Hope Nankunda: Giving Voice, Dignity, and Opportunity to Uganda’s Girls

Hope Nankunda is a teacher, counsellor, and a powerful advocate for girls’ rights in Uganda. As the Founder and Executive Director of Raising Teenagers Uganda (RTU), she has devoted herself to ensuring that adolescent girls are not only seen but heard; that they continue their education and thrive even when circumstances seem stacked against them. Her mission is simple yet profound: every girl deserves a safe space, a chance to learn, and the confidence to become her fullest self.

From Childhood Influences to Lifelong Mission

Hope grew up witnessing the struggles many girls around her faced: girls who missed school because they did not have sanitary supplies, girls pressed into early marriages, and young people unsure of how to navigate puberty and the changing expectations of society. These early observations shaped her worldview and inspired her to act. She studied teaching and counselling, gaining skills and empathy that would later guide thousands of lives. As she worked in schools, Hope saw the gaps, listened to stories, and understood that lasting change would require more than individual kindness. It would need systems, community support, and courage.

Building Raising Teenagers Uganda: Impacting Lives

Since its founding in 2014, Raising Teenagers Uganda has become a beacon of hope for many. Under Hope’s leadership, RTU has done more than offer services; it has transformed experiences and rewritten futures for girls.

RTU offers safe spaces where adolescents can share their experiences, learn about reproductive health, manage menstrual hygiene with dignity, and set goals beyond their immediate challenges. The organisation provides counselling, career guidance, and mentorship. It reaches both rural and urban settings, from secondary schools to informal settlements, where girls face barriers to remaining in school or being heard.

A significant highlight of RTU’s work is its partnership with AFRIpads to distribute reusable sanitary kits. Through this intervention, more than twenty-eight thousand girls have been supported. Girls who once missed class or felt ashamed because of period stigma can now study with confidence and dignity. RTU also organizes fundraising galas, public awareness campaigns, and collaborates with other civil society groups to push for policy and cultural change.

In one fundraising gala for the Rebuild Scholars project, Hope’s speech moved many because she spoke not from theory but from experience. She reminded people that “when you educate a girl, you educate a family, you educate a community, you build a nation.” Her words summoned action: sponsors, mentors, and advocates stepped forward.

Advocacy, Partnerships, and Community Work

Hope has extended her reach through key roles and collaborations. She Co-chairs the Brave Movement Uganda a coalition committed to ending childhood Sexual Violence. She also serves on the National Steering Committee for the Parenting Agenda for Uganda, hosted by the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development. These roles amplify her voice, allowing her to push for broader change in laws, norms, and public policy.

Her work with RTU on menstrual hygiene programs, education support for vulnerable girls, counselling, and reproductive health has made her a recognized figure in change-making circles. When she speaks, people listen not because she demands attention but because she has earned respect by walking with those whose voices are often silenced.

Why Hope Moves Nations

Hope Nankunda moves nations because she gives agency to those who have too often been left powerless. She lifts barriers so girls can stay in school, equips them with knowledge about their bodies, and offers them counsel in times of doubt. She does all this while fighting stigma, challenging harmful norms, and building caring communities around young women. Through Raising Teenagers Uganda, she nurtures leadership among girls, girls who understand that their dreams are valid and that their lives matter.

Her story proves that when one woman believes in the power of a girl child, the ripple effects touch families, communities, and an entire nation. Hope’s life is evidence that lasting transformation begins with empathy and grows through perseverance. She moves nations not only through her voice but through the thousands of voices she has empowered to rise alongside her.