Jane Ssebuyungo: Educate!'s New Program Coordinator Shares Her Perspective on Women in Leadership and Empowering Ugandan Girls

When Jane begins to describe her first teaching job at Mbogo High, her whole face lights up. Her love for the girls that she taught and the impact she made on them becomes evident. An all-girls school, Mbogo High served as a platform for Jane to grow into a strong teacher and advocate for female empowerment within the education system.

But then Jane met Maggie, Educate!'s Global Director of Policy and Partnerships, and a whole new world of possibilities opened up.  At the time, Maggie was the Program Director for Educate!, spreading the word about a new model of education that would help Ugandan youth lift themselves out of poverty. Jane recalls, “she communicated with the bottom of my heart. The passion of education. Empowering children with practical skills and entrepreneurship and delivering experience-based education. I had watched the girls I interacted with in my school grow stronger and more empowered. I believed working with Educate! was an opportunity for me to go outside the four walls of the classroom and impact as many girls as possible.”

Jane jumped at the opportunity to attend Educate!’s one-month Youth Entrepreneurship Training course.  She recalls, “it was a total transformation for my life. I discovered there was so much more in leadership and entrepreneurship, that I should be a leader so that I can impact many more communities.” Newly equipped with an arsenal of entrepreneurial know-how, Jane began working with Educate! as a Regional Officer for the Central Region of Uganda, overseeing the implementation of the Educate! model in over 18 schools.

Now, as the Program Coordinator, Jane’s impact has increased exponentially, fulfilling her dream of reaching and empowering even more young women and men through the Educate! curriculum. She is eager to utilize her new role to strengthen Educate!’s programming, design, and training while serving as an example to other Ugandans that “even women can make it up in management.”