Demonstrative Interventions:

Scholarship Program

AEI-AGSP Scholarship Program
In 1999, FAWEU established a Scholarship Program to increase girls’ access to secondary school. It started with members' contributions marched by the FAWE Regional Secretariat. In 2002, the US Ambassadors’ Girls’ Scholarship Program donated a major Grant to boost the Scholarship Fund. FAWEU’s excellent execution of the Scholarship Fund earned her an Appreciation Award of US $ 600,000 for more girls’ scholarships in 2003. Today, the Program is dubbed the African Education Initiative (AEI). The grants have since enabled over 2000 girls to access secondary education and many of them to transit to tertiary level.

Irish Aid Scholarship
The Embassy of Ireland in partnership with FAWE Uganda supports Karimojong students in secondary school. Since 2005, 450 students from the Karamoja region have benefited from the program. A similar number of beneficiaries will be selected for another two years 2008 – 2009 and all the beneficiaries will be supported to complete secondary school education.

A percentage of 65% girls and 35% boys are being supported under the program from the districts of Kaboong, Abim, Moroto, Kotido and Nakapiripirit in the Karamoja region.

Owing to insecurity in Karamoja caused by the warriors, FAWEU identified contact persons, one per district. These help in monitoring of students and providing termly reports and information on the beneficiaries to the FAWEU Secretariat.

Mvule Trust Scholarship Program

Mvule Trust, Uganda is working with FAWEU as a partner in administering scholarships and has to date provided support in 11 selected districts of Uganda, namely: Arua, Adjumani, Moyo, Yumbe, Nebbi, Katakwi, Amuria, Kaberamaido, Kasese, Kisoro and Bundibugyo. The selection of the districts was based on the Uganda Poverty levels, performance in the National Examinations, and the gender gap in education in the selected districts. Scholarship applications are received through the district education offices, secondary and primary schools, and through FAWEU mentors and members in the districts. The applications are reviewed and a short-list is generated for verification. The verification exercise is jointly done by FAWEU staff members, volunteers and education offices within the districts. The grant is so far benefiting 849 needy but academically promising students (75% girls and 25% boys).

Relatedly, aware that many young people are affected by HIV/AIDS either directly or indirectly, FAWEU initiated a peer educators training program in HIV/AIDS for behavioral change. Majority of the trained peer educators are former scholarship beneficiaries who are now in institutions of higher learning.

Applying for a FAWEU Scholarship

When applying for a FAWEU :.Scholarship, the applicant must submit the following
A hand written application to:
FAWEU Scholarship Task Force, P.O. Box 24117, Kampala
Clearly explaining the need for the bursary, indicating the name of the guardian,
village of residence and the sub-county
A recommendation letter from his/her primary school head teacher
A letter from the local council I (LC1) of area of residence
A copy of PLE result slip
A clear contact telephone or post office box number
A sketch map to the applicant’s home from the nearest trading centre

The Alliance

The Alliance for Community Action on Female Education (The Alliance) was launched by FAWEU in 1999 together with the National Strategy on Girls’ Education by the Ministry of Education, UNICEF and other stakeholders.

The Alliance was a program involving collaborate partnerships between organisations and individuals committed to advancing girls’ education in Africa. It was created under the auspices of the working group on female participation of the Association for the Development Education of Girls in Africa (ADEA).

The Alliance was a support mechanism aimed at strengthening the capacities of NGOs/CBOs to advance female education.

Some of its successes were the expansion of boarding facilities for rural girls’ schools; enhancing performance of girls in rural schools; enabling girls to do science at A’level; equipping libraries of two girls’ secondary schools with books; and providing reading tables, chairs and text books to a girls reading room in one of the remotest girls’ secondary school.

Bridging the Rural-Urban Gender Gap in Education (BTG) in Uganda

FAWE Uganda was greatly concerned about the disparities in educational opportunities between disadvantaged versus well-to-do parts of Uganda given the dichotomy in the Education system in Uganda; one for the urban/advantaged and the other for the rural/disadvantaged. Rural girls, in particular, face a triple jeopardy because they are also disadvantaged by the gender gap and negative cultural practices.
So it launched Bridging the Rural -Urban- Gender Gap in Uganda’s Education with a focus on girls as a three-year pilot project from 1999-2001 where best performing schools in Kampala were twinned with poor performing schools. The use of a teacher/student exchange enriched the exercise

Gayaza High School and Kampala Parents Primary School were linked to rural schools (poorly facilitated schools) in Kalangala, Nebbi and Pakwach districts, so as to exchange innovations, administrative techniques, provide basic textbooks and science equipment. The teachers, pupils and students from disadvantaged districts were exposed to well facilitated schools and technical organisations.

The result of the twinning has improved performance of the poor performing schools. Pajobi Primary School in Nebbi for example, registered a 1st grade in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2000 after many years, and the number of 1st and 2nd grades in Pakwach Girls’ Secondary School in the same district increased in the year 2000.

In addition, the level of community support to girls’ education in form of provision of girls’ learning needs as well as contribution to school requirements for girls increased; and community attitudes changed from condemnation to support for girls who fall pregnant at school.

Parents’ interests in affairs of the school also improved as well as management of school programs by the school administration.

Teachers’ confidence and commitment to improve performance was further enhanced, and students’ reading skills improved; while the cooperation established between the schools continued through letter writing.

FAWEU IT Project

FAWEU in 2000 received a grant from Women Connect! a US-based women’s project of the Pacific Institute of Women’s Health Organisation, for Internet Connectivity and setting-up a website. This was in a bid to enhance girls’ education in Uganda through the Internet and further bridge the rural-urban gap in education in Uganda.

The FAWEU website was finally there in November 2000 and school girls in rural Uganda were finally connected to the rest of the world via Internet connection at FAWEU Headquarters.

FAWEU responded by downloading reading material from the Internet and compiling it into booklets to equip the libraries of the rural girls’ schools.

The students and teachers in rural schools were excited about the initiative and to date appreciate the Internet as a useful reading resource to boost their schools’ performance and close the gap between them and the urban schools.

The FAWEU documentation centre has further been equipped with reading material for reference by students during holidays.

Giangkui School Linking Project

The project was an initiative of Save the Children UK in 2004, established with the aim of promoting inter-cultural exchange through information technology (IT). FAWEU has used the project to expose pupils and teachers from rural schools to computer use and to utilize the Internet for learning. The project has further enhanced the bridging of the rural-urban gap in education (BTG project) and helped to expose the pupils to the international world.

The Kalangala Pilot Initiative

FAWE Uganda initiated this project to establish a reciprocal link between education and the way of life of a fisher folk community so that basic education becomes relevant to life of the community. This transforms the school into a community resource.

FAWE Uganda believes that foundational education via the mother tongue is the entry point to a community’s culture that affirms and predisposes the beneficiaries to ownership of the educational process and outcomes – which is critical for sustainable development.

The Kalangala Pilot Initiative has three-core aspects, namely:
(a) accelerated literacy,
(b) sexual maturation, menstrual management and reproductive health improvement
(c) appropriate and marketable skills for holistic education.

The FAWEU Mentoring Program

The mentoring program is one of the main activities that FAWEU implements under her scholarship program. Mentoring is meant to provide guidance and counseling academically, socially and physically to the beneficiaries as a way of enabling them to achieve their goals in life. Each of the scholarship programs has a training program for mentors and each of the beneficiaries is attached to a mentor. Mentoring takes place on a one-to-one as well as through groups. There are also peer mentors who are former FAWEU beneficiaries and other young people interested in promotion of girls’ education. They carry out regular visits to the beneficiaries within their reach and encourage them.

NOTE: If you are an ACHIEVER (professional – male or female) and would like to mentor a girl/boy, please contact FAWEU.