Education Minister, Janet Kataaha Museveni has applauded BRAC International, for impactful effort in empowering communities.
The First Lady made the remarks on March 30, 2023 at Speke Resort Munyonyo as BRAC celebrated its 50 year anniversary titled "50 Years of Igniting Hope From Bangladesh to the World"
BRAC Uganda and BRAC Uganda Bank Ltd organised the event, where prominent guests and dignitaries attended from different government institutions, non-governmental organisations, microfinance institutions, social enterprises and other notable organisations.
Speaking at the event, Janet Museveni paid special tribute to BRAC's founder, the late Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, for sharing his dream of empowering people and communities, in Bangladesh and beyond.
She expressed her admiration for BRAC's work and impact in Uganda saying "My hope and prayer is that their work in Uganda will rub off on our people so that they can learn to build, to empower themselves, to work with integrity and change the face of Uganda. Uganda will not change until Ugandans rise up and change it."
She said her ministry is prioritising this initiative through its competence-based curriculum, investing in early childhood development, scaling up youth skills and vocational training among others to unlocking the potential of young girls and women to become innovators and entrepreneurs through creating digital led solutions.
Kataaha commended BRAC for its integrated social model, social enterprise and humanitarian responsive partnership with communities, adding that the government has taken note of some of these achievements.
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In her welcome address, Spera Atuhairwe, the Country Director of BRAC Uganda expressed her gratitude to the communities, stakeholders and partners that work with BRAC to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.
She also reaffirmed BRAC Uganda's commitment to achieving impact in Uganda, saying "In Uganda, we are committed to growing and deepening our presence to deliver impactful solutions for the people and communities we serve."
Shameran Abed, the Executive Director of BRAC International, in his speech, thanked the First Lady for the invitation she extended to Sir Fazle to bring BRAC to Uganda.
"Building on nearly two decades of experience with communities all across Uganda, we will deepen our work in the critical areas of financial inclusion, extreme poverty and early childhood development. Hon Maama Janet, thank you for your invitation to my father to work in Uganda all those years ago, and for being such a strong supporter of BRAC. So much of what we are celebrating here today is owed to your vision of what this partnership could achieve." Abed said.
BRAC first expanded its operations outside of Bangladesh in 2002 as BRAC International, and now directly implements and provides technical assistance to partner governments and civil society organisations in 16 countries across Asia and Africa.
In Uganda, BRAC has been working since 2006, marking this year its 17th year in the country. Its microfinance, BRAC Uganda Bank Ltd (BUBL) is one of the largest providers of financial services in Uganda.
