Current Partners
Our Bududa Learning Center (BLC) Partners make a tangible and lasting impact on the lives of individuals in the Bududa community. They’ve become part of a transformative educational movement that empowers children, young adults, and families to break the cycle of poverty. Together, we are creating sustainable change, and unlocking the potential of individuals who are eager to learn, grow, and thrive.
Our Partners
BraveWorks is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower women and families overcoming trauma and injustice, bridging the gap from pain to purpose through impactful connections, inspired creations and economic confidence.
BraveWorks partners with the Bududa Learning Center in Bududa, Uganda to create skirts, dresses, and bags. BLC artisans - staff, students, and alumni - craft and sew these products for sale and in turn are paid a fair wage by BraveWorks for their fashions and creations. This partnership also provides BVA students with hands-on practical experience in their field of study. BraveWorks recognizes teaching skills to poor Ugandan youth helps to empower them to support their families. 77% of Ugandans are under 25, and the unemployment rate for young people in Uganda is 83%. It’s even higher for students with a University degree, as the higher paying jobs are very scarce. Vocational training is key to changing the trajectory of Ugandan youth.
Myers Park Presbyterian Church - The Bududa Learning Center has worked in partnership with Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC since 2016. Throughout this partnership, MPPC has provided critical financial support for scholarship assistance, campus improvements and the advancement of technology on BLC’s campus. These initiatives have created greater access to students interested in vocational education and a pathway to financial independence. In addition, over 30 volunteers have traveled from MPPC to Bududa to serve and learn alongside Bududa Learning Center’s faculty, staff and students.
Path to Prosper (aka the Shelo Foundation) is a UK-based international charity providing funding for grassroots organizations to support vulnerable young adults in Uganda through professional training. Path to Prosper provides financial support for members of the Bududa community to attend the Bududa Vocational Academy and reside on campus citing that the benefits of vocational education delivered locally with community support, means that funds donated will be used directly on the ground in that a way that empowers local people to effect change in their own environment. Budua Learning Center and Path to Prosper are aligned in their belief that vocational education enables vulnerable young adults to become more prosperous.
Women’s Microfinance Initiative (WMI) is a non-profit organization founded by a network of professional women in the Washington, D.C. area. WMI makes loans available to impoverished women who have no access to banking services. Issuing affordable, collateral-free loans for as little as $50, WMI promotes women’s economic participation and carries the hope of prosperity to poor rural areas of Uganda. In a culture where women’s rights are often restricted, financial independence fills its beneficiaries with a sense of confidence. The WMI distributes loans through village-level organizations and has partnered with Bududa Learning Center to lend money to women in the local program, Women’s Microfinance Bududa Women’s Development Group (BWDB). The Bududa Learning Center hosts the WMB on its campus in dedicated space and BLC Staff member Betty Bigale has served as BWDG’s Head Administrator, coordinating and training local loan groups.
