Windle International Uganda named best in country at top awards
Windle International Uganda (WIU) has been named Best International Education Humanitarian NGO of the year at the Visionaries of Uganda Awards, announced in Kampala last night, Thursday 28 November 2019.
A panel of judges awarded special recognition to WIU at the top national awards ceremony, which was presided over by Vice-President of Uganda, H.E. Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka. The awards were launched in 2012 by President Yoweri Museveni to recognise organisations and initiatives who are key drivers towards the socio-economic transformation of the country, in line with the government’s Vision 2040 strategic development plan to ‘transform Ugandan society to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years.’
WIU was established in 1996 as part of the wider Windle International family. It aims to promote peace and development in communities and is a long-standing implementation partner of UNHCR. WIU provides access to quality education and training across the whole country, whilst advocating for the rights and needs of refugees and people affected by conflict. It supports 324,436 people every year and employs over 3,000 staff – many of whom are from the communities it supports – across 12 refugee settlements in 10 districts of Uganda.
WI CEO Dr Marangu Njogu (left) pictured with WIU’s Executive Director, Mr James Aryam in Kampala.
Accepting the Award, Windle International Uganda’s Executive Director, James Aryam, said: “It is a huge honour to accept this award and to be recognised as the best international education humanitarian NGO in Uganda. It is thanks to the hard work and dedication of all the Windle staff team, who work tirelessly to help young people who have been affected by conflict, and refugees, to get the quality education that is their human right. With our partners, we make sure that over 300,000 people are supported every year to realise their full potential, giving them hope for the future, and helping them to transform themselves into change-makers within their communities. We are extremely grateful for this recognition.”
Marangu Njogu, CEO of WIU’s umbrella organisation Windle International, added: “Windle has a long history of working in Uganda to deliver education programmes across every stage – from early childhood development centres to postgraduate courses and vocational training. We are truly humbled to receive this recognition for our efforts to date, and we recognise that there is still a huge challenge ahead of us to make sure that providing quality education for refugees and those affected by conflict remains a priority for the international community, and we are committed to doing all we can to support this.”