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From Resilience to Self-Reliance
At YAREN, we believe that every person carries potential, talent and the power to create a better future. Our work focuses on strengthening communities through practical skills, entrepreneurship, education and opportunities for sustainable development.
Behind every programme is a human story — young people building businesses, women developing new skills, communities working together and refugees transforming challenges into opportunities.
Voices From Our Community
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Empowering Young People to Build Their Future
Young people are innovators, creators and changemakers. Through skills development and entrepreneurship, YAREN supports youth to turn ideas into opportunities.
Building Confidence, Skills and Independence
Empowering women creates stronger families and communities. YAREN supports women to develop practical skills, confidence and sustainable livelihood opportunities.
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Innovation Begins With a Community Idea
Powerful solutions often come from people who understand challenges first-hand. YAREN encourages creativity and community-led solutions.
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Stronger Together: Building Resilient Communities
Lasting transformation happens when communities are empowered and supported to lead their own journey toward a sustainable future.
Stories in Motion
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Creating Impact Through People
Our impact is found in the lives, skills, ideas and opportunities created within communities.
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NATIONAL CLEANING DAY 2026
YAREN Joins Hands for a Cleaner Uganda
Ziranumbu & Kanaaba, Makindye Ssabagabo — Saturday, 29 August 2026
This morning, communities across Uganda came together for the country's National Cleaning Day, the government-led monthly initiative aimed at improving sanitation and reducing the spread of disease. YAREN Organisation was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with residents of Ziranumbu and Kanaaba, contributing both resources and hands-on effort to the cause.
Showing Up Where It Matters
True to its mission of community-led, grassroots action, YAREN did not simply observe the exercise the organisation actively engaged. Team members and volunteers turned out early, joining neighbours, local leaders, and fellow residents to clear drainage channels, sweep public spaces, and clean up litter across both sectors.
Beyond manpower, YAREN offered cleaning materials to support the effort, ensuring that participants had what they needed to get the job done properly — from tools to protective supplies. This is very much in keeping with YAREN's "one person, one skill, one enterprise" philosophy: showing up with practical, tangible support rather than words alone.
"One person, one skill, one enterprise" showing up with practical, tangible support rather than words alone.
A Shared Responsibility
The national initiative, declared by the Office of the Prime Minister, calls on all Ugandans to dedicate the last Saturday of every month to cleaning their homes, workplaces, and neighbourhoods — a response to the reality that a large share of preventable disease in the country is linked to poor sanitation and hygiene.
For YAREN, based right in Ziranumbu, Makindye Ssabagabo, today's exercise was a natural extension of the work it does every day: strengthening the communities it calls home. Refugees and host community members worked side by side, a reminder that clean, healthy neighbourhoods are built together.
A Sobering Incident in Kanaaba
The day's exercise in Kanaaba was overshadowed by tragedy. Shortly after 7am, as police enforced the movement restrictions that accompany National Cleaning Day, a boda boda rider was fatally shot by an officer deployed to secure the area. Witnesses said the rider had ridden past the enforcement point at speed and did not appear to notice the officers before he was shot from behind.
The Uganda Police Force has confirmed it has opened an investigation and arrested the officer involved. The incident brought the cleaning activity in that part of Kanaaba to a halt, as residents and volunteers turned their attention to the aftermath.
Looking Ahead
YAREN remains committed to showing up for Ziranumbu, Kanaaba, and the wider community not just on national cleaning days, but throughout the year, through its ongoing programmes in livelihoods, training, and community resilience.
From the ground today
