Esther Nsiimenta
Esther Nsiimenta, the young woman championing teen empowerment in Uganda
Name: Esther Nsiimenta Favoured
Organisation: Teens 4 Change
Website: t4cafrica.wordpress.com/media
Location: Kabale, Uganda
Overview: Esther is a 25 year old student and founder of a powerful teen movement in Kabale, a town in western Uganda. She strongly believes in the ability of all young people to use their creativity to make change and a positive impact in the world. By engaging disadvantaged teenagers in the creative arts, she inspires them to make positive changes in their lives and a better future for themselves, for their communities and for Uganda.
Conflict: Teens for Change works with young people that have grown up in broken families, in the poorest of situations and the poorest of communities in Kabale.
Action & Results: Teens 4 Change was launched in January 2015, when they held their first Teen Fest which brought together around 200 people. Since then, this annual event has grown, hosting around 500 teens per year. During the rest of the year, Teens 4 Change works closely with a smaller group of 15 to 30 young people. Esther is passionate about inspiring teens and creating a positive movement for change in Uganda and beyond. She explains, ‘if you believe in them rather than see teens as a problem, you can change their mindset and bring about positive change.’
Journey: Esther drew on her own experiences to start Teens 4 Change, after falling into depression as a teenager because she failed to get into the school of her choice, as well as failing to achieve the exam results she dreamed of. This failure led her to become consumed with feelings of isolation and guilt that culminated in her attempting suicide. The close support of her parents and friends meant she was able to come back from this dark place, and Esther wanted to ensure other teens would not go through similar situations. Teens 4 Change started as a dance group at Lift Up Jesus Global Ministries. Its aim were to provide a platform for teenagers to express themselves through the arts by encouraging them to do what they love and improve their self-esteem. This morphed into a movement of teenagers maximising their potential through the use of creative arts to promote positive change in their communities. As a young woman, she fights to be taken seriously, and is keen to present Teens 4 Change as important work, and not ‘just for fun’, as her work is often dismissed by adults.
Support: Teens 4 Change is run by a team of four volunteers which include adults coaches, and team members who work on aspects like social media and writing funding reports. One of the challenges for Esther is that she is not in Kabale all year round, but has to travel six hours away to Kampala where she studies French at Alliance Francaise de Kampala. She worries about the future of the group as she weighs up her own career plans which are likely to take her further away from Kabale. She would appreciate support to ensure Teens 4 Change continues to thrive even if she is not physically present.
