INFANTS AND HEALTH
In Uganda:
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Healthcare access is limited — maternal mortality stands at 343 deaths per 100,000 live births, and only 42% of births are attended by skilled health personnel.
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Basic needs go unmet — nearly 30% of children under five lack clean drinking water, and most early childhood centers are severely under-resourced.
Medical Services
We ‘Rehabilitate’ our pregnant teens by providing mental health counseling, health talks, clothing, hygiene supplies, and full prenatal care through our nurses and midwife on staff. We partner with a local hospital for childbirth services and fund all needed fees. Our young mothers typically require c-sections due to their smaller body sizes. We even ensure that every mother receives a Baby Shower to express how loved and valued both mother and baby are to our organization.
Infant Care
We provide full post-natal care for our mothers and their newborns at our center. We have an onsite nursery where our nurses watch over the babies and address any medical needs that arise. Mothers are taught how to breastfeed, bathe, soothe, and generally care for their babies. In the few cases where mothers are unable to bond with their babies due to trauma, we step in to provide full infant care, counseling, and identification of foster homes if needed.
Mama Kits
Every year we distribute our MAMA KITS to pregnant teens in Buwaya with materials for a safe delivery outside a hospital (cotton, gauze, blades, surgical thread, etc.). Buwaya is a village on one of the small Islands in Uganda. It's a village where at least 4 out of every 10 women die during childbirth because they can't afford the required supplies requested by the government free hospitals.
FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE
In Uganda:
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Child marriage is still widespread — 34% of women aged 20–24 were married before 18, often due to poverty.
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Teenage pregnancy is high — about 25% of girls aged 15–19 are already mothers, with a 366% spike among girls aged 10–14 during COVID school closures.
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10% of Ugandan girls aged 15–19 have experienced sexual violence (Guttmacher Institute)
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About 1 in 3 young women (35%) aged 18–24 report sexual abuse during childhood (UNICEF)
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Youth Rescue
We ‘Rescue’ underage girls who are victims of assault and have been sexually abused resulting in unplanned pregnancies. The girls we rescue are typically between the ages of 11-18 years old. Supporting women’s health will ensure that that a teenage girl who becomes pregnant will be supported to deliver a healthy baby, thereby reducing maternal and neonatal mortality.
Our Foundation House dormitories provide a friendly and safe space for our adolescent pregnant girls and teenage mothers. We provide care and emotional support to help them transition into the center. In the period since January 2019 we have worked with over 300 teenage / adolescent mothers.
March for Life
In the month of March, we host a March for Life event in the community partnering with community members, men's groups, educational institutions, and church organizations.
The event is aimed at raising awareness about teenage pregnancy and supporting vulnerable women and girls in our community. Our vision is to continue creating awareness, educating communities, and empowering young people—especially boys—to take responsibility and stand against teenage pregnancy.
Self-Defense Workshops
We provide self-defense training at our center to equip participants with critical skills and knowledge to protect themselves against domestic violence and sexual assault.
The training not only emphasized physical defense techniques but also encourages girls to speak out with confidence and stand against abuse. These tools are vital in our ongoing efforts to combat teenage pregnancy and promote the safety and well-being of young women in the community. Girls gain invaluable life skills and, most importantly, a renewed sense of confidence and self-worth.
EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
In Uganda, only about 1 in 4 girls enrolls in secondary school. Many girls drop out early due to poverty, early marriage, or the inability to afford school fees. Girls are far more likely than boys to miss out on continuing education beyond primary school, widening the gap in opportunity and economic independence. Research shows that when girls are educated, entire communities benefit—they earn higher incomes, delay marriage, improve family health, and break the cycle of poverty.
School Enrollment
After birth of their children, and after neonatal care, the less vulnerable young mothers are reintegrated into their communities. One way in which we do this is by providing funding for school fees and supplies so mothers can return to their pathway to knowledge. We provide funding for their children as well when they become of school age.
Vocational Training
We ‘Restore’ our teenage moms by equipping them with vocational skills that build confidence and resilience to survive a harsh and hostile world. Such skills include tailoring, shoe making, hairdressing, basket weaving, jewelry making, and auto repair.
Entrepreneurship
In order to help our mothers become self-sufficient, we train them on how to start a business and provide start-up capital. By selling the goods from their vocational training, they are able to continuously raise money for tuition and care of their children.
NUTRITION
Hunger and Food Insecurity is an ongoing problem in Uganda.
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24% deaths among women aged 1-49 were attributed to poverty related factors: sanitation, nutrition, and inadequate care (UBOS- 2020)
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22 children under 5 years estimated to die every day in Uganda due to poverty related diseases (UNICEF-2020)
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55 children under 18 years estimated to die every day in Uganda due to poverty related causes: malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia (UNICEF-2020)
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24% deaths among women aged 15 to 49 years were attributes to poverty related factors (UNICEF-2020)
Food Security
We raise funds and partner with other organizations to provide food for our teenage mothers and children, along with diapers and formula. We also teach our mothers how to cook and prepare nutritious meals preparing them for life outside of the rescue center.
Agriculture
Increasing sustainable farming practices in Uganda can address food insecurity, poverty, and environmental degradation while promoting a more resilient and prosperous agricultural sector. We are working to incorporate agriculture projects at the center to provide increase food security for our moms and babies.
Mushroom Growing
Our staff and young mothers are in the process of being trained to grow mushrooms. Mushrooms provide a good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. There is low technology required for mushroom growing, they grow using locally sourced inexpensive materials, and they mature quickly. Mushroom growing will provide the center with a sustainable and nutritious food source as well as a business opportunity to sell mushrooms in the community.
WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
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Family Assistance
​We work directly within the community to uphold the intrinsic dignity of women and girls. We have successfully helped young women leave sex work, enrolled women into ‘education-for-adults’ programs, funded school fees for the children of single mothers, helped with job placement, and raised money to repair homes and provide essential supplies.
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We continue to find ways to promote social empowerment of young mothers and women through financial aid, trainings in entrepreneurship, vocational and business skills, career guidance, and psycho-social support.
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Economic Stability
This is our women's economic empowerment project where our foundation has worked to raise and advance funds to over 640 women as start-up capital to boost their small businesses. We have built their capacity in financial literacy in order to make their businesses profitable. As a result, many women in the program can pay their children’s school fees, afford decent housing, and provide two meals a day to their families.
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​Supporting women’s businesses directly lifts women out of poverty. It fosters entrepreneurship and promotes employment and job creation. It also builds assets making women less prone to Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
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Sanitary Pads
In this part of the world it is normal for a girl to drop out of school because she cannot afford United States Dollars (USD) $24 worth of sanitary pads to take them through a school year. Rescue Women Foundation has found innovative ways around this; ‘reusable’ sanitary pads worth (USD) $3 are enough to take girls through a school year. As such, at the beginning of every school term, we partner with rural schools to train girls to make low-cost sustainable sanitary pads.