Project Abigail: Restoring dignity and opportunity for girls in Uganda

PICTURED: A video plea from BS Kimaanya Secondary School student Nandawula Abigail resulted in 10 brand-new, modern bathroom cubicles for her school.

Australian Rotary clubs in Districts 9705 (ACT and NSW) and 9423 (WA), assisted by a club in Washington DC, have helped turn one Ugandan student’s dream into reality, funding 10 new bathroom cubicles at Kimaanya Secondary School to restore dignity, improve hygiene and empower more than 750 girls to learn with confidence.

For too long, mornings at BS Kimaanya Secondary School in Masaka, Uganda, began with frustration and fatigue. Hundreds of girls queued for hours at the school’s crumbling bathroom facilities, some forced to bathe in the open, their privacy and dignity stripped away. What should have been a simple daily routine became a source of exhaustion before the first lesson even began.

Thanks to the vision of Rotary Peace Fellow Emily Nabakooza and the generosity of 16 Rotary clubs across Australia and the US, this story has been rewritten. Through Project Abigail – named after a courageous student whose video plea touched hearts across the world – 10 brand-new, modern bathroom cubicles now stand at Kimaanya Secondary School, transforming the lives of more than 750 female boarding students.

“This Rotary-funded facility is more than just bathrooms,” said Emily, founder of Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace. “It is a space that restores confidence, promotes dignity and empowers girls to start their day ready to learn.”

A student’s dream realised

In 2023, 16-year-old Nandawula Abigail recorded a short video showing the desperate state of the school’s sanitation facilities. She spoke candidly about the daily struggle for privacy and hygiene, asking for Rotary’s help. Her message was shared at the Rotary District 9705 conference, and the response was extraordinary.

“The dilapidated state of existing bathrooms was a constant source of frustration for us,” Abigail said. “We were constantly scrambling for the limited available washing space.

This year, I will be sitting my national exams, which means I am here for my final year of high school. I am so proud to be leaving such a legacy behind. This is a life-changing intervention for all the girls that will be attending BSK in the next 20 years.”

With her national A-Level exams on the horizon, Abigail’s pride is palpable.

“We whole-heartedly thank our donors in Rotary for their determination and commitment to make this project a reality and for breaking the barriers in girls’ education through WASH initiatives in Uganda.”

Collective action, global impact

Project Abigail is part of Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace’s wider WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) programming, which has delivered 17 Rotary-funded interventions in just five years, including water projects, menstrual hygiene facilities, latrines and shower blocks.

Rotary’s support for the Kimaanya project came from far and wide. In Australia, the Rotary clubs of Canberra, Belconnen, Hall, Murrumbidgee, Canberra Sunrise, West Wyalong, Boorowa, Goulburn, Moruya, Milton-Ulladulla, E-Brindabella, Northam, Preston, Berry and the Rotaract Club of Canberra all rallied to the cause. In the US, the Rotary Club of Columbia Patuxent in Maryland contributed significantly. Together, through Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAOAF Project 31-2021-22 – Assisi Centre for Social Justice – Uganda), they raised more than AU$17,000 to ensure the facility could be completed to the highest standard.

For Desmond Woods, of the Rotary Club of Canberra, ACT, the project represents the best of Rotary in action.

“The WASH Facility is a way of saying to young women, ‘we see you and we understand that you have a right to dignity and respect for your needs.’ Like Emily and her Assisi team on the ground, led by Sister Grace, we in our Rotary clubs in Australia and the US are also a team. We know that through Rotary Australia World Community Service we place funds where they can be swiftly and very well used and accounted for with tangible and enduring outcomes.”

PICTURED LEFT & RIGHT: BS Kimaanya Secondary School students celebrate the official opening of the school’s 10 new bathroom cubicles.

More than bricks and cement

At the commissioning ceremony, attended by school leaders, church representatives and local officials, the joy on the students’ faces spoke louder than any words.

“If you had been present at the ceremony, you would have seen the joy radiating from the girls’ faces, the disbelief in their eyes, and the pride shining through their smiles,” said Emily.

For Abigail and every single girl in the school, these new bathroom facilities are not just structures of brick and cement, they are symbols of dignity, hope and the assurance that they, too, matter.”

The ripple effect has already begun. Messages have poured in from schools across the region, inspired by Kimaanya’s success and eager to replicate it. Even some boys at Kimaanya, touched by what had been done for their classmates, quietly asked if funds could be raised for similar facilities.

The bigger picture

Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace, founded by Emily, exists to tackle illiteracy, violence, exclusion and gender inequality in Uganda. Its holistic programs – ranging from women’s economic empowerment to peacebuilding for youth and returning teenage mothers to school to continue their education – always circle back to the same goal: ensuring every child has a chance to stay in school and succeed.

“We believe that creating a physical learning space where girls feel safe, included and acknowledged is crucial to their personal and educational development,” Emily said. “Through initiatives like Project Abigail, we increase their chances to not only grow up educated, but also inspired and empowered to pursue any ambition that they feel called to.”

A call to action

Project Abigail shows the power of partnerships – students, local communities, not-for-profits and Rotary working hand-in-hand to make a lasting difference. But Kimaanya is just one school among many in Uganda where the need is urgent.

There are countless schools in desperate need of new WASH and other facilities,” Desmond said. “Any Rotary club or individual that makes a donation through RAWCS can be sure their generosity will be put to very good use in rural Uganda. And for individuals, that donation is tax deductible.”

As Abigail prepares for her final exams, she can take comfort in the knowledge that her voice has sparked a transformation that will empower generations of girls after her. Her project remind us that when Rotary partners with determined young leaders and grassroots organisations, the result is not just infrastructure, it’s dignity, opportunity and peace.

Any clubs or individuals who would like to assist the life-changing work of Assisi Centre for Social Justice and Peace can contact Desmond Woods, of the Rotary Club of Canberra, ACT, via desmond.woods51@hotmail.com or 0427 663 449.