Organizations often highlight what they do and how they do it; however, many organizations struggle to qualitatively and quantitatively measure the impact of their programs and activities. Although AGYA is still in the process of solidifying and streamlining our evaluation procedures; we are proud to report that, within the last 6 months, our Free Lunch Program has provided more than 500 kg of food and 76 gallons of clean drinking water to children and youth living in Uganda’s urban slums. AGYA’s Staff has contributed more than 1,500 volunteer hours to ensure the success of the Free Lunch Program, which has served 323 children and youth from 5 urban communities in Uganda.
The AGYA Girls Program is set to launch Year 2 of “Adopt-A-Scholar,” a virtual mentor and scholarship initiative designed to provide teenage Ugandan girls with the encouragement, guidance, confidence and financial support to finish high-school and think critically about issues that shape and affect their lives.
Through our partnership with the Century City Alumnae Chapter (CCAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc, AGYA hopes Adopt-A-Scholar participants emerge from the program as empowered young women who have the skills and confidence to take control of their futures, finish high school with strong academic rankings, and pursue higher education at the collegiate level.
Year 1 of Adopt-A-Scholar took place from July 2009 – June 2010. During Year 1, AGYA and CCAC provided full year academic scholarships to 4 participants, all of whom are members of AGYA and attend high-school at Kasubi Senior Secondary School. This year, AGYA and CCAC plan to provide 10 scholarships to high-school girls in Uganda!
15 girls between the ages of 14 and 19 began the program in July 2009. 11 girls, or 73%, successfully completed the program in June 2010.
The 11 AGYA Girls graduates reported the following outcomes in an evaluation survey (on a scale of 1-10, with 1 as the worst and 10 as the best):
- Overall experience in the program: 8
- Ability to communicate in English with CCAC Mentor: 9
- Ability to understand e-mail correspondence from CCAC Mentor: 9
- Ability to relate to mentor: 7
- Ability to understand assignments: 8
- Ability to understand background readings: 8
- Ability to relate to characters in background readings: 6
- Ability to access internet before participating in the program: 1
- Ability to access internet after participating in the program for 1 year: 6
Despite the success of Adopt-A-Scholar’s inaugural year, AGYA is eager to build and continue to improve this program. Stay tuned for the announcement of the 10 scholarship recipients, which will be posted by October 2010. Good luck to all the scholars!
