Bonga Forum

Bonga Forum is a continuation and actually a subset of the Bonga Project. The program is after the completion of Bonga Life and Occupational Skills training, where the adolescent girls and boys from two or more Bonga centres come together and make a forum. The main purpose is to create a link between adolescents themselves and others on the basis of supporting one another by Income Generating Activities (IGAs), community outreach activities and saving and lending practices in groups.

OBJECTIVES

• To safeguard the achievements of the Bonga programme among the adolescent girls and among the community members.
• To advocate for gender equality, fair treatment and advocate for abuse of human rights especially among children and women.
• To maintain the social and economic empowerment among the girls and also cultivate leadership skills among the participants

WHEN IS BONGA FORUM ESTABLISHED?

Bonga Forum is established after adolescents have completed the ten months training in Bonga Project (6 months Life skills and 4 on Vocational skills).

HOW BONGA FORUMS ARE OPERATED

• The first stage is categorized by the Bonga adolescents who graduated from the ten-month program from two or more centres in the same geographical area join together and form one Bonga Forum.
• Then Bonga Adolescents in the Bonga Forum select their leaders amongst themselves where they select a super boy and a super girl to take leadership roles the position is valid for one month only then it is passed to others until everyone has taken the role and exercises their leadership skills acquired through Bonga.
• Bonga Forums meet once a month to discuss daily life issues and other issues affecting their communities and they also meet once a week to make savings and borrow in their savings groups.
• Bonga Forum members also work as Community change agents where they are expected to conduct a number of community outreach activities to address a number of cross-cutting issues that affect their respective communities.
• Selection and training of Forum Support Team, where which consists of parents and community representations and work to support the Bonga Forums operations.
• To ensure the sustainability of Bonga forums needs to be visible and formally recognized through registration of the Bonga forum as a CBO for government support and other mileage

ACTIVITIES IN BONGA FORUM

• Conduct Income Generating Activities (IGAs) and link amongst themselves and others
• Mobilization and advocacy on issues affecting the communities
• Meet and discuss issues they have been learning during Life skills
• Take part in savings and lending activities
• Enrol and train other girls from the community on the issues they have learned during Life skills and Vocational skills training

LIST OF ACTIVE BONGA FORUMS ESTABLISHED

INTERMEDIATE RESULTS

• Today OCODE has managed to form 7 Bonga Forums in Ubungo Municipal of which are located at Kibamba Ward (In Kibamba Chama, Gogoni, Kiluvya, Hondogo and Kibwegere) with a total of  293 (181 girls and 112 boys
• The Bonga girls have been conducting various community outreaches and advocacies on addressing different issues in the community and have managed to form 1 Bonga Club at Kibwegere Primary School, where over 200 Primary School pupils (Class 5 and 6) have enrolled in the established Bonga clubs which are supervised by BONGA Forum members as part of Community outreach activities. Amongst other topics, the importance of self-cleanliness and environmental conservation amidst the third wave of COVID-19 has been a continuous Agenda during the sessions. This has helped the children to take measures against COVID-19, especially washing their hands with soap and water.

• Bonga girls in the Forum have managed to establish various income-generating activities by putting into practice the Vocational skills acquired through training while at VETA and through multiple skills-based training, on that note they have started to manage their basic needs and support their families through the income they have obtained in the respective IGAs.

• We have a total of 40 (14M,26F) Bonga Forums Support Team which consists of Local government Authority representatives, Community Volunteers and the representatives of the parents/guardians of the Bonga Forum members. Bonga Support Team have been oriented and capacitated on their roles and responsibilities and Bonga methodology, they have started to make follow-ups on Bonga Forum activities and have supported the Bonga Forum members by providing them with platforms for community outreach activities through various institutions (i.e. youth church groups, primary school), this has improved participation and commitment of Bonga Forum members in Bonga Forums activities.