Children living in poverty face many barriers to education, but the stakes are especially high for girls.
Recent data indicates that only 54% of girls in Uganda complete their primary education, for reasons
relating to poverty, early marriage or social stigmas.
Te-Kworo Foundation is creating pathways for thousands of these young women to continue their
education. Our three boarding schools in Pader, Kitgum and Nwoya in northern Uganda provide
quality education to vulnerable girls who do not have access to school because of poverty, they are
orphaned, refugees or have a baby.
The Te-Kworo schools have reached record numbers of attendance, with 1,000 girls now enrolled
across our three campuses. While some families can afford to contribute to their daughters’
education, most cannot. Our scholarships program is allowing the majority of these students on
campus to live on site and attend for free.
The campus at Nwoya provides a program for the special circumstances of child mothers. The
curriculum is suited to the routine and grade level of these students and includes childcare facilities,
so that mothers have care available for their babies while they learn.
The Te-Kworo Vocational Training Program equips and empowers young women to start small
businesses in tailoring or catering. These young women are equipped to find employment, which will
help to protect them from early marriage and exploitation.
This year, we celebrate our first cohort of students going on to university. We are committed to
providing scholarships for all of these students, alongside ongoing academic and pastoral support, so
that they can complete their studies without the burden of fees. We also support girls to become
nurses and midwives, giving them a pathway to employment through our Clinic and Sonic Kworo
Hospital.
Our bold vision is to Secure a Future for African Girls and we believe that education is the key to
achieving this. Our goal is to ensure that vulnerable girls in northern Uganda have access to high
quality education, especially those girls who are most vulnerable to poverty or are excluded from
school because they have a baby.
We currently have 1,000 students enrolled in secondary education and 76 students enrolled in
vocational training - 64 in tailoring and 12 in catering. Through education and pastoral care, we
expect these girls will have the opportunity to think beyond village life and create a future for
themselves. The result of our efforts will be that students feel happy and safe at school, they learn
with dignity, are stretched academically and are directed into higher learning or vocational
opportunities that will result in livelihoods that lift them out of poverty.
Beyond the education of our students, this year we expect to:
• Deliver a comprehensive WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) program at our Nwoya and Pader
campuses
• Purchase additional lockers for our growing number of students
• Include computer literacy opportunities to ensure our students are technologically literate
• Provide agricultural learning and livelihoods opportunities to students and the community
• Grow the capacity of our teaching staff, engaging them in training that builds their skills and
improves education outcomes
Te-Kworo has an Australian management team and board and Ugandan management team and
board who are all in regular communication and work closely to assess our targets, expected
outcomes and reporting. We also provide regular communication to supporters through our
newsletter, social media platforms, website and impact report.
There are multiple trips throughout the year to see the work first hand. We have enjoyed very personal relationships with our supporters and welcome new friends to the Te-Kworo Foundation family.
Te-Kworo Foundation is a community-based organisation providing quality education, maternal and
child healthcare and social protection to girls, women and children in northern Uganda. Today,
Te-Kworo Foundation operates three boarding schools in northern Uganda. Our schools in Kitgum,
Pader and Nwoya provide quality education to vulnerable girls who do not otherwise have access to
school. These girls may be excluded because they have a baby, are orphans, refugees or have
families living in extreme poverty. More than 4,000 girls have benefitted from academic studies and
vocational training since the schools were founded, and numbers are still growing.
Te-Kworo Foundation also operates a Medical Clinic and a Mobile Clinic, giving thousands of women
and children access to essential healthcare each year. Our Clinic provides paediatric care, ante-natal
and post-natal care, and dental services to the local community. Our Mobile Clinic conducts regular
outreach to vulnerable and remote communities, delivering worming treatment for children, HIV and
malaria testing, ante-natal checks, and the distribution of birth kits and mosquito nets.
In partnership with Sonic Healthcare Foundation and the Barbara May Foundation, Te-Kworo
Foundation has also established the Sonic Kworo Hospital, located on 20 acres in Pader District. The
hospital will serve more than 500,000 people across the Pader and Agago Districts – a region where
the maternal mortality rate is twice the national average. Once fully operational, the 42-bed hospital is
expected to support 2,000 safe births annually, with two operating theatres, dedicated wards for
mothers and newborns, a specialised newborn unit, a blood bank, and antenatal, postnatal and family
planning services. The hospital will also provide nursing and midwifery training for girls in Te-Kworo
Foundation’s scholarship program.
