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Vocational education in the Albertine region has received a major boost following the handover of a fully furnished ICT laboratory to Millennium Business School today. The facility jointly established by MTN Uganda and Enabel is aimed at facilitating ICT-enhanced learning.

Enabel Resident Representative Tom Vanneste says that given the importance of ICT skills in today’s world of work, the laboratory will play a key role in preparing young people for employment.

“ICT in education has been reduced to learning basic ICT skills, including word processing and working with spreadsheets. To bring vocational education into the 21st century, ICT will need to find its way into the workshops e.g. by utilizing car diagnostics apps for motor vehicle maintenance in the practical instruction workshops,” Vanneste says.

He however reveals that many vocational training institutes lack adequate computers, trained ICT staff, and ICT content and programmes.

To address the challenge, MTN Uganda provided computers and servers. It also supported the production of audio-visual learning teaching and learning content. MTN will additionally provide Millennium Business School internet for at least one year.

“The internet is full of relevant online Open Educational Resources that could help to boost technical and vocational training and keep learning up to date with the latest technology,” Vanneste says.

This is the second phase of the partnership between MTN and Enabel. In the initial phase, the Belgian development agency worked with the telecommunications provider to establish similar ICT laboratories at Amelo Technical Institute (Adjumani), St. Simon Peter’s Vocational Training Centre (Hoima), and St. Daniel Comboni Polytechnic (Moroto).

This second phase targets another set of three institutions including Millennium Business School. Other beneficiary institutions include; Uganda Technical College Kyema and Kasese Youth Polytechnic.

“MTN Uganda is intently committed to delivering the benefits of a modern connected world to everyone. We believe in creating leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress and accelerating the achievement of this vision through strategic partnerships such as the one with Enabel ” said the Senior Manager MTN Uganda Foundation, Bryan Mbasa.

Enabel through the Support to Skilling Uganda project is upgrading the institutions receiving the ICT support to Centres of Vocational Excellence through various initiatives including integration of ICT in teaching and learning, infrastructure development, private sector-led vocational training, etc.

Glorious Widows, a group that consists of widows, orphans, and women living with HIV/AIDS in the Makindye Division in Kampala has seen its tailoring business rebound on the back of the MTN Uganda staff initiative.

The group which started 22 years ago, deals in making dresses, suits as well as bags as a business to support their families. With 120 members, the group also helps members have access to education in relation to living positively with HIV/AIDS and drugs.

Although the members had weathered numerous storms to remain in the tailoring business, the COVID19 pandemic almost took them out of business due to reduced production resulting to low demand. Even so as the COVID 19 restriction were lifted this did not provide any reprieve as customers had moved on to new suppliers who had upgraded their equipment giving a much more improved service. The glorious widows were still using an old fashioned tailoring technique with old fashioned sewing machines unlike other garments shops that had moved on with the times. 

Faced with this situation, MTN Uganda through a recommendation from Kampala Capital City Authority’s directorate Gender and Community services provided six industrial and singer electrical sewing machines in June this year under the 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign to help in the quick recovery of their business.

Justine Nanteza, the director and founder of Glorious Windows said the new machines came with extra training that has boosted their production volumes.

 “With these fast and none-tiresome digital machines, we can produce 100 from???? bags and other clothing products per day and earn faster income once taken to the market,” she said.

Nanteza said the new sewing machines and the now promising tailoring business has attracted more women living with HIV/AIDS in the Makindye Division to join the group with the hope to improve their livelihoods and that of their households.

She said the goal for the group is to ensure that every group member earns some income. “I want to see that everyone is earning some income through making products for sell,” she said.

She also said they are in such of a new home for their business as they have grown in number and are attracting more women living positively.

Bryan Mbasa, Senior Manager MTN Uganda Foundation said they are excited that the campaign has created a positive impact on the communities in which the company operates.

 “We consider sustainability as a very key part of our initiatives that we do both as corporate social responsibility and as a business in general,” he said, adding that they look forward to reaching out to more communities on skilling, work readiness, and innovation culture for start-up and Small and Medium Enterprises.

MTN Uganda also extended support to the Tesobar deaf carpentry group in Lira, the Masaka Diocese Youth, the Jinja-based Tabulera Kawuma deaf carpentry, the disabled association of Fort Portal,  Bunusya Abarema Twetungure Association in Mbarara, Focus for Life Development Link in Kawempe, Missionaries of the poor in Rubaga and the Nakawa Market Vendors Association.

Launched in 2007, 21 Days of Y’ello care is a global award-winning staff initiative that sees MTN staff step out of their offices every year, to make a difference in the lives of the communities within which they work. 

Some of the past initiatives in Uganda include a successful two-day career expo and various training, mentorship, and entrepreneurship programs aimed at tackling youth unemployment to positively impact communities countrywide.

 

As the world celebrates and recognizes the International charity day this 5th September, MTN Uganda stands firm on the words of Mother Theresa “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

The International Day of Charity was established with the objective of sensitizing and mobilizing people, NGOs, and stakeholders all around the world to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities. It also recognizes and celebrates the contribution of charitable organizations and the work they do to alleviate pain and suffering. The day honors Mother Theresa who is known worldwide for her charity acts throughout her life to create a better life for the sick and poor.

MTN Uganda has over the years shown its commitment in delivering digital solutions for Africa and harnessing the power of its leading brand to purposefully enable the benefits of a connected world to everyone.

It is therefore not surprising that as they continue to grow and reach out to various customers, they have strongly worked on the vision to promote a better life for all. As a business MTN understands that they depend and thrive on the communities in which they operate and it’s the responsibility of the company to support the people in the communities they operate in by complementing national efforts in areas where there is great need.

In 2007, the MTN Uganda Foundation was inaugurated as the MTN CSR arm birthed to solely give back to the community and further all CSR activities. The MTN Foundation is a not-for-profit entity with its own board of trustees to govern the entity. Every year MTN dedicates a percentage of their profit to CSR through the Foundation to extend hope to those in need.

The MTN Foundation serves to strategically improve 4 thematic areas that include Youth, Health, Education and ICT. As communities continuously evolve, these areas have been identified as areas that require an immediate boost to help improve and sustain the lives of millions to create a better future for all. 

 

MTN Uganda also continues the work of charity through the 21 Days of Y’ello care campaign, an annual MTN employee voluntarism initiative observed by all employees across all its markets to make a difference in the lives of the communities in which they work.

This year the 21 Days of Y’ello care proceeds were dedicated to helping the affected community groups get back on their feet in order to foster economic recovery after the COVID pandemic. The pandemic devasted a number of businesses and community groups due to the restrictions like nationwide lockdowns put in place to control the spread of the virus. A number of beneficiaries were recorded including but not least, orphanages, youth initiative groups and women led businesses.

The MTN Foundation in a bid to further spread hope and combat social challenges such as maternal and child mortality, has dedicated proceeds from the MTN Kampala Marathon that is run annually to bolstering and boosting maternal health. The MTN Kampala marathon has been ran in support of maternal health for the last 3 years.

Most recently, MTN reached out to the Mbale flood victims through the Uganda Red Cross Society with aid worth UGX 500 million to support the displaced families in the Elgon region with non-food relief kits. The non-food kits were to help 100 families slowly start up their lives with temporary homestead requirements such as cooking items and a tarpaulin for shelter. 

MTN Uganda remains steady fast in improving lives, supporting government initiatives and creating opportunities for people to live a more deserving life in these changing times. MTN continues to call upon other entities to uphold the pillars of charity and create a better tomorrow for all.

Missionaries of the Poor, Bethlehem Children Home in Busega, has been able to feed and steadily provide decent health care to vulnerable children under their wing after support from MTN Uganda’s staff initiative dubbed 21 days of yellow care.

Founded in 2010 under the leadership of Fr. Hayden Augustine—successor to Fr Philip Selvaraj and Br John Reddy, Bethlehem Children Home hosts over 120 boys, 66 of whom are deaf, dumb and mentally incapacitated. The other 60 children are able-bodied school-going children who were either abandoned at birth or left without caretakers after the demise of their parents.

The orphanage takes care of vulnerable children who they have taken of the streets or have been brought to them by poverty-stricken parents unable to care for them any longer. The home is sustained by the generous support from good Samaritans who aid their survival and continuity. However, just as every group, family and community was ravaged by the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic, the home was badly affected plunging their food supplies and eating into their saving to provide medical care for these vulnerable children.

With this huge gap in the required basic needs for these vulnerable children in the past two years, MTN Uganda recently stepped in and provided clothing, beddings, foodstuffs, cleaning agents, and wheelchairs for immobile children as well as computers for school-going ones at the Children’s Home.

Brother Joachim, the caretaker priest at the Missionaries of the Poor, Bethlehem Children Home, said it is has been a daily struggle to furnish the demanding needs of their children and provide all round care to them.

“We don’t have any business or income generating opportunities that can help us support this cause, that’s why it profoundly touches our heart every time MTN Uganda reaches out and supports our mission. MTN Uganda has aided our survival and granted the children more joy and hope for the future.”

 Joachim said that the MTN Uganda support has made the administration at the Bethlehem Children’s Home remain hopeful that things will continue to move in the direction envisioned in their mission.

He said despite the fact the children’s home faces tough times in meeting their needs, they have continued to pray to God to help them realize the message of Matthew 25:35-37 which is to  give shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, clothe the needy, look after the sick and do to our brothers and sisters as we would to ourselves.

Bryan Mbasa, senior manager at MTN Uganda Foundation said they are excited that the campaign has continued to have a positive impact on the communities in which the company operates.

“We are glad that we have been able to put smiles on the faces of the children at Bethlehem Home through our support and we look forward to more collaborations and support,” he said.

Missionaries of the Poor was founded in 1981 by Father Richard Ho Lung a Chinese priest born in Jamaica where his misally began. His vision and mission were to reach out to all communities and pick up children who were orphans or who have been abandoned.

He opened up several homes around the world and across continents and some of the homes are located in Haiti, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Kenya. 

Other groups that received MTN support during the campaign, include; the Tesobar deaf carpentry group in Lira, the Masaka Diocese Youth,  Jinja-based Tabulera Kawuma deaf carpentry, the disabled association of Fortportal, the Bunusya Abarema Twetungure Association in Mbarara, the Glorious widows of Makindye, Focus for Life Development Link in Kawempe, and the Nakawa Market Vendors association.

The MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care is an annual MTN staff volunteerism campaign observed by all MTN employees across all its markets.  The campaign that dates back to 2007 is executed within the first 21 days of June every year.

MTN Uganda Foundation and the official partners of the MTN Kampala Marathon in conjunction with the Ministry of health and UNFPA have officially today handed over a newly refurbished maternity ward inclusive of a state-of-the-art operating theatre at the Kalangala HC IV in a concerted effort to curb the raising maternal and child mortality rates in the region.

The MTN Kampala marathon that is run every year, for the last sixteen years has supported various causes ranging from providing safe water to water stressed areas in Uganda to providing sanitation facilities in schools among many interventions.

In the last three years however, maternal and child health have headlined the MTN Kampala Marathon with all the proceeds going towards complementing the government of Uganda’s efforts towards maternal health

This project is underpinned by MTN’s commitment to creating shared value and improving the lives of the people living in the communities within which it operates.

In a bid to uphold its commitment of investing in Uganda’s health sector, MTN Uganda aims to achieve the SDG 3 which focuses on health and well-being of people in communities. A total sum of Ugx.216 million was injected in the refurbishing and equipping of the maternity ward and the operating theater.

Kalangala district has a total of 84 islands and a continually changing population. The upgrading of the health center will aid in providing improved services to the numerous people in the region.

The auspicious occasion to hand over the newly refurbished maternity ward and operating theater was graced by district officials, the Ministry of Health and implementing partners such as UNFPA and Reproductive Health Uganda.

In his remarks to officiate the handover ceremony, Mr. Patrick Tusiime the Commercial Head central from MTN Uganda, relayed that this newly refurbished maternity ward and operating theater will give mothers and their children a safe and advanced medical facility where they can receive all round care.

“We believe that with the refurbishments made and the new equipment acquired at this facility will contribute to the periodic antennal visits made by pregnant women and also provide a safe environment for mothers whiling giving birth, this will help curb any anticipated issues in time and offer safe delivery for birth mother and child. Mr. Tusiime

The newly refurbished and equipped maternity ward plus operating theater in the Kalangala HC IV will enable the provision of quality health services that will aid the preservation of maternal-child health and general restoration of lives in the region.

The guest of Honor Mr. Richard Mugahi, Assistant Commissioner in charge of Reproductive and infant Health from Ministry of Health raved about MTN Uganda’s generosity in prioritizing maternal health and working to better communities by providing basic needs like access to better healthcare.

“We applaud MTN Uganda for their continued effort in supporting government initiatives that oversee the reduction of the soaring maternal and child mortality rate. We have seen a slight decline over the last 2 years and it is imperative that we stay the plans put in place to curb it.” He said

Mr. Mugahi retreated that the decline in mortality rates has reduced by 3.21% from last year and as government they commend institutions that have contributed to this decline such as MTN but urges the communities and health centers to remain vigilant in the struggle to end maternal and child mortality.

The operating theater and maternity ward were refurbished and equipped with machines such as the ultra sound, operating theater lights, oxygen concentrators, patient monitor for the theater, sterilizer, baby warmers and more. All these will be crucial in aiding safe delivery of babies and catering to patients during surgical procedures.

One of the biggest beneficiaries is the Kawempe National Referral hospital that garnered support in the amount of UGX 400 million which set up a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit to collectively accommodate newborns.

MTN Uganda in realizing its commitment to support government and community initiatives embarked on implementing a 1.3 billion project called “Improving Maternal and Newborn Health outcomes”. This project has improved and enhanced the functionality of five health facilities which include Muyembe HC IV in Bulambuli district, Pakwach HC IV in Pakwach district, Karugutu HC IV in Ntoroko district and finally the newly commissioned facility in Kalangala district.

Kamwokya 1 Village B Women Tailoring group, a village savings group comprising of wives of policemen stationed at Kira Road police barracks has realized growth in their collective community business following a boost from the MTN Uganda staff community empowerment initiative. 

Launched in 2015, the tailoring group was created as a way for the women to raise their household incomes and complement to their husband’s earnings so as to support their family livelihood. The group currently caters to over 15 households in the community through tailoring and selling different clothing apparel including school uniforms, bags and casual wear.

Despite the zeal of the women to make money, as most businesses, during the country wide lockdown caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the group faced dire challenges as their main source of business was schools that had been closed for over a year leaving them without a readily available market for their goods. In response, the group decided to diversify their business and expand their product portfolio with the inclusion of new products such as making liquid soap and body oil but none the less, they were not able to meet their financial targets.

As the lockdown eased, the group found that it required to recapitalize the business for growth in recovery of the two-year lock down period when the business was not performing. MTN Uganda through a recommendation from KCCA’s directorate Gender and Community services provided UGX 8 million to the group in June this year under the 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign to help quicken the recovery.

With this support, the group purchased equipment to boost production in line with the increased demand for school apparel after the lockdown. In a period of just two months, the group has reported increase in production of school sweaters from 42 to 240 per month.

“With the MTN Uganda contribution, our business has really experienced quick and heightened profit turnover. We have been able to buy a new knitting machine, 3 sacks of thread and industrial sewing machines that have now spontaneously increased our production volumes” said Lillian Cheptoyek the group Chairperson. “

With increased production to match their market demand, revenues have improved, attracting more women in the community to join the business venture as a source of income. With growth the group has high hopes for the future.

“As the business grows, we are in the process of opening up a new training section to carter for newly registered members, with the long-term plan of buying land and setting up a permanent structure that will house more policemen’s wives beyond just Kira Road police station.”

Bryan Mbasa, senior manager at MTN Uganda Foundation said they are excited that the campaign has created a positive impact on the communities in which the company operates.

 “We consider sustainability a very key part of our initiatives both as Corporate Social Responsibility and as a business in general,” he said, adding that they look forward to reaching out to more communities for skilling, work readiness, and innovation culture for start-up and Small and Medium Enterprises.

Other groups that received MTN support during the campaign include; the Tesobar deaf carpentry group in Lira, the Masaka Diocese Youth, the Jinja-based Tabulera Kawuma deaf carpentry, the disabled association of Fort Portal, the Bunusya Abarema Twetungure association in Mbarara, the glorious widows of Makindye, Focus for Life Development Link in Kawempe, Missionaries of the poor in Rubaga and the Nakawa Market Vendors association.

The MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care is an annual MTN staff volunteerism campaign observed by all MTN employees across all its markets to make a difference in the lives of the communities within which they work.  The campaign that dates back to 2007 is always executed within the first 21 days of June every year.  

 

 

MTN Uganda Foundation in partnership with Comprehensive Rehabilitation services (CoRSU) will sponsor an additional 50 children with disabilities for corrective surgery besides the 80 that were sponsored in 2019.

The MTN-CoRSU Disability partnership was initiated in 2019 with the aim of improving the quality of life of vulnerable children and youth living with disabilities in Uganda especially those that would not easily access or afford the services.

CoRSU is a private local NGO located in Kisubi, founded in 2006 with a mandate to prevent disability and to restore ability for children through the provision of quality Orthopedic and Plastic surgery, assistive devices, therapy and Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR).

According to UNICEF , children and youth living with disabilities were pointed out as one of the most excluded and marginalized groups in the world. Most of the disabilities were attributed to limited access to health care, hazardous living conditions, malnutrition and poor hygiene. This has led to the death toll of about 80% of children living with disabilities.

It is upon this premise that MTN Uganda Foundation partnered with CoRSU to intervene with the formulation of the “Improving the quality of life for children with disabilities in Uganda” project. The project has since provided mobilization services to bring together children with disabilities from hard-to-reach regions of Uganda like Karamoja region, Budduda region and Kalangala.

The 1st phase of the program cost UGX 184 million to provide corrective surgery for 80 children. This second phase will also be costing the same amount of UGX 184 million for 50 children to give them a more comprehensive treatment package that can allow up to two surgeries per child.

The project supports the mobilization of children and youth from the hard-to-reach regions in Uganda and selects patients who are financially unable to afford this treatment. They are then transported to CoRSU hospital where they receive extensive care from CoRSU specialists in form of quality therapies, corrective surgeries, inpatient hospital care and medical follow ups until they are in good health for discharge

Speaking at the launch event in Kisubi, the MTN Senior Manager for the MTN foundation, Brayan Mbasa Said “A child’s formative years are very crucial and with a disability they are faced with numerous challenges which is why we found it prudent to step in and give them a life changing opportunity that can be provided by modern medicine.”

“Children are truly the future, and at MTN we take that to heart and that’s why investing in preserving and bettering these children’s lives is a major priority in our foundation.” he added.

The Launch event comprised a sports gala that was a fun affair activity that aimed at promoting interaction, sports entertainment for the children at CoRsu.

The guest of Honor, Minster for Gender and Nudipu Mrs. Mary K Okurut while addressing the public at the CoRSU sports gala highly commended MTN for its efforts in supporting the government of Uganda in extending health services to the disabled.

“Companies like MTN have gone a long way in supporting various health initiatives to those in need and those who have no or limited access to medical care, we salute you MTN and pray that other companies can emulate your generosity.”

MTN Uganda under its purpose and ambition 2025 is committed to attaining the advancement of the United Nations SDG 3 whose goal is to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being for all at all ages. These health prompting activities have been attained through MTN’s acceleration of implementation through partnerships.

 

Over 100 youth have been trained in how to use monitoring and evaluation tools to track business goals under the MTN youth Skilling program.

The MTN youth skilling program is a partnership between MTN Foundation Uganda and Ubinufu systems aimed at inspiring and empowering youth with the goal of creating practical ICT driven solutions to challenges in society.

The program, which kicked off in December 2020 targeted 100 beneficiaries from university graduates, small and medium enterprises and young innovators in a bid to prepare them for a market where they can create and sustain jobs.

This year, the program has offered online training workshops for the youth focused on how to successful run a business focused on the day-to-day operations.

In the recently held a session, Nelson Munyanda the Manager of MTN Foundation tabled the use of monitoring and evaluation in one’s business or tasks.

Munyanda detailed the methodology used in evaluating projects and static businesses. He observed that for the development of business plans and proposals, goal objectives must be set and there must be checks and balances. 

Mr. Munyanda went on to discuss the importance of setting a criteria for M&E that includes measures of effectiveness, relevance, impact, coordination and cohesion. He added that one must be able to map their businesses stakeholders and know how to address their different concerns n order to have business success.

He added that the M&E comprises of a logical framework that outlines the objectives, inputs, outputs, and outcomes of the intended project and the indicators that can be used to measure all these. Also, a baseline study should be undertaken to ascertain the level of the business or project with mid-term and endline evaluations.

These checks and balances are aspects of monitoring and evaluation that help to address the progress of the project and how to ensure the sustainability of projects or businesses.

“Every job, activity, business, and project have an aspect of Monitoring and evaluation (M&E), this is seen at the planning stage, implementation stage, and close out of a project. One must have an M & E framework which will help evaluate their goals and targets of their work to achieve the desired success” said Mr.Munyanda.

As he ended his discussion, he concluded by reminding the listeners that feedback is a very important aspect in M&E and tasked them to ensure tools such as informal conversations, observations and surveys are put in place to collect this reliable feedback.

This online training session had over -100 youth participants who were listening in and participating with a number of raised questions to the moderator who answered and guided them with answers and research topics.

MTN Uganda foundation realizes the deep challenge of the unemployment crisis in Uganda and has taken up such interventions to extend knowledge and skilling to the youth so they can take strides in improving their businesses or creating jobs that will serve them and their communities to deter the increasing unemployment rates.

Through these upskilling training sessions, MTN Uganda is reverberating its commitment to fostering shared value through supporting the government in advancing the attainment of the UN SDG set goals. 

 

MTN Uganda’s Corporate Social Responsibility arm, the MTN Foundation has donated Ugx 50,000,000 towards the Elgon region flood victims through the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS). This money will be used to buy non-food relief items to support up to 100 of the families that have been displaced.

The devastating floods ensued after two rivers burst their banks, following the heavy rains that hit the Elgon region. The flash floods submerged farms, homes, shops, and roads. Thousands of people were displaced while more than 24 others lost their lives. The most affected districts include Mbale, Kapchorwa, Bulambuli, Manafwa, Sironko, and Namisindwa,

It is against this premise that MTN Uganda, through its foundation arm which aims to improve the lives of the communities within which the Telecom operates has come in to reach out to the Elgon region floods victims with relief aid worth UGX. 50 million targeting 100 families and 600 people altogether.

While handling over the dummy cheque to the Red Cross at the MTN headquarters today, MTN Uganda’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Bugembe expressed MTN’s heartfelt sympathy to all people affected by the floods. 

“Facing such a disaster at such a critical time as the country is recovering from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is a tough trial. As MTN Uganda, we stand with the people of the Elgon region who have suffered great loss in these heavily destructive flash floods. We hope that this modest support we have rendered will offer them comfort and a foundation for social and economic recovery,”

MTN’s contribution of UGX. 50 million shall be used to provide for 100 households non-food-item kits to reach out to the most vulnerable families comprising of children, women, disabled people and the elderly. Each of the kits contains 2 cooking pots, 6 cups, 6 plates, 1 knife, 1 ladle, 2 jerry cans, 3 blankets, 3 mosquito nets, 3 bars of soap, and 1 tarpaulin for shelter.

While receiving the cheque, Robert Kwesiga, the Uganda Red Cross Secretary General appreciated MTN for always supporting disaster-stricken communities across the country. 

“This is not the first time MTN Uganda has supported people affected by disasters. We are happy to have a company like MTN that has always supported us in extending relief to various communities that are hit by disasters.” Kwesiga said.

As a corporate citizen, MTN Uganda is committed to improving the lives of the people in the communities within which it operates. This is done by complementing the government’s efforts in various national priority areas including disaster responses.

 

 MTN Foundation has today unveiled a training facility at the Smart Girls foundation aimed at providing vocational and business skills to over 400 girls annually.

The facility which was completed at a cost of over Ugx 300 million, will be fully equipped with a computer laboratory with internet connectivity, a vehicle servicing station and a washing bay.  

To upskill the girls for the required market skills, the facility will focus on vocational and business courses inclusive of; mechanical engineering, electrical installation, construction, house painting, tailoring, carpentry, welding and catering among others.

Speaking at the unveiling event, The MTN General Manager for Wholesale& carrier services, Mrs Juliet Nsubuga said the facility was aimed at providing hands-on training experience that will allow the girls and women to appreciate the intricacies of building a business and thus creating employment amidst market gender biases. 

“MTN believes that the acquired skills will help the Girl child to compete equally with their male counterparts by offering them opportunities to diversify and break the glass ceiling into Jobs or business that have been a preserve for men.” She said.

In addition to training the young women, the vehicle servicing station and washing bay are also expected to ensure sustainability of the project through generating income for the Smart Girls Foundation for services rendered by the trainers to the public. The project is envisaged to give birth to 40 new women-led businesses in the country.

Smart Girls Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation centred on skilling and empowering the girl child with the vision to transform their lives for a brighter future.

In her remarks, the Guest of Honour, The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social, Development, Hon Betty Amongin thanked MTN and Smart Girl foundation for the initiative saying it complements government’s ambitions towards promoting gender equality and empowering the girl child.

“Government has come up with various initiatives including the Presidential Initiative on Skilling Girl Child and equipping the Business and Technical Vocational Skills to enable girls and young women acquire necessary skills to secure jobs or start up their own businesses.  In spite these efforts, government recognizes that there’s still hard work a head and therefore it gives me profound happiness to see entities like MTN Uganda and smart girls foundation supporting the same and sharing in government’s goal to skill the girl child.” She said.

The partnership between MTN Foundation and Smart Girls Foundation is one of many interventions undertaken by the former to empower women and girls in Uganda.

In June 2019, during the 21 days of YelloCare, the annual staff volunteerism initiative, MTN supported the Smart girls Foundation with a donation worth UGX30million with the aim of enhancing the girls’ learning experience. As a result, the organisation increased the number of girls trained at the facility from 30 to 64 in a wide range of programs including mechanical, electrical installations and welding.

In the same year, MTN announced UGX50m sponsorship towards the Kyabazinga Girl Child program aimed at supporting and improving the lives of women and youth in the Busoga region.

Similarly, MTN Foundation in 2016 partnered with the Forum for African Women Educationalists Uganda Chapter (FAWEU) to provide full cover University Education scholarships for ten (10) Ugandan girls across the country.