The Wellbeing Club-Uganda: Facilitating Positive Wellbeing and Leadership Among Adolescents in Kampala, Uganda

The Wellbeing Club-Uganda is a research-practice partnership connecting University of California, San Diego Department of Education Studies faculty and students with Africa Education and Leadership Initiative (Africa ELI), a nongovernmental organization in Kampala, Uganda, supporting low-income and refugee youth with educational and leadership opportunities. The goal of The Wellbeing Club is to support adolescent wellbeing through a positive youth development curriculum that includes teaching the 4W LIFT model of wellbeing that exposes youth to 11 dimensions of wellbeing through arts-based learning, peer-to-peer discussions, mindfulness strategies, and community engagement projects. This chapter describes Wellbeing Club practices and highlights undergraduate and graduate student involvement. Authors provide examples of the benefits of the Club for 25 Ugandan adolescents in Kampala who attended Club during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures. Participants reported enjoyment of art activities, increased voice and confidence through talking circles, improved leadership skills through community engagement projects, and higher engagement within their families and communities. Adolescents also began using the language of the model in everyday interactions which helped them identify and access strategies to help them cope, flourish, and thrive.