United Girls’ Foundation (UGF) is a youth- and girls-centred non-profit and non-governmental organisation committed to empowering girls and sustainably transforming communities across Uganda and beyond
It is based in Kampala, Uganda, with its focus on girls’ educational support and advocacy, leadership and mentorship initiatives, sexual and reproductive health awareness, climate change action and education, as well as sustainable community involvement and development.
It was founded by passionate and change-oriented women driven by the motive to positively impact the lives of young girls in the societies in which they live. The organisation also works closely with various stakeholders and partners within the communities to create a safe and inclusive environment that enables girls to thrive and reach their full potential to contribute to community development.
Through community outreach, school-based programmes, mentorship, and empowerment initiatives, we walk alongside girls and young women as they build confidence, discover their voices, protect their health, and shape brighter futures.
United Girls Foundation is more than an organisation. It is a movement of hope, dignity, and transformation — because when a girl is empowered, entire communities rise.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Despite national and international commitments to achieving equitable access to quality education, leadership development, and sexual and reproductive health awareness for girls in Uganda, millions of them still face barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential to positively impact the communities in which they live. Poverty, cultural norms and stigma, limited access to sexual and reproductive health education and products, gender- based discrimination and inadequate psychosocial support systems continue to push young girls out of school and into early marriage, limiting them from thriving and reaching their full potential. These challenges disproportionately affect girls in rural and underserved communities, perpetuating cycles of inequality.
Although government policies and various development interventions seek to improve the status of girls’ education and participation at the community level, significant gaps still exist. The Empower Her Education program by United Girls Foundation (UGF) seeks to respond to and address these challenges by implementing integrated interventions at the community level across the country that combine quality education support, leadership development, sexual and reproductive health promotion, as well as community engagement to improve girls’ school enrollment, retention, leadership and completion. The program further seeks to generate accountability and evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions in informing sustainable and inclusive policies, practices and future investments in quality education for girls at grassroots levels within communities across Uganda.
Vision
A sustainable and inclusive future that creates a safe environment for girls within communities to be recognised, supported, educated and empowered to reach their full potential and contribute to community development.
Mission
To empower girls through quality education, leadership development, sexual and reproductive health awareness and community engagement by fostering inclusive partnerships that advance gender equality and sustainable livelihoods within communities.
Objectives
- To establish sustainable organisational capacity and funding initiatives that increase and support access to quality education, sexual and reproductive health products and leadership development within communities across Uganda by extending over 5,000 scholarships for school-going girls and undertaking community-based empowerment interventions by 2036/37.
- To build five (5) strategic partnerships annually with various stakeholders that advance inclusive and sustainable impacts for young girls within communities; develop over 500 young female leaders through mentorship and skill training programs by 2036.
- To strengthen school-based systems that increase school enrollment, retention and completion among vulnerable girls by 50% through extensive quality education advocacy and awareness campaigns within communities across Uganda by 2031.
- To increase parental and community participation and support for quality education for girls within their communities by 60%, reducing barriers such as child marriage and gender discrimination that limit their opportunities through mentorship and awareness programs by 2031.
OUR VALUES
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
“A sustainable future cannot be built without gender equality. Inclusion means no girl is left behind.”
SUSTAINABILITY
“Sustainability is not just a goal it’s the legacy we are building with every girl.”
EMPOWERMENT
“We don’t teach them to fit into the world. We equip them to reshape it.”
INTEGRITY
“Empower a girl with integrity and you anchor an entire community in truth.”
COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP
“Handouts offer temporary relief, but community ownership creates permanent change for women and girls.”
INNOVATION
“When we teach a girl to build, she doesn’t just construct a future, she reconstructs her entire community.”