Summary
Knowledge for Change does not only run its own projects but also supports a number of local, independent Community Based Organisations (CBOs) with similar organisation objectives to our own. Many of these CBOs are relatively small but are highly experienced in their respective fields and run extremely beneficial projects supporting the health and educational needs of local communities. The areas of focus of these CBOs are varied and include women and children’s empowerment, mental health services, family planning, HIV screening and counselling, caring for children with physical and mental disabilities and rehousing orphaned children within wider families and communities. K4C provides support in various forms including providing direct finance, staff capacity building, joint research opportunities, use of our office facilities and human resources.
Identification of Partners
K4C is always open to exploring new partnerships and recognises the great work being done by other organisations in the local areas and sectors within which we operate. We are committed to only supporting organisations which share the same core objectives and principles on ethics and sustainability. We focus our support on based on the nature of activities being undertaken, the effectiveness of interventions, the transparency and integrity of the partner organisation and their ability to achieve value for money. We will only partner with an organisation which demonstrates a real desire and commitment to the partnership and where expectations of each party are clear from the outset. K4C has several Memorandums of Understanding in place to govern partnership activities, expectations, responsibilities and decision making.
If you are interested in establishing a partnership with Knowledge for Change, please contact us by email (info@knowledge4change.org).
Getting and Keeping Girls in Education
Ensuring that girls attend School is not only important for their education; it is also critical to their access to health education and preventive health (including HPV Vaccination). Uganda suffered one of the longest periods of school closures during COVID with schools closed for 2 years. This was followed by further closures during subsequent Ebola outbreaks.
In 2022, K4C partnered with Andrea Walker at the University of Bolton to host 6 Commonwealth Professional Fellows (Rose Kusemererwa, Phiona Kemiyondo, Richard Alituha, Mourren Akatukunda, Mary Kobugabe and Prossy Kihunde) for 3 months between February and May. The team enjoyed engaging with Youth and Community Work students at Bolton University and a wide range of visits to expose them to the UK context and give them time, as a group, to discuss the experiences of girls in Uganda and the barriers they experience when trying to access and remain in Education. One activity undertaken involved creating a skit to demonstrate the barriers faced by young girls’ in accessing education
What Next?
One of the Fellows, Rose Kusemererwa, was subsequently been awarded a grant of £1000 by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission to begin training 30 ‘Senior Women’ (Teachers with a specific responsibility for girls sexual and health education) in both primary and secondary schools in Kabarole district of Uganda from March 2023.
K4C is continuing its work to improve young girls’ health and education via its work on improving access to HPV vaccination and through ongoing engagement with our partners at several Community Based Organisations (CBOs) across Uganda and Tanzania that focus exclusively on women and girls’ empowerment.
For more information, see: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/?s=Girls+education