Margaret is a 20-year-old who was at risk of being married off after she and her three brothers dropped out of school for lack of school fees. Her parents are peasants in rural Uganda, and her mother was terminally ill for two years, which drained the meagre family incomes. “The piece of land we leased from a neighbour was too small to farm to get school fees. My relatives suggested to my parents that I should be married off saying that it was a waste of money in the first place to take me to school that far. Luckily, I got a scholarship from Education & Development Opportunity - Uganda; it was God-sent! Now I have a bright future ahead of me,” she said. Margaret was awarded the Brian Mutebi Dream Scholarship in 2019 and in 2021 excelled in her end-of-high-school exams. She is set to join university in 2022.

In Uganda, one in four girls 15-19 years of age is either pregnant or had a baby. Only one in 10 girls is able to return to school after giving birth but married off where they face a higher risk of domestic violence.