Train 50 women teachers in Uganda to educate 1000s

Graduate Women International (GWI) continues the quest to educate 50 women teachers in Uganda through our Teachers for Rural Futures project. The goal is to help these young women complete their tertiary education by paying their full tuition fees and a stipend that assist with living expenses while living far from their homes. Once they complete their studies, as part of the Teachers for Rural Futures program, the girls are engaged to return to their rural villages to perhaps become secondary teachers or school administrators. This creates a virtuous cycle that not only provides as education to these young women from rural Uganda but also creates positive community role models for young girls in their villages to encourage them to remain in school.

GWI currently has five young women benefitting from the support of the project. During this time of the year, they are out on their summer break. Classes will resume in the fall. We remained in contact with them throughout the summer and hope they are enjoying their break. Having a break from classes allows them to return to their villages, where they speak to their communities and share their experience and achievements with their family and friends. By doing this, they become an inspiration for younger girls to continue pursuing their studies. Therefore, they bring about changes in the mentalities and social practices and motivate women and men alike to support and work towards getting more girls to continue studying.

Funding for this project, like any other project, is not an easy task to accomplish. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our United Nations representative in New York, Sophie Turner Zaretsky, for her contribution. For her recent milestone birthday, Sophie decided to receive gifts in an alternative way. Instead of tangible gifts from her friends and family, she has asked them to contribute to the Teachers for Rural Futures program via GlobalGiving. We applaud Sophie for her generous act and hope the donations generated from her birthday gifts will assist us in educating more women in Uganda.

We want to say thank you to our student teachers who continue to defy the odds and succesfully pursue their education. GWI would also like to thank all the donors to our Teachers for Rural Futures GlobalGiving Campaign for their continued support. Thank you for helping us in assisting these young women and the children of their villages in their effort to dismantle the barriers to education they have been challenged with. Our work would not be possible without your help. Please donate today.

To read more about our project, please visit our website at http://www.graduatewomen.org/what-we-do/projects/secondary-school-teachers-for-rural-futures/.

With gratitude,

Stacy Dry Lara

Executive Director

Graduate Women International

Links:

• GWI Teachers for Rural Futures Program

GWI enjoyed visiting our student teachers in Uganda and meeting with Global Giving Representative, Mickey Rothwell!

Graduate Women International (GWI) Executive Director, Stacy Dry Lara, joined the Uganda Federation of University Women in welcoming Mickey Rothwell from Global Giving for a special site visit to meet GWI’s Teachers for Rural Futures project. The visit served as a splendid opportunity to check in with our student teachers and monitor their progress, as well as demonstrate the ongoing success of our project with GlobalGiving.

Rural communities face a shortage of women teachers. Additionally, women and girls often face stigma and barriers to education, forcing them to drop out of school early or indefinitely suspend their enrolment. GWI is currently sponsoring five girls at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda to pursue university degrees with the promise that they will return to their communities as secondary teachers and mentors.  “Our students have already become role models to other girls in their communities, inspiring them to stay in school and realize their full potential—a trend that will only increase when our students finish their degrees”, said Stacy.

During the visit, the five Teachers for Rural Futures student teachers shared stories about the hardships they face in trying gain a university degree and the immense, positive impact the GWI Teachers for Rural Futures program had made to their futures. Since starting the program, Hasifa, Jane, Victoria, Benadet and Winfred have changed tremendously. The girls continue to grow in confidence and act with certainty. GWI is extremely proud of the girls and their educational and personal success.

GWI would like to thank all donors to our Teachers for Rural Futures GlobalGiving Campaign for their continued support. Thanks to you, our student teachers have almost finished their first and second years studying a Bachelor of Education. With your support, our student teachers and thousands of additional girls in rural communities will have the opportunity for the education they deserve and continue to dismantle barriers to education. Our work wouldn’t be possible without your help.

To read more about our project, please visit our website at http://www.graduatewomen.org/what-we-do/projects/secondary-school-teachers-for-rural-futures/.

With gratitude,

Stacy Dry Lara

Executive Director

Links:

• Graduate Women International website
• Teachers for Rural Futures Project