International Day of Living Together in Peace - Welding peaceful co-existence among youth of refugee and host communities in Northern Uganda

Abuyi Talibu, a 27-year old Ugandan, is a metal fabricator whose metal welding workshop is a hive of activity. A former trainee under the Support to Skilling Uganda (SSU) project, Abuyi now mentors other young trainees, including refugees in Yumbe district. 

In his own words, Abuyi is “a businessman, a trainer and an employer”.

71% of young people in the West Nile region of Uganda live in extreme poverty due to a high unemployment rate of 31%. The European Union Trust Fund supports the implementation of the Support to Skilling Strategy in Uganda. This project is based in Northern Uganda and is implemented by Enabel and the Ministry of Education and Sports. The project aims at sustainably improving food security, nutrition, and livelihoods of the refugee population. It focusses on access to skills development and entrepreneurship guidance and services for refugees and host communities in North-Western Uganda. So far, 1,187 youth, 60% of whom are refugees have been trained since the inception of the project.

“I like reaching out to the youth and helping them in any way I can because it is us the youth who are the future of our country” says Abuyi Talibu. “70% of the youth I have trained are refugees from South Sudan. I am very happy that I am now a mentor and I am helping to change the lives of young people like me through vocational skilling”, he explains. 

Training youth from different backgrounds can pose challenges, but 27-year old Ugandan Welder Abuyi Talibu relishes the opportunity of working with young people in vocational training. 

“All the trainees have been respectful of each other. I usually talk to them at the beginning of the trainings to emphasize why they are here and I encourage them to put any differences aside”, says Abuyi. He does not discriminate against the trainees based on their countries of origin. Instead, he focuses on the potential he sees in each of them and builds on it to empower them. He trains them to fabricate sliding doors and windows, tank stands and gates, among others. Abuyi earns 50,000shs (13$) per trainee per month.

Since the establishment of Excel Welding workshop, located along Koboko-Moyo road in Yumbe district in Northern Uganda, Abuyi has had the opportunity to train two cohorts of trainees. These are placed at his workshop as interns, by Edukans, an implementing partner under EU Trust Fund action. He was identified as a mentor due to his fast growing business and willingness to help others. He has so far mentored 16 youth, 11 of whom are refuges from neighboring South Sudan.

“I like reaching out to the youth and helping them in any way I can because it is us the youth who are the future of our country” Abuyi states.

Abuyi not only mentors interns, but he is also an employer. He currently employs four youths, one of whom is a refugee from Piriri camp who started off as an intern. “I retained him as an employee because he is hardworking and he has a positive attitude towards work.” Abuyi is committed to changing lives because he has also benefitted from the commitment of others who empowered him to own a business in Yumbe.

Yumbe district is one of the regions significantly affected by the influx of refugees, primarily from South Sudan. The district hosts multiple refugee settlements, including Bidibidi, which is one of the largest refugee settlements in the world.  Bidibidi alone accommodates close to 300,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled conflict and violence in their home country. Various NGOs, are actively involved in providing assistance and support to both refugees and host communities in Yumbe district. Efforts are focused on improving living conditions, providing education and vocational training opportunities, and promoting self-reliance among refugees.

Abuyi has a diverse clientele, many of whom are refugees. He says that he has established a good relationship with them, which has in turn expanded his market through word-of-mouth referrals. Having a large population of refugees in Yumbe is a good boost for Abuyi’s business, since refugees hosted in Uganda have the right to build. In Uganda, refugees cannot own land, as with all non-citizens. However, the Ugandan government allocates 50 square meters of land to each refugee family that arrives in Uganda to live and grow food. 

About his future plans, Abuyi says, “I want to register my company so that I can apply for larger contracts and attract more revenue.” Abuyi also wants to train and employ more youth, in order to curb the problem of drug addiction, which he has observed to be a problem among the idle youth within his community, especially in refugee settlements. He is grateful for the peaceful co-existence that he observes between the host community members and refugees in Yumbe, which have in turn helped his business to grow