Annual Report 2025
The Power
of YOUth.
Schools. Leadership. Action. — Building Systems, Not Moments.
"When you provide the platform, the training, and the trust — youth do not wait for permission to create change."
Schools. Leadership. Action. — Building Systems, Not Moments.
Between 2020 and 2024, Omuto Foundation acted as an incubator for youth empowerment — testing a diverse portfolio of entry points across sport, water, vocational skills, and menstrual health. Each initiative demonstrated real promise. But these efforts, while successful in isolation, lacked the cohesive architecture required for systemic, long-term change.
2025 is the moment of synthesis. Through rigorous monitoring and deep community engagement, Omuto confirmed its most powerful institutional insight:
All school-embedded programming now operates under one integrated framework — the Omuto School Xperience (OSX). Cross-cutting programmes including Youth Action Pathways, Omuto Football Alliance, and Omuto Pulse operate across the broader school-and-community ecosystem.
To our partners, schools, and the young leaders we serve,
When we began in 2020, our vision was clear: unlock the boundless potential of rural Ugandan youth. The path required discovery — listening, testing, and learning what form of support would create the most lasting impact.
2025 gave us the answer. We have moved from inquiry to conviction. Youth leadership is not a program to be delivered; it is a capacity to be cultivated, and it is most sustainable when rooted within the institutional stability of school systems.
2025 also affirmed something equally important: the strength of Omuto lies not only in our model, but in our people. The 21 interns who have moved through our organisation since 2020 — including the eight central to our 2025 work — represent the living proof of our approach. They joined as young talent, contributed to expansion into Butambala, and many have built professional careers from it. Three are now full-time staff. Others return as alumni. This pipeline points toward what we intend to formalise as the Omuto Changemakers Academy.
We see impact in the 63% female SLF representation. In 1,100 trees adopted under our partnership with His Grace Demo Farm. In the Kyanja High School Ecoloop Project winning the $150,000 Zayed Sustainability Prize. And in the voices of students who competed in our first-ever interschool debate series.
In 2026, our task is disciplined expansion — scaling the School Xperience, deepening data systems, and growing local sustainability through Omuto Essentials.
To activate and amplify youth leadership in rural Uganda through structured, measurable systems embedded within educational environments and communities — creating a sustainable pipeline of changemakers.
A future where every young person in rural Uganda is a recognised leader, equipped with the skills, agency, and platform to drive transformative change in their own communities.
Mpigi District — 5 Partner Schools
Butambala District — 3 Partner Schools
Butambala was opened as a programme district in 2025, driven largely by the field presence and local knowledge of our intern cohort.
Omuto team in the field — Mpigi & Butambala
Young people are the primary operators of their own development — our role is to provide the platform, resources, and mentorship.
Schools provide the permanence, infrastructure, and community trust necessary to embed lasting, systemic change.
Health, education, economic opportunity, and environmental stability are interconnected — our model addresses them as one.
| Thematic Area | Indicator | 2025 Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership & Governance | Student Leaders Trained (SLF) | 175 — 63% Female |
| Debate & Public Speaking | Interschool Debates | 2 Rounds, 4 Schools |
| Health & Dignity | Dignity Kits Distributed | 700+ |
| Climate Action | Trees Planted & Adopted | 1,100 (2,300 cumulative) |
| Water & Sanitation | Students with Clean Water Access | 3,200 |
| Water & Sanitation | Household Filters Installed | 65 |
| Vocational Pathways | YoSkills Graduates Certified | 24 |
| OFA — Football Teams | Active Teams Across Both Districts | 18 |
| OFA — Partnerships | Team Captains Trained in Leadership | 5 |
| OFA — Partnerships | Coaches Trained in Mobile Promotion | 5 |
| Communications | Omuto Pulse Subscribers (YouTube) | 4,750+ |
| Social Enterprise | Operational Costs Covered by Essentials | 10% |
| Local Capacity | 2025 Intern Cohort | 8 |
| Local Capacity | Total Interns Since 2020 | 21 |
From the very beginning, Omuto made a commitment not only to serve communities but to build professional talent within them — young people who understand the context, speak the languages, and carry the mission from the inside.
Since 2020, 21 interns have moved through Omuto, contributing at every level of programme delivery. The 2025 cohort of 8 was particularly significant — their energy and local knowledge were central to our expansion into Butambala District and the decentralisation of projects previously concentrated in Mpigi. They did not just support programmes; they helped design and drive them.
What began as a structured internship is evolving into something larger. We envision the Omuto Changemakers Academy — a formal pipeline to recruit, train, and place young professionals in community development roles across Uganda.
2025 intern cohort photo
Total interns enrolled through the Omuto pipeline since 2020
Interns in 2025 cohort — instrumental in opening Butambala District
Former interns who became full-time Omuto staff members
Many return regularly as volunteers, supporting events and mentoring new cohorts
In 2025, Omuto opened a Kampala office on Kanakulya Road — a deliberate move to position the organisation closer to Uganda's capital resource mobilisation landscape.
The office is home to the Executive Director and Programmes Manager, providing a formal base for donor engagement, institutional partnerships, and representation in national conversations on youth development and education.
The Kampala presence complements field operations in Mpigi and Butambala, creating a two-node structure that strengthens both delivery and sustainability.
OSX is our school-embedded programmatic framework — structured interventions designed to reinforce one another and build a self-sustaining culture of youth leadership, health, and environmental responsibility across 8 partner schools in Mpigi and Butambala.
In many rural schools, traditional prefect systems prioritise hierarchy over collaborative problem-solving. The SLF restructures this dynamic — a democratically-influenced body training students in needs identification, solution mapping, and structured dialogue with school administration.
In 2025, 175 leaders were trained across 8 schools, with 63% female participation — a deliberate result of inclusive outreach and a curriculum that actively challenges historically male-dominated leadership norms.
Omuto launched its first-ever interschool debate series across four secondary schools — giving student leaders a competitive, structured forum to develop public speaking, critical thinking, and civic argumentation skills.
Won the inaugural first round, demonstrating exceptional preparation and argumentation in front of a cross-school audience.
Won the second round with strong command of contemporary community and social issues.
Menstrual health remains a primary driver of absenteeism, with some girls missing up to 20% of the school year. The RED Campaign addresses this through a three-pronged framework. Peer brigades lead Minds sessions destigmatising menstruation for both girls and boys. Toilets work advocates for private, secure sanitation infrastructure. Pads are produced and distributed through Omuto Essentials as reusable dignity kits.
In 2025, over 700 dignity kits were distributed. Menstruation is now treated as a matter of health and dignity — not charity.
Environmental degradation — deforestation and soil erosion — directly threatens the agricultural livelihoods underpinning rural communities. In 2025, GreenSchools emerged as one of Omuto's most significant programmatic milestones.
Central to this year's success was the Adopt a Tree model — moving beyond planting as a ceremonial event to a system of personal student ownership. Each student formally adopts a tree, nurturing it to maturity and monitoring its growth. This produced markedly higher retention and growth rates compared to prior approaches.
A defining development was the formalised partnership with His Grace Demo Farm, which now provides expert agronomic guidance, practical training, and on-site monitoring. Student Green Teams also lead plastic reduction campaigns and peer climate education forums, building a culture of environmental accountability from the ground up.
Adopt a Tree event with His Grace Demo Farm
Student planting a tree at school premises
Locally manufactured ceramic water filters — removing 99.9% of pathogens — are installed in schools and the homes of the most vulnerable students.
The impact pathway is clear: reduced waterborne illness → improved school attendance → enhanced academic stability.
A partner since 2021, Kyanja High School's SLF and Green Team were early adopters of the integrated School Xperience model. Through GreenSchools, students were encouraged to identify local problems and design solutions.
They observed two critical issues: significant food waste from the school cafeteria, and the high cost of protein-rich feed for student-run livestock. Their answer was the Ecoloop Project — a student-designed circular economy system converting organic food waste into high-protein feed for ducks and fish, which supplements the school nutrition programme and generates a small income stream.
This was not an external idea imposed on the school. It was an organic outcome of an empowered student ecosystem — one ready to see problems differently and act on what it found.
Awarded to Kyanja's student leaders on a global competitive stage. When you provide young people with a leadership platform, environmental awareness, and problem-solving tools, you unlock innovation that can compete with the world.
While OSX is our school-embedded model, a set of cross-cutting programmes operate at both school and community level — reaching young people beyond the school gates and supporting the broader mission of youth leadership and community resilience.
YoSkills provides certified vocational training in tailoring, hairdressing, and ICT. In 2025, 24 graduates were certified. Upon graduation they join the Youth Action Pathways (YAP) network — young alumni who mentor current students, lead community skills workshops, and support Omuto school programmes as relatable role models.
In 2025, a priority was placed on building community core teams within YAP chapters — small, trained groups embedded in specific communities who coordinate local action, manage relationships with families and local leaders, and serve as on-the-ground anchors between formal programme cycles. This decentralised structure deepens community ownership of our work.
YoSkills graduation or YAP community core team
OFA match day or Red Cross first aid training
With 18 active teams across Mpigi and Butambala, the OFA uses football to create structured, positive peer networks. Matches and training provide platforms for discipline, identity, community belonging, and health messaging.
A major 2025 development was a formal collaboration with Red Cross Mpigi, delivering health training — focused on first aid — to team doctors across partner schools. In parallel, Omuto trained 5 team captains in leadership skills and 5 coaches in mobile phone use to help them promote their teams and connect with peers across districts.
Omuto Pulse is our digital youth media platform, extending leadership development and community voice beyond physical boundaries. With 4,750+ subscribers on YouTube, it provides a space for youth-led debate on community issues, creative storytelling, journalism, and peer-to-peer health advocacy.
Pulse serves all programme areas and cohorts — it is the connective tissue that amplifies voices across the full Omuto ecosystem.
Watch on YouTubeOmuto Foundation is committed to the highest standards of financial transparency, ensuring every dollar maximises impact for the youth we serve.
Our mission-driven social enterprise produces reusable menstrual pads, ceramic water filters, and community hygiene products. In 2025, Essentials covered 10% of total operational costs, with all profits reinvested into Foundation programmes. This enterprise model is central to our long-term strategy of reducing donor dependency.
If 2025 was the year of consolidation and model refinement, 2026 is the year of disciplined, data-driven expansion. Growth will prioritise depth of impact in new schools and communities over the sheer speed of scaling.
Partner Schools — expanding from 8 across Mpigi and Butambala
Operational self-funding — growing Omuto Essentials revenue contribution
Deeper Evidence — strengthening monitoring & evaluation for long-term outcomes
Systems Integration — co-creating frameworks with district education offices
Changemakers Academy — beginning formalisation of the intern-to-professional pipeline
Five years ago, Omuto Foundation was an idea — a belief in the dormant power of rural youth. Today it is a functioning, data-informed, and scalable institutional model.
When you provide the platform, the training, and the trust, young people do not wait for permission to create change. They build it — inside their classrooms, on their football fields, through their community enterprises, and on global stages.
In rural Uganda, its youth are acting.
students, staff, interns & community members
Activating and amplifying youth leadership in rural Uganda through structured, measurable systems embedded within educational environments and communities.
Action is Power.
Kanakulya Road, Kampala
Mpigi District | Butambala District, Uganda
Omuto School Xperience (OSX)
Student Leaders Forum (SLF)
RED Campaign
GreenSchools Initiative
PureWater Initiative
Youth Action Pathways (YAP)
Omuto Football Alliance (OFA)
Omuto Pulse
YoSkills
Omuto Essentials
To partner with or support Omuto Foundation, contact us via email or visit our website for bank details and partnership opportunities.
Omuto Foundation is committed to the safeguarding and protection of all children and young people with whom we work. Our policies ensure their safety and well-being are always paramount.
Registered National NGO — Uganda. PDPO Data Protection Certified. Annual independent audits.