End the year with thanks and good news

As the year draws to a close, I wanted to share a short reflection - and some good news - with you.

2025 has been a difficult year for many of the girls and young women we work with in Kampala. Rising costs, shrinking services due to aid cuts and growing insecurity in the run up to the presidential elections have made daily life more uncertain.

And yet, because of people like you — and through our close partnership with Tusitukirewamu Group (TWG) — Awamu has been able to remain present, listening, adapting and standing alongside girls when other services closed.

Here are a few things your support helped make possible this year:

💛 A place of safety, when it mattered most
Our Nansamba Safe Haven remained open throughout the year, providing emergency protection, care and follow-up for girls escaping violence. At a time when many women’s protection services closed, more than 1,100 girls and young women found safety, counselling and support — often arriving frightened and exhausted, and leaving with a sense of stability and hope.

“When I arrived, I was scared and tired. Here, they listened to me. I slept without fear for the first time.” - Girl supported through the Safe Haven.

💛 Respectful healthcare for girls who are often pushed out of the system
Through our girl-friendly sexual and reproductive health work, more than 6,800 girls and young women accessed confidential, non-judgemental healthcare this year — through clinics, outreach and integrated support across our programmes. Girls told us that being treated with respect, rather than shame, made it possible to seek help early and stay engaged with care.

💛 Girls staying in school — and believing in their futures
We supported over 250 children to stay in education, many of them child mothers or survivors of violence. Alongside this, our Creating Girl-Friendly Schools work is helping to shift school cultures — training teachers and staff, strengthening safeguarding, and supporting peer-led groups so girls feel safer, listened to and able to participate.

💛 Skills, confidence and income-earning pathways
This year, hundreds of girls and their caregivers took part in skills and literacy programmes, helping rebuild confidence and find practical ways to support themselves and their families.

As we look ahead to next year, I’m pleased to share that we’re welcoming the Randall Charitable Foundation as a new partner, alongside our ongoing work with the Conservation, Food & Health Foundation, to support the next phase of our sexual and reproductive health work. Their partnership allows us to continue delivering direct care to more than 15,000 girls. Whilst working with health workers so respectful, girl-friendly care becomes part of everyday practice - reaching many more girls over time.

None of this happens in isolation. It happens because of a community that believes girls deserve safety, dignity and real opportunities. And that change takes time, trust and presence.

Thank you for being part of that community this year.

Emma

Photos from our community health outreach work