Hello friends,

My name is Ephraim Segawa. I am the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Foster Friends Uganda and the Founder and Director of three schools serving vulnerable children in Uganda:

• Nansana Community Primary School

• Sirimula Community Primary School

• Extreme High School

Together, these schools currently serve more than 1,000 students, including orphans, abandoned and street-connected children, refugees, young mothers, children affected by war, children whose parents are imprisoned, those facing serious illnesses, and students from families experiencing extreme poverty.

I founded the organization in 2004 under its original name, Mentor Volunteers Uganda. In 2022, it became Foster Friends Uganda and was registered as a national nongovernmental organization.

Foster Friends Uganda works to improve access to education, food and nutrition, clothing, scholastic materials, youth programs, gender equality, environmental conservation, and community development.

Our mission is to help vulnerable young people move from hardship toward opportunity through education, practical skills, personal guidance, and long-term support.

WHY THIS WORK MATTERS TO ME

My commitment to this work is connected to my own childhood.

I grew up during Uganda’s Five Years War from 1981 to 1986. My father was killed in 1983, when I was in Primary One, and my family experienced displacement, hunger, fear, and loss.

During the conflict, I repeatedly saw Red Cross workers bringing food, clothing, medicine, and relief to people facing circumstances beyond their control.

Their example showed me what compassion and humanitarian service could mean during a time of crisis.

I joined the Red Cross while I was still young, became involved with the Scouts, and later joined the YMCA. Through these organizations, service became central to my life.

As I continued my own education, I attended Multech Business School and later Makerere University. I earned a Certificate in Business Administration and Management and a Diploma in Animal Feed Industry and Business through Makerere University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. This educational journey brought together my background in farming, my interest in caring for animals, and my desire to develop sustainable ways of serving vulnerable communities.

My humanitarian journey began in 1999, when I started supporting orphans, children affected by HIV/AIDS, and families living in extreme poverty.

I believed that temporary assistance alone would not be enough. Education could give vulnerable young people the opportunity to become independent and break cycles of hardship.

FROM 15 STUDENTS TO THREE SCHOOLS

In 2001, I constructed a simple wooden school and began serving 15 children, including those born with HIV and those who had lost their parents because of HIV/AIDS.

The need was much greater than I had anticipated. Within approximately six years, the school had grown to serve around 400 orphaned and vulnerable students.

I later established Sirimula Community Primary School in a community where many children from migrant families were not attending school.

When students completed primary education, many had nowhere to continue their studies. In 2010, I established Extreme High School so they could progress through secondary school and prepare for university, employment, and independent adulthood.

Today, I operate Nansana Community Primary School, Sirimula Community Primary School, and Extreme High School through Foster Friends Uganda.

PARTNERSHIP AND SUPPORT

Over the years, our work has also been strengthened through partnership with the Christian Drama School of New Jersey.

Its support has helped provide construction materials, classrooms, scholastic supplies, teacher support, volunteers, and sponsorships for vulnerable students.

The organization continues to support approximately 15 students today.

SERVING MORE THAN 1,000 STUDENTS

Extreme High School currently serves approximately 290 students. Together, the three schools serve more than 1,000 learners.

Many students cannot afford the full cost of their education. Some receive sponsorship, while most depend on free or heavily subsidized schooling.

Our students come from many different circumstances, but they share a need for opportunity, stability, and support.

We aim to provide more than classroom instruction. We want students to receive the education, practical knowledge, encouragement, and personal guidance needed to build meaningful and independent lives.

Insufficient funding has forced the schools to reduce enrollment from previous years because we could no longer cover the full costs of meals, teacher salaries, healthcare, scholastic materials, and other essential needs.

Our challenge now is to strengthen the schools so that more vulnerable students can once again receive the support they need.

EDUCATION BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

We believe education should prepare students not only to pass examinations, but also to solve problems, develop livelihoods, support their families, and contribute positively to their communities.

Practical learning has therefore been part of our schools from the beginning.

Students participate in farming, brickmaking, construction, environmental conservation, and school-improvement activities.

Some have helped make bricks and construct their own school buildings.

These activities teach cooperation, responsibility, creativity, and the belief that young people can participate in building their own futures.

Combined with my childhood experience of farming and caring for animals, my professional training has helped shape the agricultural programs we provide for students.

FARMS IN SCHOOLS INITIATIVE

Our agricultural and environmental work is organized through the Farms in Schools Initiative, commonly known as FISCHI.

FISCHI is led by students through a high-school committee. Approximately 90 students are highly active members at Extreme High School, although all students participate in agricultural and environmental activities in some form.

The initiative also works with five additional primary schools and operates a demonstration farm where students and community members can gain practical agricultural knowledge.

Through FISCHI, young people receive experience in:

• Aquaculture and fish farming

• Poultry keeping

• Goat rearing

• Vegetable cultivation

• Mushroom production

• Quail and guinea fowl raising

• Tree planting

• Environmental conservation

• School gardening

• Food production and marketing

These activities are designed to strengthen food security, develop practical livelihood skills, protect the environment, and help students become more self-reliant.

PERMACULTURE AND REGENERATIVE FARMING

Permaculture and regenerative farming are important parts of our educational approach.

Students learn how food production can work together with environmental conservation and responsible care for natural resources.

Our practices include:

• Integrated organic gardening

• Companion planting

• Composting organic waste

• Mulching

• Crop rotation

• Water conservation

• Food-waste management

• Aquaculture

• Greenhouse growing

• Shade-net cultivation

These methods help improve soil fertility, conserve water, strengthen food production, and teach students farming practices they can use in their own homes and communities.

FROM RECEIVING SUPPORT TO SERVING OTHERS

The long-term impact of this work can be seen in former students who are now using their education to serve others.

One example is Kyagera Sekurima, who received support from kindergarten through university.

He completed medical school and qualified to work in a hospital. However, his deepest passion remained helping children.

Kyagera later established his own primary school and now also operates a microfinance initiative and a charity.

His experience represents the future we hope to create for every student.

Over the years, former learners have become professionals, established schools and community projects, participated in international conferences, and begun creating opportunities for others.

Seeing someone move from receiving support to helping other people is one of the greatest rewards of this work.

A VISION TO BREAK GENERATIONAL POVERTY

Our long-term vision is to break generational poverty by helping vulnerable students become educated, skilled, confident, and self-reliant.

We want to strengthen training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while expanding practical education in agriculture, environmental conservation, business, and entrepreneurship.

Our goal is not simply to help young people survive their immediate circumstances.

We want them to become independent adults, professionals, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and people capable of creating opportunities for others.

THE CONTINUING CHALLENGE

Supporting a vulnerable student is a long-term responsibility.

Education, food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, scholastic materials, and personal guidance may be needed continuously for many years.

The schools also encounter unexpected medical emergencies involving serious illnesses, including cancer and heart or kidney conditions. These situations can arise without warning and place additional pressure on already limited resources.

Consistent support is needed to pay teachers, provide meals, purchase learning materials, maintain safe classrooms, respond to urgent needs, and continue developing agricultural programs that can help the schools become more sustainable.

Despite these challenges, we continue because we have seen what can happen when one vulnerable young person receives an opportunity and later uses that opportunity to help others.

HOW YOUR SUPPORT CAN HELP

Your contribution can help Foster Friends Uganda and our schools provide:

• Primary and secondary education

• School meals and nutritious food

• Scholastic materials and classroom supplies

• Teacher salaries and support

• Healthcare and emergency assistance

• Agricultural and vocational training

• STEM education and practical life skills

• Safe and functional learning spaces

• Support for students facing serious vulnerability

• Tools, seeds, livestock, and materials for FISCHI

• Permaculture and regenerative farming programs

Support will also help strengthen food production and income-generating activities so the schools can become more sustainable over time.

When you contribute to this campaign, you are investing not only in a student’s education today, but also in the teacher, farmer, entrepreneur, healthcare professional, or community leader that student may become.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK

Segawa and the Invisible Children: https://youtu.be/vZQXo-8Svf4

Extreme High School YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@extremehighschool

Segawa Ephraim YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@segawaephraim5550

GlobalGiving organization page: https://www.globalgiving.org/donate/104039/foster-friends-uganda/

Farms in Schools Initiative Uganda: https://fischifarmuganda.cfsites.org/

MY MESSAGE TO YOU

Every child deserves a chance to thrive.

Together, we can create stronger communities where vulnerable young people receive the education, care, and practical opportunities they need to move forward.

I invite you to join this work through donating, volunteering, sharing this campaign, or advocating for those whose opportunities have been limited by circumstances beyond their control.

Even small acts of kindness can transform lives.

What began with 15 students has grown into three schools serving more than 1,000 learners, agricultural and environmental programs, and a generation of former students who are now carrying the work forward.

With your support, we can continue helping young people move from vulnerability to opportunity—and from receiving assistance to becoming people who serve others.

Thank you for believing in this mission and in the potential of every student we serve.

With gratitude,

Ephraim Segawa

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Foster Friends Uganda

Founder and Director

Nansana Community Primary School

Sirimula Community Primary School

Extreme High School

🌍 Many hands make light work.

🌱 Together we thrive.

🌱 Ephraim Segawa and Foster Friends Uganda: Transforming Lives, Empowering Communities

Helping vulnerable students access education, nutritious food, practical agricultural training, and opportunities to build independent futures