Reach A Hand Uganda has launched a new youth engagement initiative dubbed “You Can Dance,” a creative competition designed to use dance as a tool for addressing key social and health challenges affecting adolescents across the country.
The initiative, unveiled at the organisation’s headquarters in Lungujja, Kampala, seeks to blend performance art with education to spark conversations around mental health, menstrual hygiene, puberty, teenage pregnancy, consent, gender equality, climate change, bullying, and healthy relationships among learners.
The launch event featured energetic performances from several schools, including Seeta High School, Scoris International School, Kabojja International School, Golden High School, and Namiryango Senior Secondary School, offering a preview of what organisers described as a “vibrant national showcase of youth expression.”
The main competition is scheduled for 20 June 2026 and is expected to bring together more than 30 schools at Scoris International School for a large-scale dance and edutainment event.
According to Reach A Hand Uganda, the programme is part of a broader strategy to use creative platforms to deliver health and life-skills messages in ways that resonate with young people.
“Dance is a powerful form of expression that reflects the voices and experiences of young people across Africa. This is why it remains an important tool. If we are to truly understand the challenges young people face, we must leverage activities and platforms they relate to,” said Humphrey Nabimanya, CEO of Reach A Hand Africa.
He added that initiatives like “You Can Dance” are intended to go beyond entertainment and contribute to behavioural change among adolescents.
“This competition is also about advancing how we build ourselves and how we interact with one another as young people,” said Shantal Katana, Lead of the Gen Z Engagement and Innovation Department at Reach A Hand Uganda.
Over the years, the organisation has increasingly adopted edutainment as a core communication strategy in schools, citing earlier programmes such as GN Trybe and GYMO (Get Your Mix Out) as successful examples of youth-led platforms that combine entertainment with sexual and reproductive health education.
Reach A Hand Africa is a youth-led non-profit organisation that focuses on adolescent and youth empowerment through advocacy, awareness campaigns, and community engagement, with emphasis on sexual and reproductive health, mental health, education, gender equality, and economic empowerment.
The organisation says the “You Can Dance” competition will continue to be rolled out as part of its wider mission to strengthen youth participation in conversations that affect their wellbeing and future.
For further information, Reach A Hand Uganda can be contacted through its Communications Coordinator, Hadijah Nakayi.
