YSO Vision

To create an environment where young people are committed to effective actions toward sustainable development for underprivileged communities.

YSO Mission

Youth Service Organization (YSO) educates youth to gain the skills that impact their own lives and communities, involves young people within sustainable development work and inspires them to take effective actions to act on their own behalf and on their own terms as active citizens. They develop and nurture talents, skills and knowledge of disadvantaged young people.

YSO Values

Led by youth needs: The wishes of young people guide them in their daily work. They conduct needs assessment reports to coordinate community owned projects as dictated by the participating youths.

Open and inclusive: They respect multicultural, mutual understanding, inter-sectorial character and diversity principles. Multicultural and intercultural exchange is a path to their success.

Effective communication: They establish effective communication skills and collaborations among youth and the community that the organization serves. Effective communication is a key to their success.

Disadvantaged people are both powerful and creative: Through participatory methodologies, youth that are considered disadvantaged by traditional societal standards are encouraged to participate in creating positive change for themselves and their communities.

Background

Lack of advantages, low economic and social status for out of school teenagers, sex workers, adolescent mothers, street youth and rural young people in Rwandan society limit the opportunities of developing for their villages.

National Youth Policy of Rwanda state that 67% of the country’s population is under the age of 25 years and women make up 54% of Rwandan 11.5 million inhabitants. 2011 Ministry of education statistics demonstrates that the completion (24%), dropout (12.2%) and repetition rates (14%) for girls, remain key challenge. As a result of poverty many adolescents from rural areas in Rwanda are forced to drop out of school and with few job opportunities, they end up being idle and hence vulnerable to drug abuse and commercial sex. It is even worse among girls who are at a high risk of rape, unplanned pregnancy and HIV /AIDS.

Human Development Index (HDI) report of 2013 indicates that Rwanda looses 29.4% of its HDI as a result of inequality in education. On average, 40 per cent of youth lack the requisite skills to join the labour market. This coupled with limited job expansion, means that over 42 per cent of young people are either unemployed or underemployed in subsistence agriculture. Rwanda faced war and migration since 1959 and Genocide against Tutsi in 1994 and the following total collapse of Rwanda’s civil society, economy and social services; Households headed by women (36%), live in poverty (47 per cent). Lower literacy rates for women (60%), limits girls and women’s opportunities for accessing resources, creating and managing small businesses, and participating in household decision-making processes.