Support Set Her Free: Empower Ugandan Women

This Summer, three other interns and I had the privilege of interning at the amazing nonprofit, Set Her Free, in Kampala, Uganda, serving as representatives of GW’s GlobeMed. In merely five weeks, we gained a deeper understanding for the challenges and barriers that many people in Uganda face. Choice, we have learned, is a privilege for many Ugandan women and girls. Through our interactions with the staff, women, and girls of Set Her Free, and even our short conversations with passer-byers and Uber drivers, our cultural competency has drastically increased. 

During our time in Kampala, we accomplished many tasks and created useful content for Set Her Free. In the office, we designed the Annual Report and Strategic Plan, compiled data and organized it into easy-to-understand charts, created personalized certificates for Set Her Free’s graduation, and conducted interviews with the 2019 graduating class. We also filmed and edited a short video that will be used for future Set Her Free events and promotional opportunities. While we did accomplish many tasks, we feel that we got so much more out of this experience than we could ever give—Through our various projects, we got the chance to listen deeply to the voices of the young women of Set Her Free, becoming more aware of their realities and becoming more empathetic listeners. Their stories have inspired us beyond words and have given us perspective that is too often lost. We have each been equipped with new, tangible skills that we will be able to take with us into our future careers. Most importantly, during our time at Set Her Free, we have created life long friendships and memories. Words cannot describe how grateful each of us feel for being able to meet such incredible, resilient, empowered women. This experience has forever shaped our futures and has inspired us to continue to advocate and advance issues that we are passionate about on a global stage.