Through its South-South Programme, Fredskorpset (FK Norway) has facilitated a personnel exchange between Fontes Foundation in Uganda and the Amizero Training Center in Rwanda. FK Norway, which is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has facilitated exchange programmes for over 50 years and Fontes Foundation is proud to be one of its partners. The knowledge and skills exchange we are participating in is designed to promote the sharing of best practices across organizations, encourage learning and inspire and motivate participants. Fontes Foundation will learn what it is that makes Amizero successful and how some of those successes can be emulated and adopted in the context of the Potentiam Youth Centre. Upon their return, the exchange participants are expected to disseminate the information acquired and to share it with their colleagues so that there is a widespread impact within the organization. A feasibility study conducted in 2013 concluded that an exchange between Fontes’ Potentiam Youth Centre (PYC) and the Amizero Training Center would likely contribute to operational improvements at the two centres.

During the two-week programme in Entebbe, the participants received a useful inter-cultural training that should facilitate their start in a new environment.

Therefore, the PYC is participating with our centre manager Surea Namanda Njuki, who has been with Fontes for 3 years by now. Surea will spend 6 months in Rwanda, learning and generating ideas on how we can improve operations at the youth centre by adopting some best practices of the Amizero Training Center. In exchange, Fontes Foundation Uganda will be hosting Julienne Uwanziga, an affiliate of the Amizero Training Center in Kayonza, Rwanda, as the interim PYC manager.

Along with FK exchange participants from around the world, Julienne and Surea attended a two-week introductory course in Entebbe, Uganda. The course was aimed at presenting FK Norway to the participants as well as to prepare them for cultural challenges they might encounter during their exchange and it also allowed them to share experiences with other outgoing participants and supervisors from the respective organizations.