It is with a heavy heart that we are sharing the news that Ritah Nansereko, the Executive Director of African Women and Youth Action for Development (AWYAD) recently passed away after a short battle with Covid-19.
Chance for Childhood were privileged to work with Ritah since 2019, when we first began a partnership with AWYAD. United by our work, we had become a family, working towards the same goal of improving the lives of children, women and families in vulnerable situations. Ritah was the driving force behind our decision to look at how we could strengthen the education response for girls and children with disabilities within refugee communities in Uganda. Ritah also played pivotal role in co-implementing our most recent programme in Uganda raising the standards of access to justice for women and children in refugee settlements in Uganda.
Ritah has left a tremendous legacy. She was a formidable woman, and most recently Chair of the Uganda Chapter of ‘Charter4Change’, an initiative of national and international NGOs working to change the humanitarian aid system towards a more locally led response.
We join AYWAD, Ritah’s family and the entire humanitarian community in Uganda and beyond in mourning her death. We will miss Ritah but she will always remain in our thoughts. We are more committed than ever to continue the vital work that Ritah started, with the hope that one day all vulnerable children and women will be able to access a brighter future.
