In Kawempe, one of Kampala’s largest and most densely populated divisions, too many girls are pushed out of school before they are ready to leave. For child mothers, the barriers are especially harsh. They face poverty, stigma, long distances to services, and school systems that still treat pregnancy as the end of a girl’s education.
Uganda has laws and guidelines intended to protect girls’ education and support sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), but implementation is weak. In practice, many schools still do not know the guidance on keeping child mothers in school, or they ignore it. Comprehensive sexuality education is often missing, and health services are limited by stigma, lack of trained staff and gaps in access. As a result, the protections that exist on paper too often fail girls in real life.
This is where Tusitukirewamu Group Bwaise (TuWG), a grassroots women-led organisation in Kawempe, stepped in. Working closely with girls, women, families, schools and local stakeholders, TuWG has focused on one urgent question: what would it take for child mothers to return to school with dignity, and for girls to access the sexual and reproductive health information and services they need?
With support from Amplify Change, TuWG used an integrated approach to challenge the policy, cultural, religious and social barriers that keep girls out of school.
Building alliances for change
The strength of the project was using holistic approaches to change, including supporting coalitions, school governance, local stakeholders and health services.
TuWG created the Hope for Girls Coalition, a 20-member advocacy group bringing together people with different forms of influence and expertise. The coalition became a public voice for girls’ rights to education and sexual and reproductive health. Through radio talk shows, social media, public lectures and press interviews, members challenged stigma directly and broke the silence and misinformation that dominated community conversations. The coalition highlighted the long-term risks of excluding child mothers from education. As a result, 250 girls were enrolled across the supported schools.
Inside schools, TuWG supported 10 institutions to establish or revive Parents-Teachers Associations and School Management Committees. This work included rebuilding the structures that shape school culture and decision-making, so that girls who become mothers were no longer automatically excluded. It also opened the door for more honest conversations about comprehensive sexuality education and support for all learners.
At community level, parents and caregivers were encouraged to confront the cultural and religious norms that often drive shame, silence and discrimination against girls seeking SRH services and against child mothers returning to school. These sessions created room for conversations about protection, prevention of sexual violence, and the right of child mothers to continue their education. Parents became more willing to support child mothers to return to school. Families also started demanding services that were more respectful, confidential and responsive, especially for adolescent girls and child mothers.
TuWG helped strengthen links between schools and health facilities, making it easier for students to access youth-friendly SRH services. Outreach programmes and age-appropriate health information helped teachers and students understand the benefits of these services and challenge common misconceptions. As awareness of rights grew and services became more trusted, teenage girls and child mothers were more likely to seek care with confidence. Health facilities saw increased demand for sexual and reproductive health services, especially during youth-focused outreach activities.
Policy mattered too. TuWG worked with Kawempe division stakeholders to review existing laws and identify gaps. Together, they developed a minimum change agenda aimed at addressing the policies that were preventing child mothers from staying in or returning to school and limiting access to SRH services.
One girl’s story
In 2022, one girl’s education came to a halt. She had dropped out of school because school fees were unaffordable. She was living with her grandmother, who could no longer work, and the COVID-19 lockdown had deepened the family’s poverty. To survive, she began selling small items on the street and taking on washing work where she could.
Not long afterwards, she became pregnant. Giving birth was difficult. The nearest health facility felt too far away and too intimidating. Afterwards, she faced blame, shame and isolation in her community. But in 2024, her grandmother attended one of TuWG’s parenting sessions. What she heard there changed her perspective. She agreed to support her granddaughter’s return to school. The young woman used the small amount of money she had saved to enrol at the local school.
She met other girls with similar experiences, joined peer groups, and took part in counselling, life-skills and SRH sessions. In 2025, she completed her last year of schooling. Her story showcases what becomes possible when schools, families and communities choose support over stigma, and when girls are given the chance to continue writing their own futures.
Facing challenges
Despite great progress, barriers remain for young mothers. Harmful myths continue to circulate. Prejudice can still be found not only in communities but also among public officials and leaders whose support should make reintegration easier, not harder. Some schools remain especially difficult to engage because of strongly held religious positions that resist discussion of sexuality education or the inclusion of child mothers.
Even so, the project’s multi-sector approach has shown what is possible. It widened awareness of rights, safeguarding and access to care, and gave teenage girls and child mothers renewed confidence to return to school with hope. As a result of this work, TuWG has become a trusted source of information and support for parents, child mothers and stakeholders who previously lacked clear guidance on education and SRHR. The work also drew the attention of senior local leadership, including the Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority, who visited to learn from TuWG’s experience.
TuWG’s next chapter is clear: continue advocating for child mothers’ right to stay in school, strengthen implementation of existing guidelines, and build partnerships with more civil society organisations and donors so this model can reach other communities. The ambition is not only to change individual lives, but to help normalise a future in which pregnancy does not end a girl’s education.
