The Forum for Women Educationalists (FAWE) gives attention to “girls everybody else has dropped”—that was the message of the honorary secretary of FAWE’s executive board, Christine Dranzoa, in a recent interview with Women Thrive Worldwide, a key partner organization. The interview outlines the major issues facing women and girls in Uganda and traces Dranzoa’s involvement in FAWE, which is a past recipient of the Kravis Prize. When asked how FAWE makes a difference for girls, Dranzoa, who is also a professor in her native Uganda, gave this eloquent response:
“Over 20,000 girls have gained access to education. Without, 20,000 plus would have gone another way. FAWE has impacted over 15,000 girls to get integrated into science, mathematics and technology – or engineering for that matter. FAWE has picked girls everybody else has dropped. Some of the FAWE beneficiaries are now medical doctors, lawyers, engineers serving their families and communities effectively. FAWE has transformed families who were desperate to see one kid get an education at higher or basic levels. FAWE has transformed the thinking of so many governments.”
Also in May, the Huffington Post published an interview and profile of Oley Dibba-Wadda, FAWE’s executive director, by Augusta Thomson, who’s a student at Oxford University. The interview focuses on Oley’s personal journey, vision for FAWE, and her belief in the transformative power of identity. At the end of the interview, Oley shared her personal insight into how she relates to her identity as an African woman.
“For me, as an African woman I believe in an identity. I believe in who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for. I remember when I was first leaving home to pursue higher education in England and an uncle of mine said to me: ‘Whatever you do, remember where you came from. Because if you don’t know where you came from, you will never know where you are going.’ And that is something I would want every youth or child who wants to aspire to something, to always look back and remember where you’re coming from so you know where you want to get to.”
