UGX 700 Million from 2026 Absa KH3 7 Hills Run to Assist Extra Women Keep at school
David GOMBE
Programmes supporting susceptible women to entry, stay in, and progress by schooling will increase throughout Uganda following the allocation of UGX 700 million raised by the 2026 Absa KH3 7 Hills Run.
The funds will help eight organisations already working with women and communities throughout the nation to deal with obstacles that proceed to restrict instructional alternatives for essentially the most susceptible.
Uganda has made vital progress in increasing entry to schooling, together with for ladies. Nonetheless, gaps stay for kids in poorer and extra susceptible communities. A 2024 research by the Ministry of Training and Sports activities, European Union, and UNICEF highlights persistent inequalities in development to secondary schooling, with secondary-school enrolment at 43.1% amongst kids from the wealthiest households in contrast with 8.2% among the many poorest.
The research identifies monetary constraints as a significant component affecting faculty attendance and retention. For ladies, these challenges are sometimes compounded by teenage being pregnant, lengthy distances to high school, gender-based violence, incapacity, and insufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
To deal with these obstacles, proceeds from the 2026 Run will help a variety of interventions, together with faculty charges and scholastic supplies, bicycles for ladies travelling lengthy distances, faculty re-entry help for teenage moms, clear water and sanitation services, disability-inclusive schooling, counselling and mentorship, vocational and life expertise coaching, and strengthened faculty help methods.
Relatively than set up parallel interventions, Absa will proceed to help organisations with programmes already working in communities and specialist experience in addressing these completely different obstacles, enabling them to increase their attain to extra women.
Talking on the proceeds handover, David Wandera, Managing Director of Absa Financial institution Uganda, stated “A lady’s circumstances can nonetheless have a big bearing on whether or not she is ready to stay at school and full her schooling. For a lady in a susceptible family, the barrier could also be the price of primary scholastic supplies; elsewhere it might be distance to high school, teenage motherhood, incapacity or insufficient water and sanitation. These organisations are already working in communities the place these challenges exist and perceive what help is required. Our accountability now’s to comply with that help by and measure what it allows; extra women returning to high school, remaining there and progressing with their schooling.”
2026 Proceeds and Beneficiaries
The UGX 700 million raised within the 2026 version will help transformative initiatives by the next companion organizations:
UGX 100 million to the Uganda Purple Cross Society will increase the Maintain a Woman in Faculty programme, offering menstrual well being kits to 10,000 susceptible women, delivering menstrual well being schooling to fifteen,000 adolescents, academics and caregivers throughout 100 colleges, and supporting 1,000 teenage moms to return to high school.
UGX 90 million to Windle Worldwide Uganda will help women in refugee-hosting and hard-to-reach communities by the supply of scholastic supplies, bicycles, dignity kits, counselling, and college reintegration help, together with for ladies previously residing on the streets of Kampala who’ve been re-enrolled in colleges in Napak District.
UGX 100 million to World Imaginative and prescient Uganda will enhance menstrual well being and hygiene administration in Northern Uganda by rising entry to wash water, sanitation services, and secure studying environments for ladies.
UGX 100 million to Amref Well being Africa will help the distribution of reusable sanitary pads and supply faculty reintegration help for teenage moms who’ve dropped out of faculty in Mbale, Kibuku, and the island communities of Namayingo.
UGX 100 million to Plan Worldwide Uganda will increase entry to menstrual well being kits, present vocational expertise coaching in sanitary pad manufacturing, stitching, and entrepreneurship, and provide susceptible women with scholastic supplies to help their schooling.
UGX 60 million to RIDE-AFRICA will strengthen faculty and group help methods in Kitgum District by investments in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, altering rooms, menstrual well being initiatives, instructor capability constructing, faculty golf equipment, and life expertise improvement.
UGX 60 million to Kyaninga Little one Growth Centre will help 100 women with disabilities and strengthen the capability of 18 colleges to supply extra inclusive and accessible studying environments.
UGX 90 million to Baylor School of Medication Youngsters’s Basis-Uganda will help 1,000 susceptible women throughout Hoima, Mubende, and Fort Portal by schooling help, counselling, mentorship, vocational coaching, and early identification mechanisms for ladies vulnerable to dropping out of faculty.
Collectively, these interventions will handle vital obstacles at completely different levels of a lady’s schooling journey, from enrolment and retention to high school re-entry and development.
Greater than 8,000 contributors took half within the fourth version of the Absa KH3 7 Hills Run in Could 2026, persevering with the expansion of an initiative launched in 2023 to mobilise help for ladies’ schooling throughout Uganda.
Since its inception, the Absa KH3 7 Hills Run has raised a cumulative UGX 1.6 billion and supported 52,713 women to remain at school by investments in menstrual well being, schooling entry, faculty retention, and associated interventions.
