Matte founded the Wilmat Development Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that supports young people, women, and people with disabilities through socioeconomic empowerment initiatives.
The Wilmat Development Foundation began active service in 2017, after Matte observed that women in his community often struggled to cover day-to-day living expenses with the earnings they made in agriculture. He also noticed that other groups face vulnerabilities at the community level due to early pregnancy or disability. For increased social welfare, Matte created programmes that help marginalised community members achieve financial independence through agriculture, gain life skills, promote community-led peacebuilding, and improve health, nutrition, and water sanitation.
The NGO provided climate-smart agriculture training to 1,500 farmers and financial modelling training to 523 people, while 435 individuals received business development training. In addition, 612 young people were trained in vocational skills, including hairdressing, baking, and tailoring. To strengthen financial resilience, the organisation enrolled 128 women and 173 young people in savings and loans associations. Its peacebuilding initiatives engaged 120 individuals, who now serve as civic engagement champions in their communities. The NGO also implemented several health initiatives, educating 182 communities on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices, training staff in 20 health centres on nutrition, and providing sanitation education to 438 households. Additionally, 154 community leaders were trained on community and youth empowerment.
Matte attended the 2023 Summit in Belfast, where he was the flagbearer for Uganda at the Opening Ceremony, and gave a speech on technology and agriculture that was shared on One Young World social media channels. The platform that Matte built at the Summit enabled him to connect with the British High Commission Kampala, where he presented a youth manifesto. His Summit experience also inspired him to establish a community alert platform called UG Reporter.
“One Young World Ambassadors stand out. You speak and someone else listens and says, ‘these are young people who are able to present the issues which are actually affecting communities.’ I’m very proud of being part of the One Young World Community.”
Contributor
