Shao & Ying Family Foundation

Project title: asante Africa foundation uganda - middle school girls empowermentprogram at kigaarale primary schoolproposal time period q2 2025-q1 2026project principal name ling shao (408-718-7162),geoffrey kasangaki (ceo, asante Africa foundation, +256 xxx-xx-xxxx)erna grasz (founder; global advisory board chair, 925-367-5586);email and phone number shaoyingfoundation@gmail.comaddress syf foundation: 18786 colby ct, saratoga, ca 95070asante Africa foundation: 1141 catalina dr ste. 213, livermore, ca 94550asante Africa foundation usa1334 carlton place, livermore, ca 94550asante Africa foundation, uganda: uganda Red Cross building, lubagaroad, po box 8357, kampala, ugandaproject description:as the mission of shao and Ying Family foundation are focused on the girls/young women leadership, helping the people who needed financial aid, and the culture exchange. Asante Africa foundation (aaf) programs emphasize quality learning in the classroom, gender equity, work-life skills, and the power of technology. Students develop the cognitive skills, decision-making capacity and leadership qualities needed to succeed far beyond the classroom. Aaf operates in three east African countries: kenya, uganda and tanzania. We believe the goals of both foundations match well.syf foundation and asante Africa foundation plan to have a 3-year joint project. As we enter the thirdyear, shaoying foundation will provide $4000 funding for a continuation of the project at kigaaraleprimary school, uganda.in phase 1, in 2023-24,with thegift of $3,000, the school selected was kigaarale primary schoolin kyenjojo district, uganda related to the wezesha vijana (in swahili this means empoweringourselves) equipping girls with leadership skills, confidently speak and defend their rights, keeping at-riskadolescent girls on the learning path through personal, social, health, and economic assetsutilizing learning modules, digital tool, hands-on projects, and peer mentoring.year 2 2024-2025: the participants for this project come from kigaraale primary school, kyenjojodistrict, uganda. With the funding amount of $ 4,000, this intervention is expected to cumulativelyimpact 360 new lives/annually.in 2024 with 60 new cohort 2 participants between ages 9-15 were recruited to the program (40girls, 20 boys) with 51/60 (85%) graduating from the program. In addition, 310 parents engaged inparticipants showed notable improvements in health awareness, social advocacy, personal growth goals, and financial literacy. Key areas of progress included puberty education, menstrual hygiene, rights advocacy, goal setting, and financial management.in 2025 2026, this project recruits 60 new club members (40 girls, 20 boys) to make up cohort3. Cohort 2 will support cohort 3 at the beginning of april 2025, seamlessly transitioning youth governance.the following activities will follow:1.) establish peer support/mentorship groups within each cohort where members can seek advice and provide emotional support.2.) arrange skills sharing sessions for members from the previous cohorts sharing knowledge and skills to the new cohort related to life skills, digital empowerment and initiating income generating activities at the club level.3.) participating in joint projects/activities to encourage collaboration between cohort 2 and cohort 3.additionally, cohort 1 is approaching the daunting transition from class 8 to form 1 (9th grade), where girlstudents are especially vulnerable to dropping out due to lacking finances and cultural pressures.to mitigate this risk and ensure a smooth transition, asante Africa foundation will work tosupport the students in cohort 1 (class 8) by providing tutoring sessions for candidate examinations, engage families on importance of education continuation, and work to decrease the overall stress that accompanies the class 8 candidates.a key aspect of all of asante Africa programming is that the school and the club can sustain beyond this3-year commitment and be reliant upon themselves. To build these muscles we will support thefollowing:1. School and club level capacity building to foster a sense of ownership and accountability I.e. thealumni will be supporting in the establishment of the new club with the support of the teacher mentor this year, transition power to their successors for continuity.2. Community/parental engagements to strengthen and support relevance of the club within the community and school.3. Continuous follow ups to identify what is working and what challenges remain. Two unique attributes that the school club has requested support for from asante Africa staff are the following:1. Leveraging on the digital integration to promote literacy and numeracy skills acquisition in lower grades (class 6 & 7) and as well for material review for the candidate class (class 8).2. Launching innovative challenges within the club focusing on local social and environmental challenges to see if they can create solutions as young people that their elders will consider.