LEXOR ANSWERS MUSEVENI'S CALL, SKILLS M-LISADA STREET CHILDREN IN NSAMBYA.

By Peter Ssuuna

In response to President Yoweri Museveni's renewed call to equip the youth with practical vocational skills, Lexor foundation has partnered with M-Lisada Home in Nsambya to train vulnerable children and rescue them from the cycle of poverty.

M-Lisada is a home of hope for children rescued from the streets of Kampala by Police and KCCA. With nowhere to go and no one to support them, many of these children found refuge at the home, where they have been nurtured through talent-based activities like singing, traditional drumming, and dancing.

But according to the Director of the home, Bosco Ssegawa, they realized talent alone was not enough to sustain them in the future.

 "We realized there was still a big gap. Our children need more than shelter and talent; they need survival skills. That is why we decided to collaborate with partners like Lexor to introduce hands-on vocational training," Ssegawa said.

He explained that vocational skills will give these children who come from extremely difficult backgrounds a real chance to become self-reliant and even become job creators in the future.

Under the new program, the children will undergo an intensive three-months training in marketable skills starting with professional coffee brewing ‘barista skills’, bakery, and confectionery including making bread, cakes, and pastries.

The best-performing trainees will not just walk away with certificates. Lexor has promised to offer employment opportunities to outstanding students within its own coffee shops and bakeries, enabling them to start earning immediately.

Speaking at the launch, Lexor's Managing director, Robert Mugambwa, said the initiative is aimed at ensuring no youth is left behind.

 "We want even the most vulnerable youth to acquire skills that are relevant to today's world. The job market has changed, and hands-on skills are now more important than ever," Mugambwa noted.

"Those who excel will be absorbed into our workforce to brew coffee and bake bread. This way they can stand on their own feet, which directly aligns with the government's agenda of job creation and youth empowerment."

He added that Lexor deliberately chose M-Lisada because it houses children with no support system, who will desperately need a source of livelihood as they grow into adulthood.

Lexor Chief Executive Officer and director Ruth Daniels particularly encouraged the girls at the home to take the opportunity seriously and remain disciplined, noting that vocational skills can transform them into future entrepreneurs.

The event's chief guest, the Deputy Speaker of Makindye Division, Siraje Bukenya, commended M-Lisada for its noble work of taking children off the streets.

"If it were not for homes like M-Lisada, many of these children would be loitering in villages and resorting to crime. What you are doing is saving the nation. And for Lexor to come in with skills, you are giving them a future," Bukenya said.

The partnership is seen as a practical model of how private companies can support government efforts to fight youth unemployment and street children vulnerability through skilling, rather than handouts.