I am on the Board of Directors for Uganda For Her (U4Her). I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this phenomenal organization! The dedication of the U4Her team is unparalleled. We are fortunate enough to have passionate and driven board members, staff, interns, and volunteers advancing the organization's mission of promoting gender equality in Uganda.
We work towards achieving U4Her's mission by being present in Kampala and the surrounding communities. U4Her organizes school visits where peer educators provide instruction on reproductive and sexual health, consent, family planning, female empowerment, and bodily integrity. Through our Pads4Her project, we are able to produce and distribute reusable sanitary pads to school aged girls. By equipping girls with a reliable product to manage their menstrual cycle, it aids in decreasing their school absentee rates and provides the potential for increasing school performance.
By prioritizing gender equality and teaching both girls and boys about the importance of respecting and promoting the rights of girls and women, it betters the social and economic wellbeing of Uganda. We are educating and empowering the future leaders of Uganda and are committed to creating a more equitable future for Ugandans.
I began working with Uganda For Her back in 2017 as the organization’s first Peer Educator. I quickly grew very invested in Uganda For Her’s initiatives and my work in educating and empowering Uganda’s young women. I have always been so impressed by the history of this organization and the founder’s honest and personal dedication to the work. A combination of my genuine beliefs in the organization and their dedication after my time spend in Uganda led me into my current role with the organization as their Communications and Engagement Coordinator.
For anyone debating spending a semester abroad in the service of others, I highly recommend donating that time to Uganda For Her. Not only will you get the opportunity to be emerged in Uganda culture, but you will be provided the opportunity to learn how to engage with youth about their human rights and develop your communications and teaching skills. Uganda is a beautiful country and it is lucky to have an organization such as Uganda For Her working tireless to send its young women to school.
I have been on the Board of directors for Uganda For Her for a couple of years now. Uganda For Her is an amazing organisation, spear-headed by Ben, who is completely dedicated to the well-being both mental and physical of girls and women in Uganda.
Ben and the Uganda For Her team work tirelessly to promote gender equality and come up with sustainable initiatives to ensure that girls in Uganda are informed of their reproductive rights, family planning, consent, and techniques to take charge of their sexual health as very often girls have no access to such information and this can lead to terrible injustices. Uganda For Her not only works with girls but also includes boys and men in their projects to ensure they are educated on and supportive of the importance of gender equality and the projects to implement this. Gender equality is not only important for the well-being of women and girls, but it is also an important component in the development of a country and economy.
All these projects and initiatives have had a significant impact within local communities, entailing that girls spend more time in school, experience less abusive situations and are more aware of their rights and able to focus on their personal mental and physical health.
Uganda For Her does very important work, especially vital as the places where the Nonprofit focuses its efforts sadly are troubled by numerous problems; to name but a few: HIV/AIDS, sexual abuse of girls and women, child marriage, child pregnancy and girls dropping out of school at a young age. Uganda 4 Her does indispensable work and the Nonprofit's employees are completely devoted to and diligent in their work. Ben and his team are incredible people and I believe that they make a daily difference in our world.
It was a long journey to Uganda, but once I arrived at Uganda 4 Her it felt like home. My first few days were filled with training and orientation. Ben told us the story about how Uganda 4 Her started which was a very heartfelt tale about how compassion can turn into activism.
I did not know much about Uganda 4 Her when I first started because my internship was switched at the last minute. But I soon realized that I had been placed in the best organization that encourages ingenuity, creativity, and firsthand experience. The whole team made me feel really welcomed!
One of my roles at Uganda 4 Her was teaching which I have previous experience in. So, when I found out I would be teaching I was very excited because it is a huge passion of mine. Ben let us create our own lesson plans which was a lot of fun and required some thought since I was going to be teaching boys about menstruation. How was I going to make it interesting to young boys? I decided to take the idea of them being strong leaders and compassionate supporters for girls, and making it their responsibility to help them. My main mantra which I taught in every class was, “Healthy, Natural, Normal.” I would explain that it is healthy because girls’ bodies need to menstruate to be healthy, it is natural because that is how girls’ bodies are created, and normal because every girl in the world will or has a period. These three simple words would help them understand the why about menstruation, and also provides them with something to say to a girl if they ever have to comfort a girl on their period. The boys were so much fun to teach and I enjoyed every class I had with them.
Pad 4 Her was idea that came to me when I saw the need for pads from girls I had met in the field. I knew I had to help, but it would not have been possible without the dedication from everyone at Uganda 4 Her. We hired two women to create pads for the girls. It was great to not only help the girls, but also provide some finical assistance to empower women. The ladies also gained the skill of sewing, and now can teach their friends and family how to make reusable sanitary pads.
The work that Uganda 4 Her does is so impactful and necessary for many girls in Uganda. I am so honored that I was a part of it and am proud to say that I got to be an intern with Uganda 4 Her. The work that I did there gave me so much personal fulfillment and has inspired me to continue working in the non-profit sector in the future. Uganda 4 Her gave me great insight into how a NGO operates and what it takes to run an organization. I gained so many skills like lesson planning, teaching, leadership, and project management. Thank you once again Uganda 4 Her for making my time in Uganda so meaningful and I will never forget the experience.