USEF Seeks Shs18 Million to Sustain Education Sponsorship for 28 Girls in Terego
A group photo of the USEF team and their partner Peace for Women West Nile programs Officer. Photo by Matata Benzamin
Uriama Seff Empowerment Foundation (USEF), in partnership with Peace for Women, is set to host the third edition of its Education Charity Run to raise funds to sustain the education of 28 girls sponsored at Aripea Secondary School.
The organization also plans to support 14 additional girls, bringing the total number to 42, and is seeking over 18 million shillings to achieve the target for this year.
The run is scheduled for August 22, 2026, at Katrini Sub-county Headquarters in Terego District.
A survey conducted by USEF shows that the O-Level completion rate among girls in the district remains as low as seven percent, a gap the organization seeks to address through education support.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday ahead of the charity run, Bosco Andiku, the Programs Manager at USEF, said the initiative seeks to address persistent school dropout and teenage pregnancy in the district.
“Our main target for this year is 18 million shillings, which will cater for the 28 girls in the secondary school on the face of a vulnerable side.” Bosco said.
He said they will also conduct community barazzas to sensitize residents about early marriage, school dropout and other barriers to girls’ education, to encourage parents and children to embrace and prioritize education.
“We are going to have community barazzas to sensitize the people about the dangers of teenage pregnancy, school dropout and gender based violence, which affects girls’ education.”
He further added that, “Because of geographical location, you may be unable to come and run physically. You can send money as a donation to support the girls.”
The primary school completion rate for girls in Uganda stands at 57.4 percent but drops significantly to between 30 and 32.5 percent at secondary school level. West Nile districts continue to face educational challenges, including low learning outcomes and significant enrollment drop-offs between primary and secondary school.
Sabino Ringua, the Acting Communications Officer at USEF, said the low completion rate among girls at both primary and secondary levels in Terego requires collective action from the government and development partners. “We realize a number of learners drop out because of teenage pregnancy at the age of 15, 16, or even less and they cannot continue with education, and also because they are unable to be supported by parents.”
He said proceeds from the charity run will go entirely towards supporting the girls’ education.
“This proceeds from this run will support the school girls to study because other families are unable to support them”
Meanwhile, Grace Likico, the Programs Manager at Peace for Women West Nile, said the organization is partnering with USEF to improve girls’ access to education.
She attributed some cases of school dropout to gender-based violence in families, which she said affects children’s ability to remain in school.
“From the first edition to the second edition, we identified a lot of gaps in Terego district. There was a high rise in gender-based violence, high rate of school dropouts due to early pregnancies,” She noted.
“And we took that initiative to encourage the parents to live peacefully in their families, because some of these cases whereby children drop out of school, are caused by the parents.”
Every year, USEF identifies vulnerable girls who have completed Primary Seven but cannot afford secondary school fees and supports them to continue their education at O-Level, with two girls selected from each of the seven sub-counties in Terego District for the sponsorship program.