Where we Work

Uganda

47 million

Population

166/191

HDI Ranking

5.7

Mean Yrs of School

31/1000

Infant Mortality

OUR IMPACT

Your support and the hard work of local community leaders meant that 3,713 people attended Wise Choices for Life Training in 2022.

The Work We Do

In Uganda, 25% of pregnancies are to teenagers. On average, women have 6 children as larger families are culturally preferred. This has trapped many families in poverty as young parents struggle to provide for their growing numbers of children.

Wise Choices for Life seeks to educate and empower Ugandan women and men with reproductive health literacy. Through our training programs conducted in schools, universities, churches, prisons, and remand homes, we work to prevent early pregnancies in Ugandan teenagers and equip community leaders to promote healthy family planning. This occurs both through practical training and through shifting cultures and attitudes towards reproduction.

Moving Forward Together

Twenty. This is the number of children fathered by 55-year-old prison officer Robert.

The goal: to father a son.

After fathering 18 daughters, his goal was achieved. However, the number of children posed a considerable problem to the family’s quality of life. Social, economic and educational struggles ensued.

Having joined the Wise Choices for Life program in 2021 and becoming an accredited trainer, Robert could reflect on his situation.

“We cannot change the past, but when they empower us, we can change the generation to come,” he asserted. Acknowledging his own parenting faults, Robert seeks to inform and educate others on how to live financially viable, healthy and fulfilled lives.

He aims to transfer the empowerment gained from the WCFL program to his community – specifically focusing on the inmates in the facility.

With the overarching notion that the individual has the power to change and redefine norms, the WCFL program destigmatises issues such as reproductive health. With greater education and knowledge, individuals are encouraged to make decisions about their health.

‘I am seeing a change in my life and even the people I train’, Robert explains. He encourages donors to fund the program as it ignites meaningful change within Ugandan communities.