Apala One Stop Youth Centre

About the project

Talent exists in rural communities. Access often does not.

The Apala One Stop Youth Centre in Alebtong gives young people a place to read, use computers, learn digital skills and develop ideas. Launched in December 2023, the centre opened with ten computers, more than 3,000 books and space to serve around 400 young people.

We worked on the centre alongside COMESA, which supported its establishment with the Apala youth and community as part of its Silencing the Guns campaign, together with Save the Children, the Horn of Africa Youth Network, Epuka Ugaidi and Uganda’s National Youth Council. Before the launch on 21 December 2023, twenty young people were trained to manage the hub, alongside training in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Apala is a place for peacebuilding as well as learning. In a part of Northern Uganda still living with the legacy of conflict, it gives young people from different backgrounds a shared place to build skills, find mentors and lead.

Apala is both a learning centre and a statement about opportunity: where a young person is born should not decide how far their curiosity can take them.