About Us
Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS) is a youth-focused organization that seeks to promote the well-being of children and youth at community and national levels.
CLASS seeks to facilitate change for socio-economic well-being of children and youth with specific emphasis on; child development and child protection, youth economic empowerment and youth participation, enhancing social norm change and gender transformation, tackling climate change/global warming, and research.
CLASS is a youth-focused nongovernmental organization started by people of like-minded and zeal to do
charitable work in Uganda. It is incorporated with URSB (Registration Number: 80020002304277), legally
registered with Uganda National NGO Bureau (Registration Number: INDR156284736NB), Alebtong District Local
Government (Registration Number: ADLG/2020/147), Amugu Sub County Local Government (Registration Number:
ASLG/CBS/001/020) and affiliated to Lira NGO Forum (Registration Number: LF/NGO/LR/1310) with a permit
(Permit Number: NDP0004736NB) to operate nationwide and with certificate from Finance Intelligence
Authority of Uganda (Registration Number: FIA-14-001137).
CLASS is currently working in Alebtong
District since its inception in 2016 towards promoting the wellbeing of children and youth in the areas of
education, SRHR, WASH, Food and Nutrition, HIV/AIDS, SGBV, youth participation, youth economic empowerment
and climate change response.
Our Background
UBOS (2012/2013) study showed that 61.6% of the population in Alebtong District lives below the poverty line which is far higher than the national average at 19.7%. Poverty has many different dimensions, ranging from material well-being for example, nutrition, good health and education to lack of human rights, citizenship or social networks as a result of economic factors such as low income, lack of assets, access to markets or public services.
Given this background Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS) was established on 16th March 2016 as a
youth-focused non-profit making organization by people of like-mind and zeal to do charitable works
intended to enable the people improve their social and economic conditions and also contribute to national
development.
It involves actions taken to improve access to services and existing opportunities and
reduce disparities in the community, especially when the actions address the needs of the disadvantaged
and vulnerable populations, empowers communities, protects and promotes the rights of specified vulnerable
groups for social protection and gender responsive development.
Our Mission
To facilitate change for socio-economic well-being of children and youth.
Our Vision
A global centre for promoting the well-being of children and youth.
Core Values
- Respect for humanity
- Partnership
- Transparency and accountability
- Commitment to law and justice.
Thematic Areas Of Intervention
- Child development and child protection
- Youth economic Empowerment and Youth Participation
- Social Norm Change and Gender Transformation
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Research.
CLASS Main Objectives
- To be a lead voice for children and youth
- To give chance to children/youth to participate and contribute positive advocacy for child justice and wellbeing
- Sustainable conservation and protections of environment
- To promote access to education for vulnerable groups
- To support programs that increase access to safe, clean water and basic sanitation
- To mobilize and equip individuals on food security and nutrition
- To respond to disaster
- To promote sexual reproduction health and rights, and to tackle Sexual Gender Based Violence and HIV/AIDS.
Our Activities
- Health outreaches on young people's SRHR
- Champion of Change (CoC) training
- Intergenerational Dialogues
- Coalition advocacy meetings
- Vocational skill development training (Hairdressing, welding/metal work, Motorcycle mechanic, hotel management, Bakery and bread making)
- Life skills, entrepreneurship, climate change training.
CLASS Strategies
- Champion of change approach to challenge negative social and gender norms
- Partnership and networking
- Outreaches
- Advocacy and lobbying
- Skill development training.
Sustainable Development Goals
CLASS projects contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals;
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Good health and wellbeing
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Affordable and clean energy
- Climate Action.
Our Core Programs
CLASS has five major programs whose activities are aimed at achieving the organization's goals.
1. Child Development and Child Protection
We promote child development through maternal, neonatal and child health, education and nutrition and child protection through child rights training and advocacy, justice for children, safe spaces and actions against child labour, exploitation, torture and trafficking.
Learn More2. Youth Economic Empowerment and Youth Participation
We facilitate youth economic empowerment through our organization's Innovation Hub activities like vocational skill training and job linkages, business and enterprise development among others. And also promote youth participation through talent development, leadership development and many more.
Learn More3. Social Norm Change and Gender Transformation
We encourage social norm change and gender transformation though sexual reproductive health rights, intergenerational dialogues, disability inclusion and promotion of girls agency.
Learn More4. Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
We intervene on climate change by promoting climate change awareness through mentorship, training and events, green livelihoods, climate advocacy and coping strategies for example, use of clean energies like solar oven technology and energy saving cook stoves.
Learn More5. Research
We collect data from the community, and major public/private institutions like health facilities local government administrative units, schools etc. The data is usually analysed, disseminated and used to inform programming. Data collected through research projects and evaluations also stored. The data are stored in the database.
Our partners
CLASS believes in partnership to build, strengthen and institute better coordination mechanisms for greater impacts.
Our recent projects
Below are our most recent projects.
1. I Decide Project
Project Summary
- Project : I decide project
- Donor: Plan International
- Start time: 2022
- End time: 2025
- Status: Ongoing
Overall impact: Children and youth in all their diversity have the control over their bodies and future in a healthy, safe and supportive environment.
Innovation Hub
Innovation Hub is a safe space created for young people to build up their social skills and acquire employability skills. The model mainly focused on youth empowerment through personal development.
The Hub hinges on developing young people in Life skills, SRHR knowledge, employability skills and enterprise development (livelihood) skills with the goal of putting the youth in the driving seat of their lives to create solution for their problems. With the knowledge and skills gained at the hub, Children Adolescents and youth will be able to either get employed or create employment, and live a better life.
The Hub provides safe space for innovation, creativity and social interaction for the Children Adolescents and Youth. SRHR information and counseling usually provided at the hub through partners.
The main challenge Innovation hub deals with include Youth unemployment caused by lack of skills, lack of jobs, lack of job skills and poor life skills.
Specifically, the hub focuses on;
- Lack of livelihood (Green/vocational) skills to enable young people create enterprises and jobs for themselves
- Lack of business skills that makes the young people not start, manage and grow a business
- Poor life skills resulting into poor negotiation skills, poor interpersonal skills, fear and lack of innovativeness
- Lack of employability skills caused by inability to write applications and resumes that attract jobs
- Low uptake of SRHR services leading to adolescent (unplanned) pregnancy, unsafe abortion, STI and poor menstrual health management among others caused by lack of SRHR information and services and lack of Adolescent friendly space.
Champions of Change Clubs
CLASS adopted Champions of Change which is Plan International's wide strategy for promoting gender equality and social norm change through;
- Girls empowerment
- Boys engagement
- Peer-to-peer mobilisation
- Intergenerational dialogues.
Champions of Change is designed to work with existing youth networks and girls and boys clubs, or to support the creation of new ones where they do not exist in target communities, adjusting to specific cultural, social and economic realities.
2. Increasing access to improved AYFGR-SRHR services
Project Summary
- Project : Increasing access to improved AYFGR-SRHR services
- Donor: National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders Uganda
- Start time: 2023
- End time: 2023
- Status: Ongoing
There is poor access to Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) services among adolescent youth aged
10-24 years in Alebtong District. Only 20% of the health facilities are providing high quality SRHR
services in Alebtong District, (I decide project baseline 2022). The district HIV prevalence rate is
estimated at 5.7% against national rate of 7.3%. Infections especially among adolescent girls remain high
largely due to lack of/limited information on SRHR.
While youth friendly spaces have been created in
the different health centers these are often inadequately facilitated coupled with the poor attitude
exhibited by the health workers makes it more difficult for young people to protect themselves and seek
medical care.
Findings from the end line evaluation of Decide End Child Marriage project showed that
although 73.3% of the health facilities provide youth friendly services only 9 (60.6%) of the facilities
assessed had youth friendly corners.
Teenage pregnancy rate in Alebtong District stands at 25% (with
2,190) as of August 2021 (DHIS2, 2021). Teenage pregnancy remains a major social and health concern in
most parts of the district and it has far-reaching consequences that among others include, abortion,
macerated still birth and maternal mortality. Similarly, children born to teenage mothers are usually at
high risk of sickness and death as opposed to those born to adult mothers. Teenage pregnancy is also the
number one most cause of girl child school dropout.
Child marriage is a violation of article 16(2) of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which says “Marriage shall be entered into only with the
free and full consent of the intending spouses”. Unfortunately, most girls especially those living in
rural areas are forced into marriage by their parents. The Magnitude of Children 12-19 Years currently
being married in Alebtong District is at 5.28% with a total of 2,042 child marriages (DHIS2, 2021).
State and non -state actors have undertaken a number of measures to address teenage pregnancy and child marriages that have among others included; institution of policy frameworks to curb the vice such as the National Strategy on Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy.
Although the framework was disseminated to the different districts the realization of resources for its
implementation remained a challenge. It is up to each district to work out ways of allocating budget to
the implementation of the strategy. Government has also instituted the Sexuality Education framework that
seeks to create and overarching direction for responding to sexuality education for young people in formal
settings.
While the framework was passed few years ago, there is still need for CSOs to influence
other stakeholders such as the religious and cultural leaders to fully embrace it and influence government
to allocate resources for its roll out and implementation. There is also need to influence local
government to ensure that all the health centers have functioning youth friendly spaces.
It is upon this background that CLASS supports youth coalition members to hold state monitoring and accountability forums at Sub County and District levels with the aim of influencing Alebtong District to commit and provide adolescent youth friendly gender responsive SRHR services.
All the health centers in Alebtong District have functional Youth friendly spaces and are adequately facilitated to help in the provision of Adolescent Youth Friendly Gender Responsive SRHR services for example, Youth friendly spaces providing complete, accurate, and correct and age appropriate SRHR information among others.
3. Access to affordable clean energy
Project Summary
- Project : Access to affordable clean energy
- Donor: Enventure
- Start time: 2020
- End time: 2021
- Status: Successful
The focus of this energy project is to address the issues of accessibility and affordability of clean and environmentally friendly energy technologies for example, improved cook stoves, solar lamps and briquettes that are being used as alternatives to local energy technologies such as Kerosene lamps, three stone traditional method of cooking using wood fuel energies that have led to environmental pollution and health hazards.
CLASS brings those products closer to people living at the base of the pyramid/hard to reach areas and sell them at cheaper prices.
4. Decide End Child Marriage
Project Summary
- Project : Decide end child marriage
- Donor: Plan International
- Start time: 2018
- End time: 2021
- Status: Successful
The overall goal of decide end child marriage project is to ensure that Adolescent Boys and Girls aged 10-19 years from Lango and Acholi sub regions are protected against child marriage and empowered to enjoy their Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) in a violence free society that values girls.
Our progress
CLASS progress achieved.
Milestones Achieved;
- Increased knowledge on SRHR and gender equality among young people
- Increased access to youth friendly SRHR services among girls
- Children, youth and community members are now reporting and following up cases of Child and forced marriage, teenage pregnancy
- Increased access to clean reusable sanitary pads
- Trained Cultural and religious Leaders in SRHR, Gender equality and social norm change
- Clan leaders are actively creating awareness on harmful practices
- 107 marriages of teenage girls were stopped and rehabilitated and reintegrated in their families
- Increased knowledge on disability among community and health workers on how to handle Persons With Disabilities
- Strengthened the capacity of 26 youth coalitions formed at parish and sub-county level against negative social norms and child marriage
- Increased access to low cost and low carbon energy sources
- Increased participation of youth in democratic practices and process
- Through the VSLA activities, community members are building resilience shocks and stresses resulting from climate change impact
- Young people entering and remaining in gainful employment
- Climate actions being taken by the community members.
Support Us
Help us in our struggle to facilitate change for socioeconomic wellbeing of children and youth in Uganda by making a donation to our organization.
Our Team
Our professional and hardworking team.
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A versatile and dynamic professional with a successful background delivering substantial improvement in standards of community development. A competent strategist with the proven ability to influence policy and development to enable direct impact on children, youth and community development.
Developed strong project coordination and implementation skills, training, teamwork ability, improved cross-cultural and communication skills. He represented young people in Country Management Team (CMT) at Plan International as a national Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) member from 2015-2018.
Moses holds a bachelor of Public Administration and Management from Lira University. Currently Moses is the Executive Director for CLASS but also providing mentorship support to young people as National Champion of Change Trainer in various Plan International Uganda projects working with Champion of Change modules.
He is passionate about youth empowerment to foster self-reliance and sustainable life. -
Akello Nancy joined Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS) in 2022 and works as Program Manager. Nancy is a bachelor Degree holder in Public Administration from Gulu University with expertise in research and a data collection, data cleaning and data quality systems control in achieving the intended results.
Nancy continues to apply research and field operations and management in human rights advocacy, heath, income generation/ economic empowerment, education and conflict case management activities, have spent the last five (5) years in community and activity management while technically supporting the role out of activities, the skills gained have enabled Nancy conduct community services support, representation and managing relationships amongst partners and stakeholders with excellent writing and verbal communication skills.
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Awidi Sarah Michel, Account Assistant joined Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS) in October 2018 following the completion of her professional qualification. She was in charge managing sales and purchase ledger as well as collecting and allocating cash and sending statement for Barr youth ICT centre.
While with Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS), she is responsible for overseeing that purchase ledger invoices are posted and coded correctly.
She is also supporting CLASS with purchase, procurement and asset management related activities. She has been communicating with management to validate invoices and raised credit notes, instrumental in managing transactional records to support strategic management decision making.She also identified and reconciled over 150 million Uganda shillings and maintained full responsibility for the timely preparation of accounts and assessed the adequacy of CLASS internal controls.
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Innocent is an agriculturalist, a child protection advocate, a civic leader geared towards rural women and young people economic empowerment joined CLASS in 2022. He is a self-starter, analytical, hardworking and dedicated professional with stable personality who pays details to work and strong conceptualization skills
Four years professional experience as a child protection advocate/officer with various organizations in Uganda who works to empower vulnerable groups through SRHR, economic support and skilling of young people.
His current objective is to use the accumulated experience to serve and build capacity of others and also continue building the skills to meet development challenges effectively and sustainably.
Innocent holds bachelors in Agricultural and rural innovation from Makerere University Kampala. -
Obwogi Bosco is working as the Innovation Officer at Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS), he holds a bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Gulu University. Bosco is a hardworking, self-motivated and responsible with outgoing personality and excellent communication skills who enjoys challenges and seeking them through while remaining goo confident, and hard working.
A problem solver with ability to adapt to new situation and to work as an effective team member. He appreciate any suitable position that provide any opportunity to build further experience.
A professional with adverse skills not only on the operations of the financial institutions, having worked with many organizations.
Besides that Bosco loves building good relationship between client and the company which he works with, this bond helps in the extending of services to individuals which has not been in the system through a client to client contact therefore, through that a broader market is created for the company.With the experience he got from premier credit as Assistant team leader-Civil servant product, Sanlam Life Insurance Uganda as Team Leader services and others, he is usually hoping for the well market base through identification of new customers and customers expectation this is truly based on the choice of the product, understanding the product and keeping customer’s transaction records.
Board of Directors
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Omara Moses, Executive Director holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration and Management from Lira University and wears leadership, management, fundraising, communication, planning, strategizing, marketing, problem-solving and often, whatever else comes his way and seeks input from others to impact the community.
He has undergone various Trainer of Trainees to include use of Participatory Rural Appraisal Approach, Selection, planning and Management of Business/income generating activities, VSLA, child/youth protection and participation, Adult engagement, Champion of Change approach, financial literacy, M&E/Research, which makes him responsible for compliance to the donor requirements.With over six years' experience in Community Development facilitation, livelihoods, education, health particularly ASRH, Youth and child related programs including child rights protection and participation and above all Child Centered Community Development programming. Generally, the professional development draws strength from involvement throughout various positions held while working with Plan International Uganda, Aloi Women Development Group, National Youth Council, Concerned Parents Association, UBOS, and UWEZO.
He has gained working experience and knowledge in community mobilization, project facilitation/training, research, mentorship and social group approach programming with skills in community interventions towards improved socio-economic well-being in NGO sector.
He has been engaged directly working with different projects at Plan International specifically to support in the rollout of Champion of Change methodologies aimed to promote gender equality and challenge negative social norms among young people through training and mentoring selected champion of change facilitators (for example, NIYETU project, Decide End Child Marriage project, It's my body project in Yumbe District/refugee settlement).
In the last 3 years he has been supporting the Niyetu youth project implemented by Plan International as community facilitator for the champions of change program in Alebtong district where he mobilized and held dialogue meetings with adolescents and relevant key stakeholders towards improving on the Sexual and Reproductive Health among the young people. He also coordinated the coalition activities in Alebtong District under Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA) project that ended in 2020.
In 2016 he coordinated a youth innovation programs in Alebtong District i.e. the Smartup factory project for Plan International and provided mentorship to young people where more than 20 young women/girls and men/boys were able to designed innovative ideas aimed to address challenges affecting their communities.From 2014 to 2018, he has been a national youth representative at Plan International through youth advisory panel (YAP) structure mandated to participate in periodic Cool Management Team (CMT) meetings to give recommendations on youth issues and provide information relevant to policy design, strategic directions, program design, monitoring and evaluation to the organization.
He is involved in a number of marketing campaigns for CLASS. He has played significant role in revitalizing the community through nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and collaboration with local government. Current projects include Decide end child marriage, access to affordable clean energy project, and ICT for innovative hands-on skill development (HaSiD) project, Youth in responsible and accountable leadership (YIRAL), Get Back to School Aid (GBSAid), and Rescue and Empowerment (Anti-Child Exploitation). He fosters culture of hard work, high expectations, flexibility, and humor to bring out the best in employees. Builds high-performing, dedicated teams committed to CLASS vision and bettering community.
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Dr. Mary Ejang is a Senior Lecturer and an Academic Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Lira University (2019 to date). She previously held the position of Head of Department, Development Studies at Gulu University (2013-2017).
Mary holds a PhD in Sociology with specialization in Rural Sociology (2017), a Master degree in Population and Development (2009) and Bachelor in Education (2002) all from Makerere University-Uganda.
Dr. Ejang has 18 years of university teaching who lectured in Gulu and Lira universities (2003-date) and has since grown through the academic ranks. She is specialized in teaching papers related to research, social and development issues. Specifically, she teaches Research Methods, Environment and Sustainable Development, Project Planning and Management, Gender and Development, Community and Rural Development, Population and Development and Strategic Management for Poverty reduction at Graduate and Undergraduate levels.
Professionally, Ejang has participated in the development of university academic courses at both Graduate and undergraduate levels and has supervised over 30 Masters Students. Mary is a Senate member at Lira university and has made significant contributions to university strategic plan. She further serves on a number of university committees including;
Chairperson, Lira University Timetable Committee
Member, Admissions and Gender Mainstreaming Board
Member, committee of Deans and Directors
Member, Staff Development Committee.Dr. Ejang is an experienced social researcher and has coordinated a number of research projects including “Survey on the Effectiveness of the Youth Livelihood Programme in Northern Uganda(October 2015- August 2016). This research was in partnership with Gulu University, Development Research and Training (DRT) and Development Initiatives (DI) organizations. She coordinated a research team from Gulu University and a consortium of Danish University that investigated “Gender, Rights and Environmental Resources”among the refugees and host communities in Adjumani district West Nile, Uganda (2017-2019). The key recommendation from this research was innovation of alternative clean green energy to reduce environmental degradation in West Nile given the high rate of refugee influx into Uganda from South Sudan.
Mary has published a number of articles with the outstanding being two book chapters titled "Tackling Youth Unemployment with Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) in Northern Uganda" in Contemporary Social Development Issues in Uganda, William Muhumuza and StaffanHöjer (eds), Fountain Publishers, 2020 Pp77-101. The second chapter is “Having People, having heart; charity, Sustainable development and problems of dependence in Central Uganda.” Anthropology Southern Africa, NISC (Pty), Taylor & Francis Group 2016, 39 (1):76-81.
Currently she is undertaking a post-doctoral research on “Gender relations and future marriage partnerships in post-conflict northern Uganda; implications for sustained livelihoods.” This research is funded by the Imagining Gender Futures in Northern Uganda (IMAGENU) Project. A collaborative project between a Consortium of Danish Universities and Gulu University.
Mary is a team player, with good interpersonal skills and interjects in counseling and conflict mediation for co-existence in community. Her desire for community development intrigued her to participate in the survey of Northern Uganda Regional Development Forum (NURDF) from 2017-2019; a USAID supported project to identify investment priorities for the greater northern Uganda-a war ravaged region. She further contributes to community development variously;
Board Member- Bright Light Secondary School, Lira City- (2013-2017)
Board Member Anywalonino Youth Earth Worm Farmers Group - Lira City (2018-to date)
Director and Board Secretary- Change Lead Agency Social Support (CLASS) - (2019 to date).Her passion for gender and women empowerment inspired her to support the Decide Project to end girl child marriage and teenage pregnancy; and promote sexual and reproductive health rights under CLASS. Thus, she is fascinated to achieving CLASS mission and vision.
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Wacha Roggers, Board Chairperson holds a bachelors degree in development studies from Gulu University, Certificate in Administrative Law from Law Development Centre, and a post Graduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management from Gulu University, With seven (7) year extensive experience gained while working with Lira and Amolatar District Local Government, Plan International Uganda, Lira University, and Change Lead Agency Social Support.
He has a Wide-ranging strategic and policy-level leadership and advisory experience with strong analytical and interpersonal skills, and proven ability of the development and direction of organization, programmes and processes involving a diverse and a complex rage of partners and stakeholders including governments and civil society organizations.
Extensive experience and proven expertise in capacity & institutional development, strategic analysis & planning, resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation
Sectoral expertise; child protection and participation, human rights advocacy and sensitization, research, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, and livelihood.Avery proactive, Creative and result-oriented person who delivers the organization mission more effectively, cherish team work, make sound judgment of the situation and communicate well verbally and written.
Contact
Do you want to volunteer, do internship or work with us, become our fiscal sponsor / representative in your country, directly benefit in our projects, engage in apprenticeship and graduate training, partner and collaborate with us in designing and implementing projects? Please leave us a message.
Location:
P.O.BOX 921, Okwongo Cell, Nakabela ward,
Alebtong Town Council, Alebtong District, Northern
Uganda.