The Master Card foundation has released $45m (sh113b) towards supporting vulnerable but bright children in Uganda. The grant is currently supporting over 5,000 children from 70 districts across the country. A total of 24 girls are benefiting from the grant at Wanyange Girls while an additional 16 and 22 are benefiting at Busoga College Mwiri and Tororo Girls School respectively.
The MasterCard Foundation is a global private foundation based in Toronto, Canada with over $5 billion in assets. The grant is being implemented by Brac Uganda, a Bangladesh NGO with roots in over 20 African countries. Umbareen Kuddos, the Brac Uganda programme manager, told the press that apart from supporting education, they also advance Microfinance and youth learning to promote financial inclusion and prosperity in developing countries.
Worldwide, the foundation supports programmes in49 developing countries through collaborations with committed partners. "These programmes are serving more than 4.7 million people," said Umbareen.
She noted that the programme operating in 20 African countries is geared towards expanding access to learning, employment, entrepreneurship and financial services in a region where 63 percent of the population lives on less that $2 a day.
"The goal of the Microfinance programme is to expand access to microfinance and a broad range of financial services in order to improve the quality of life for the people in Sub Saharan Africa," said Umbareen.
From New Vision
