth, Children, Conflict, Education, Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS.

Key Points

GYFA hopes that, through its work, adolescents will know how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS, and know where to go for prevention information, condoms, counseling and treatment. More centrally, GYFA wants the community to realise that they have fundamental roles and responsibilities in providing and demanding quality reproductive health services by utilising their local human resources.

GYFA aims to address young people’s concerns about inadequate health facilities, lack of education, poverty, insecurity and widespread human rights violations as a result of the 20-year insurgency in conflict-ridden northern Uganda.

Partners

Save the Children Uganda, American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Former partner:
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.

Sources

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) website on May 20 2005; email from Matthew Emry of AJWS to The Communication Initiative on August 8 2006; and email from Ochora Emmanuel Lagedo of GYFA to The Communication Initiative on August 10 2006.