Where we work

Our schools in the Region

The secondary school education scholarship program supports South Sudanese and Ugandan students in six selected public and private secondary schools in northern Uganda, four in Moyo, one in Obongi, and one in Arua districts. Two thirds of the students are refugees from South Sudan. Coordinated from Juba, South Sudan, the Tertiary School scholarship program offers scholarships to selected young women pursuing higher education to attend institutions of their choice after the completion of their secondary education. Currently, the scholarship program is supporting students in fourteen accredited institutions, four in South Sudan, the rest in Uganda.

Why Girls

African girls endure the greater burden of cultural and financial constraints to attending school beyond the primary level. With a female literacy rate as low as 19% (UNESCO), South Sudan is in the top five of the highest female illiteracy zones globally. Poverty, gender bias, cultural obstacles as well as fear and instability due to conflict have caused parents in both South Sudan and Uganda to be resistant to sending their girls to school. In both regions, this has led to a distinct gap in enrollment, retention and completion rates between boys and girls. The Wai Foundation believes that gender equality in education will lead to a brighter future for all. Our vision is to fundamentally alter the future for these girls by providing those who show academic promise with the opportunity to continue onto secondary school and beyond.

The Conflict in South Sudan

The Foundation’s activities in South Sudan were brought to a sudden halt in 2017 when ethnic violence caused nearly everyone, including our Wai scholars, to flee to refugee camps in northern Uganda. Remarkably, all of the girls were located and joined the Wai Ugandan scholars in six Ugandan boarding schools. Then in 2020, the Foundation’s program was again disrupted when the COVID-19 epidemic closed the Ugandan schools. In order to keep our scholars learning and motivated, The Wai Foundation employed local tutors and supplied books as well as solar-powered reading lamps and radios to enable students to participate in on-line learning.