2022 YOUTH CONFERENCE

Every year YAWE Foundation and Kabarole Unique Stars (KUSA) organize a conference that brings together hundreds of youths living with HIV for the 5-day residential conference. During this conference, they are a number of activities that happen such as candlelight, full-day sessions about stigma and discrimination, disclosure, Formation of healthy relationships, adherence, etc, World AIDS day, and Key stakeholders and politicians giving speeches. YAWE Foundation started as a community-based organization in 2000 by a group of youth and women. Since its inception, YAWE has been involved in activities directly targeting the youth and other vulnerable people in the community. It has a revolutionary idea of organizing the youth, women, and other vulnerable people under one forum to promote HIV/AIDs awareness campaigns and encourage activities of self-reliance through capacity building in entrepreneurship and business management. YAWE Foundation unites young people

living with HIV in their umbrella organization known as Kabarole Unique Stars Association (KUSA).  This provides a platform for people living with HIV/AIDs to address their psychosocial challenges to improve their quality of life and contribute to the reduction of new HIV infections and HIV-related death.

This year we had a successful 8^th annual conference after taking 2 years without due to Covid 19 restrictions that limited such big gatherings. The conference was held at YAWE main offices in Rwengoma that brought about 185 youths turning up from 28^th November to 2^nd December from Fort Portal, Kabarole, and Bunyangabu health facilities under the theme HIV Prevention and Adherence is my responsibility.