2022 in Review: Our Biggest Year of Impact Yet
2022 was a year of unprecedented growth for Far Away Friends – and YOU were a huge part of making that happen. Let’s take a look at all we accomplished together last year!
Global Leaders Primary School
It was a big year for Global Leaders Primary School (GLP) as we welcomed back students after nearly two years out of school entirely due to COVID 19. And what a welcome it was - we DOUBLED our capacity, enrolling 500 students in 2022!
GLP has always been about depth of impact; we give every student everything they need - from a school clinic to daily meals to highly trained teachers - to prove the transformational power of education, and that, when given the right tools, every child can succeed.
Brighter Futures for Mothers in Amolatar
In partnership with Let there Be Light International and Solar Health Uganda, our teams were able to solarize FOUR health clinics in the Amolatar District, impacting over 4000 community members each month!
Additionally, through their Safe Births + Healthy Homes initiative, LTBLI provided 150 portable solar lamps to supply to new mothers in the community, ensuring safe sources of light for mothers and their infants in Northern Uganda!
Lights for Literacy
In continuation of our partnership with Let there Be Light, 150 students at Global Leaders Primary School and Acii Primary School received portable solar lamps to foster the practice of reading and studying at home.
One student who received a lamp, Rolex, stated that he sometimes has up to 10 friends join him in his home at night to read by the light of his lamp; teachers at GLP and Acii have even noticed that students who received the lights are performing better in class and on exams!
Keeping Girls in School: AfriPad Distributions and Empowerment Workshops
In 2022, we provided AfriPad Kits containing a year's worth of reusable sanitary pads to 1500 girls across our six partner schools in Amolatar. These distributions are accompanied by training on how to use the materials as well as girls empowerment workshops led by Ugandan women leaders. Since beginning this program in 2020, we’ve handed out over 3000 AfriPad kits to girls across the Amolatar District!
Skills for Life Curriculum Implementation
In June of this year we launched our Skills for Life curriculum in six schools, impacting 200 students across the Amolatar District. This curriculum was developed in partnership with education leaders in the community, and contains hundreds of research-based lessons designed to reduce absentee and drop out rates, and equip students with the tools they need to make it to graduation day.
Since its launch in June, teachers have already seen a reduction in absence rates, and have reported that students seem more engaged in their lessons than ever before!
Financial Growth Overview
We experienced an incredible amount of growth in 2022, thanks to some of our champion investors, committed Advocates who donate monthly, and a community of people who believe education is for everyone. This year, Far Away Friends raised nearly $375,000, which helped us grow our teams in the US and Uganda and fuel each and every program outlined above! None of which would have been possible without our incredible community of supporters.
On behalf of our entire team, thank you for a truly amazing year!
