Young girls help their families move out of poverty in western Uganda
The social entrepreneur Mwalimu Musheshe has fought his entire life to build the new Uganda. It began in the 1980s during his studies when he played an active role in the resistance movement against Idi Amin. He ended up being jailed for a year and tortured. Since then, he has waged a fight against the idea of the poor, passive Ugandan in need of help.
Musheshe has proved that it is possible to achieve sustainable development by finding each individual’s driving force. Over 20 years ago, he founded the organisation Uganda Rural Development Training Programme (URDT) with the motto “Awakening the sleeping genius in each of us”. URDT educates girls, who, in turn, inspire and educate their families and neighbours to change their lives.
With an all-girls school, a university for women, vocational training with entrepreneurship, and a radio station, URDT has contributed to significant improvement for poor families in rural western Uganda. Social Initiative has collaborated with URDT since 2009. Lately the focus has been on developing e-learning and IT skills.
90% of primary students received the highest grade compared to 57% nationally
85% of families now eat 3 meals/day compared to only 35% in 2022
