About PEERU — Peer To Peer Uganda

Our Story

What started as a community peer support outreach group in 2013 was formally established on 22 October 2015 as a registered non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Peer To Peer Uganda (PEERU) has since evolved into a youth- and community-focused organisation working to advance social transformation and sustainable development in Uganda.

PEERU works alongside young people and communities to strengthen their capacity to make informed decisions, exercise their rights, access opportunities and services, and actively participate in shaping the development of their communities. Our work is organised around three interconnected areas: Health, Education and Livelihoods, with cross-cutting approaches in advocacy, community mobilisation, leadership development, behaviour change, capacity strengthening and meaningful participation.

Within these areas, PEERU addresses issues including sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV and AIDS, TB, adolescent and maternal health, gender equality, education and skills development, livelihoods, social protection, and community resilience, with particular attention to vulnerable, underserved and marginalised populations.

With a footprint spanning more than 31 districts in Uganda, PEERU has built a strong track record of working at grassroots, district, national, regional and global levels. We believe that young people and communities are not merely beneficiaries of development, but important actors, leaders and partners in creating sustainable change.

Between 2015 and 2026, PEERU has implemented and supported a range of programmes and initiatives, including READY Teens, Girls Act (Girls Kisoboka), the Know Your Body Campaign, the Annual Youth Mentorship Programme, READY Pulse, HER Voice, YouthWYZE, Empower+, the Annual National Stakeholders Dialogue on Adolescent Health, and other community, education, health and livelihoods initiatives. These experiences have strengthened PEERU's expertise in youth and community engagement, advocacy, stakeholder mobilisation, capacity strengthening, peer-led programming and policy influence.

Our Mission

To empower young people and communities to lead healthy, productive, and purposeful lives through innovative programmes in health, education, livelihoods, and leadership.

Our Vision

Young people living responsible lives through making informed decisions and life choices.

Our Values

Integrity & Accountability
Equity & Inclusion
Community Ownership
Partnership & Collaboration
Innovation & Learning
Respect & Dignity

Our Reach

PEERU works across Uganda with a footprint in 31+ Districts, partnering with communities, institutions and local actors to advance health, education, livelihoods and sustainable development.

We continue to expand our interventions in more communities based on availability of funding.

Our Approach

From People to Systems, From Action to Sustainable Change

PEERU starts with people and communities. We listen, engage and empower communities to identify and act on the issues that affect their health, wellbeing and development. We then connect grassroots action with stronger institutions, strategic partnerships, evidence and advocacy to influence policies, practices and systems.

Our approach is designed to move beyond short-term interventions—building community ownership, institutional capacity and resilience for sustainable change.

Our work prioritises vulnerable, underserved and inadequately reached populations, while strengthening local systems and institutions to create solutions that can be owned and sustained beyond individual projects.

We Work in:
Communities & Households
Working directly with people, families, community groups and local structures.

Schools & Learning Institutions
Supporting safer, healthier and more responsive learning environments.

Health Systems
Working with health facilities, health workers and local health structures.

Local & Community Institutions
Engaging local governments, cultural and religious institutions, civil society and other community actors.

COMMUNITY → DISTRICT → NATIONAL → SYSTEMS & POLICY

Who We Work With

PEERU works with:

Adolescents and youth
Women, men and families
Vulnerable and underserved communities
Schools and institutions of learning
Health facilities and health workers
Community leaders and structures
Local governments
Ministries and government agencies
Civil society organisations
Development and funding partners
Networks and movements

PEERU Core Competencies

HEALTH | EDUCATION | LIVELIHOODS

PEERU brings together six core competencies that enable us to work with individuals, families, communities and institutions to advance health, education and sustainable livelihoods.

1. Advocacy & Policy Engagement

Influencing policies, budgets and systems while advancing rights, accountability and inclusive development.

2. Community Engagement & Systems Strengthening

Strengthening community structures, institutions, networks and local systems to identify challenges and drive sustainable solutions.

3. Research & Evidence

Generating and applying evidence, lived experience and local knowledge to inform programmes, policies and decisions.

4. Strategic Communications & Behaviour Change

Using communication, campaigns, storytelling and behaviour change approaches to influence knowledge, attitudes, practices and collective action.

5. Quality Services & Institutional Capacity

Strengthening the quality, capacity and responsiveness of schools, health facilities, community structures and local government systems.

6. Community-Led & Youth-Driven Solutions

Supporting communities and young people to lead, innovate and develop solutions to their priorities—moving from programme recipients to active partners and change-makers.

CROSS-CUTTING INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHS

Our technical competencies are supported by strong systems for programme management, monitoring, evaluation and learning, grants management, safeguarding, accountability, knowledge management, communications and strategic partnerships.

PEERU works across sectors and levels, partnering with government, development partners, civil society, schools and learning institutions, health facilities, local governments, cultural and religious institutions, community structures and youth-led organisations.

From Peer Support to Community Transformation and Resilience

We believe that lasting change begins with people. When individuals and communities are supported to learn, connect, lead and act together, they can identify the challenges that affect their lives, develop solutions that respond to their realities, and create meaningful change from within.

At PEERU, we build on the power of peer support, community leadership, participation and collective action to strengthen people’s capacity to influence the decisions, systems and environments that shape their lives. We work alongside young people, families, communities, institutions and other stakeholders, recognising that sustainable development is strongest when people are not simply recipients of interventions, but active partners in shaping the change they want to see.

Our work connects health, education, livelihoods and community development, responding to emerging needs and creating opportunities for people to access knowledge, build skills, exercise leadership, claim their rights and participate in decisions that affect them.

For us, peer support is not the destination, it is a pathway to something bigger. It enables people to build confidence and knowledge, strengthen relationships, support one another and turn shared experiences into collective action. That action can influence households, schools, health services, communities, institutions and systems, contributing to healthier, more informed, empowered and resilient communities.

Our tagline, From Peer Support to Community Transformation and Resilience, therefore reflects both where we come from and where we are going: from people supporting people, to people shaping communities; from individual empowerment, to collective action; and from local solutions, to lasting and transformative change.

Our Board & Leadership

PEERU is governed by a seven-member, gender-sensitive Board of credible, professionally respected individuals who provide policy oversight alongside PEERU's Senior Management Team and Core Staff Team — each meeting regularly to guide policy, strategy and day-to-day operations.

Meet the Full Team