International Day of the Girl Child is observed on 11 October, and is a key moment to celebrate the achievements and leadership by girls and women, while also reflecting on the challenges they continue to face worldwide. In this blog, meet Watipa Alumna, Aisha Nalukenge from Uganda and hear more about how she is supporting girls and women in her community.
“In 2018, I received the life-changing opportunity of being awarded a Watipa Scholarship. At the time, I was full of ambition and a deep desire to create meaningful change in my community, but I lacked the financial support to pursue higher education. Watipa believed in my potential, and their support became the foundation of my academic and personal transformation.
With the scholarship, I enrolled in university and dedicated myself to my studies. My passion, discipline, and sense of purpose carried me through, and I graduated with First Class Honours—a milestone that marked not just personal success, but a promise fulfilled to those who invested in me.
But graduation was never the end goal. It was the beginning of a deeper mission: to give back to the community that raised me. Today, I work at the grassroots level, serving marginalized communities—particularly women—through microfinance and skills development programs.
Through providing micro-loans, I offer women the financial tools to start or expand small businesses, helping them achieve economic independence. But I don’t stop at finance. I run training programs focused on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and practical vocational skills, equipping women with the confidence and capacity to thrive.
So far, I’ve supported women directly, and many more indirectly through community networks. I’ve seen mothers start successful market stalls, young women open tailoring shops, and widows find renewed purpose through small-scale farming projects.
Each success story is a ripple effect of the investment Watipa made in me.
My journey is a living testimony that when you invest in one, you uplift many. Watipa did more than fund my education—they empowered me to become a changemaker. I carry that mission forward every day, with every woman I support, and every life that is touched by the work we do.“
