Richard Young is CEO at Legacy Road Safety Initiative, which focuses on road safety advocacy and sustainable mobility in Greater Kampala metropolitan area, and Programme Director at Komuge Community Initiative, empowering vulnerable community members in several districts in rural Eastern Uganda. These roles cover two very different contexts. Both require expertise in disaster risk preparedness, community engagement, and adaptation to the challenges exacerbated by climate change.
“I needed a better understanding about climate change and disaster preparedness for me to serve the community more effectively”, says Richard. “I enrolled in the Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction training because I believed it would equip me to develop interventions that will drive meaningful impact in the communities in which we work.”
Komuge Community Initiative
“I can't put a price on the real experiences that we shared from all around the world, the many places facing similar challenges, the practical sessions, the interactions with so many participants who are actually experts in different fields, the general exposure to information that I didn’t know existed, and the warm and very knowledgeable facilitating team. All of this was highly valuable to me.”
Both organisations benefit from Richard’s new expertise in disaster preparedness, enabling them to better support and empower the communities they work with. Planning projects that respond to and mitigate the risks of road crashes is at the core of the work of Legacy Road Safety Initiative, advocating for better motor practices. LRSI conduct campaigns Safe School Journey campaigns for young people, as well as providing First Aid training to key personnel to ensure that there are responders on hand in the event of a crash or any other disaster.
In the Eastern districts in which Komuge Community Initiative works, communities are consistently fighting changing fluctuating weather conditions – drought and flooding. Komuge Community Initiative works to support vulnerable community members, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and young people in a wide variety of ways. This includes, for instance, providing vocational skilling to teenage mothers and young women who have dropped out of school, and rehabilitating unsafe water springs, to provide good sanitation to communities.
First Aid training with Legacy Road Safety Initiative
The course inspired Richard to design programmes for Komuge Community Initiative with disaster preparedness in mind – to equip and support local community to mitigate and prepare for floods and droughts which can exacerbate so many challenges of poverty. “This training has been an eye opener on better ways of engaging local communities”, he says. “I see there’s still a lot more for me to do, and I know where I need more effort.”
“I'm so passionate about making a difference in people's lives. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to study this course. It was worth it.”
Thanks for your support for RedR’s work in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Give financially to support this and similar projects for disaster-affected communities all over the world here.