The initiative was started by a group of unemployed youths and women living in the five divisions of Kampala. They first caught public attention in March 2021, when they organized a voluntary cleaning of the Usafi drainage with only 150 people, mostly ghetto leaders (commanders). Since then, the group has grown and now has up to 3000 registered members and still counting. Their campaign caught the eye of the executive director of KCCA, Mrs. Dorothy Kisaka, and her team, who inspected their work and eventually partnered with them.

As the saying goes, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Most of the youths who responded positively to Mr. Menton’s call to transform the sanitation of the heart of the country were previously involved in political riots, substance abuse, sex work, fraud, theft (kifesi), and other immoral activities that led to teenage pregnancies due to sexual abuse, among other things.

It is worth noting that Uganda has the youngest population in the world, with 78% of the country’s population being people under the age of 25. However, as many as 60% to 70% of those who are of working age are unemployed. The cost of living in the capital city is high, leading to feelings of disillusionment, despair, depression, and neglect by the political representatives. This limited interaction with representatives and a lack of economic democracy has led to an increase in criminal activity.

7Hills Association was founded on this background, and it was registered as a cooperative saving Limited. The association’s main goal is to rehabilitate and empower marginalized groups, particularly women and youths in Kampala through savings and commercial income-generating enterprises. The association also aims to improve their livelihoods, information skills, and provide them with opportunities that enhance their own development. By doing so, it hopes to narrow down the rate of criminal activity by providing job opportunities.

Over the years, 7Hills Association has homed, employed, and rehabilitated hundreds of former criminals and homeless youths. These individuals have influenced and inspired beauty and environmental conservation by voluntarily sweeping Kampala City roads, unblocking and cleaning up the drainages that were packed with silt and other plastic wastes that caused flooding of roads, leading to early damage and the need for KCCA to repair them. These repairs caused losses in funds that could have been allocated to other developments.

The association’s motto is “Clean and Green City,” and it has promoted planting, watering, and caring for trees and grass within the city’s five divisions. This has been possible due to the association’s partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), and they provide enforcement services as and when the need arises.