Nascent Research and Development Organisation (NRDO) is an NGO tackling child labour and other issues affecting children, established in 2008. It strives to positively impact the lives of underserved children and youth through evidence based development practice that appreciates local knowledge and resources.
In Karamoja, NRDO empowers families to resist early marriage and to withdraw children from high-risk labour especially in mining, quarrying and cattle herding. This includes combining economic empowerment of young parents through Village Savings and Loan Associations with using VSLAs as a platform for deliberating on how to combat child exploitation. It activates elders, church leaders, elected councillors and youth to do door to door sensitisation of households, track those at risk and take action in cases that arise. NRDO amplifies voices of young people through creating youth action groups for peer support, behaviour change, life skills training, drama and outreach/advocacy.