Our Story
Seeing the Struggles That Others Couldn’t
Having spent most of my childhood in Rwoho (Kihorobo), I was fortunate that my parents could afford to take me and my siblings to school all the way through higher education. But for most of the young boys and girls I grew up playing with, the reality was very different.
During my primary school years, only 2 out of 10 girls completed primary education. I remember coming home during school holidays and finding my playmates with babies of their own at just 14 or 15 years old already married and taking care of families. At that time, I didn’t fully understand what was happening. No one talked about it. No one complained. It seemed normal.
As I grew older, I began to realize that there is nothing normal about child marriage. Yet more than fifteen years later, the situation had hardly changed. Many young girls and boys were still getting married far too early. Most barely completed primary school, and very few continued beyond that. With no support, no opportunities, and no alternatives, marriage became the default path.
Young people in Rwoho and other neighbouring regions drop out of school due to numerous challenges:
- Long distances from home to school
- Lack of school fees or financial support
- Parents with unstable incomes
- Poor sanitary facilities, causing girls to miss school during menstruation
- Lack of motivation and guidance
- No alternative learning paths
- Limited employment opportunities
Cynthia Owembabazi, Founder KIYODEL
A Seed of Hope
In 2014, I decided to act. I mobilized family and friends to help support young people in different ways to stay in school, to dream again, and to believe in a future beyond early marriage and poverty.
The impact was immediate, but so was the realization that the need was far greater than what personal efforts alone could address.
- More and more young people needed help.
- More families needed support.
- More dreams were waiting to be revived.
The Birth of KIYODEL
By 2019, it became clear that the need was greater than what personal efforts alone could support. This led to the official registration of Kihorobo Youth Development Link (KIYODEL) as a non-profit organization, both in Uganda and in Belgium.
Our goal was simple but urgent: to support a larger number of young people and communities and to make this work sustainable and long-term.
Walking With Youth, Step by Step
Today, KIYODEL works with young people across Rwoho, Ntungamo District, and surrounding regions — guiding them toward opportunities that once felt unreachable. Through skills training, mentorship, sustainable development, and community support, we walk alongside youth as they discover who they are and what they can become.
Every classroom built, every sanitary kit delivered, every skill taught, and every young person supported brings us closer to a future where no child is forced to abandon their education or dreams.
This is not just an organization. It is a movement — born from lived experience, shaped by empathy, and driven by hope.”
- Cynthia Owembabazi
Founder KIYODEL
