International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and Airtel Uganda have partnered to enable the girl child in the Karamoja region attain education.
This move was amplified to curb down challenges hindering teenage girls that influence them to drop out of school and sometimes end up in early marriages, having realized financial strains in the region that most parents fail to raise school fees, IIRR and the telecom giant came up with a campaign dubbed Girls for Goats that was launched at Airtel Headquarters with a cash package worth UGX11, 000,000 to buy the Goats.
Through this initiative each girl child in the region will receive two goats for free and when they reproduce kids, they are forwarded to the next girl, this will be achieved through working together with stake holders beginning with Parents, Government and the school authorities to ensure young girls stay in school until completion.
Speaking during the handover, Airtel Uganda Managing Director Mr. V.G Somasekhar pledged Airtel Uganda’s support to ensure that school-going children in local disadvantaged communities have access to quality education, which will benefit them, their families and their communities.
“Girl child education is not a priority in many local communities across Uganda. At Airtel Uganda, we believe that it is critical for the empowerment of women and are therefore committed to ensuring that girls in the most disadvantaged communities get equal opportunities to access quality education and realize their potential,” he noted.
According to United Nations’ Girls Education Initiative statistics, literacy rates for young females still lag behind that of young boys by five percent, and nearly half of all girls in Uganda are married before the age of 18. In Northern Uganda – Karamoja region, girls take on women roles faster because they cannot afford to go to or stay in school due to economic challenges.
Commenting on behalf of IIRR, Pamela B. Nyamutoka Katooro, the IIRR Uganda Country Director, appreciated the partnership with Airtel and stated that this would go a long way in improving education outcomes for disadvantaged girls especially in pastoral communities.
“Since 2015, IIRR’s Goats4Girls model has successfully been used to support over 2000 girls to enroll and stay in school. The initiative inhibits the practice of forced early marriage and empowers girls with not only educational benefits but also economic independence that enhances their self-worth, dignity and confidence,” she commented.
