PEOPLE OF YOUTHPLUS | COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
Suzan Namayiga: Sharing the DEEPROOTS Story from Nakiwogo
For three years, Suzan Namayiga has been part of DEEPROOTS as a Peer Community Advisor in Nakiwogo. Along the way, she has shared many stories about the project, helping bring its community work and experiences into wider conversations.
Every community programme has the work people see: activities, services, meetings and outreach. It also has the stories that explain what the work means to the people involved. These stories help others understand how an initiative takes shape in a community, what people value about it and why local participation matters.
For Youthplus, Suzan is one of the people who has helped tell the DEEPROOTS story. Through the stories she has shared over the course of her involvement, she has contributed to how the project is understood beyond its activities and structures. Her voice is part of the wider account of a community-led approach to HIV prevention.
A peer advisor and a storyteller
DEEPROOTS is built on the belief that HIV prevention becomes more accessible when information, guidance and support are connected to trusted people and familiar community spaces. Peer Community Advisors are central to this approach. They help bring prevention conversations closer to people and connect community members with relevant information, services and support.
Suzan’s contribution is part of this community effort. Her involvement in Nakiwogo over three years has given her a place within the DEEPROOTS experience, while the stories she has told have helped share that experience with others. Storytelling matters because it gives visibility to the people behind the programme and helps ensure that community voices are part of the record of its work.
Why community stories matter
Numbers can show the reach of a programme, but stories help people understand the human effort behind those numbers. They create space to recognise local leadership, reflect on lessons and share experiences that might otherwise remain within one community.
By sharing stories about DEEPROOTS, Suzan has helped make the project more than a description of kiosks, peer advisors and HIV prevention services. She has helped keep attention on the people and community experiences that give the model its meaning.
As the People of Youthplus series grows, we want to make room for more voices like hers: people whose participation, commitment and perspectives are an important part of community-led change.
About Suzan and DEEPROOTS
Suzan Namayiga has been involved in the DEEPROOTS project for three years as a Peer Community Advisor in Nakiwogo. DEEPROOTS is a Youthplus community-based HIV prevention initiative that connects Community Vital Information Kiosks, Peer Community Advisors, digital information and support, the DEEPROOTS Lifeline, mobile outreach and community partnerships.
Learn more about DEEPROOTS | Explore the People of Youthplus series
