Money raised by Red Nose Day is being put to good use in Uganda. Music and TV celebrity, Louise Redknapp, went to find out.

Red Nose Day fundraising

This year, Red Nose Day has raised more than £100 million, which is an incredible fundraising achievement by the public. This amount includes a contribution of £16 million from the Government as part of an initiative to support the causes which are backed by the public.

Jinga Women’s Association 

Louise Redknapp visited a project in Uganda with Comic Relief which has benefited from some of the money and to see how it is already hard at work changing lives. The project, called ‘Jinja Women’s Association’, helps girls get into school and get the education they need. It ensures the girls have the right equipment to go to school and makes sure their parents are also helped when needed, so their daughters can go to school.

Why girls miss out on education

Girls in Uganda often miss out on going to school because of pregnancy, early marriage and poverty. Missing out on an education can have a big effect on the girls’ future income and their health. But going to school doesn’t just mean the girls learn to read and write. It also improves their confidence and life skills which means they have more choices and opportunities when they get older – and that can have an effect on a whole generation.

The Jinja Women’s Association has already helped more than 7,000 girls get an education and, in the next year, will be able to help another 2,000! One of the schools the project works with, called Kimasa Primary School, has 986 children – 532 are girls and 454 are boys and this is the first time ever that there have been more girls than boys!

Legosy

On the trip Louise met a girl called Legosy who is ten years old and goes to Kimasa Primary School. For the past three years Legosy has been living with her guardian, Jessica, because both her parents have died. When her parents died, Legosy wasn’t going to school, but her guardian heard about the project and how it could help Legosy and now she loves going to school.

She said: “I like going to school and learning because I want to have a brighter future. My favourite subject is science and I want to be a teacher when I grow up. If I wasn’t going to school then I wouldn’t be thinking about my future and what I could be. Going to the project has given me confidence to speak in public and have confidence to know my rights as a girl.”

Namasiga primary school

As well as Kimasa Primary, the project also works with a school called Namasiga Primary School. One pupil, Rahima, who is 12 and lives with her grandmother, really understands the importance of going to school and said: “It’s important for me to go to school so I can get a job when I’m older so I can be an important part of the community. I want to be a lawyer when I’m older so I can help innocent people who have been convicted wrongly. It’s important for people to know that girls here want to be successful to fight good causes.”

Changing lives

At the end of the trip Louise said: “What’s great is knowing that this is just one of loads of projects that is being helped by the money the British public raised for Red Nose Day and with the extra support from the Government. Thousands more lives will be changed across Africa and this is just fantastic.”

For more information about Comic Relief please visit: www.comicrelief.com