Twesigye Jackson Kaguri founded Nyaka in response to the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in his home village and surrounding districts. Nyaka’s mission is to provide free education to children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.
Nyaka: From 2001 to Today
2001 - Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Founded
2003 - Nyaka Primary Opens
It all began with the Nyaka Primary School, a two-room school on a small plot of land serving 55 students. All the students had lost one or both parent to HIV/AIDS and lived in extreme poverty.
2004 - Nyaka Primary School Grows
As enrollment increased, we built additional classrooms to accommodate the growth. We knew the urgency of getting children in school quickly, so we made use of each new building as soon as it was complete. We used new buildings even as the rest of the school was still being constructed!
2005 - Nyakagezi Gets Clean Water
A gravity-fed clean water system was built to provide clean water to 17,500 community members. Then we placed tap systems throughout the community. This meant women and girls no longer had to walk for miles to gather water, miss school, and risk assault.
2006 - Nutrition Program Launches
The nutrition program began after teachers noticed students fell asleep in class, because they were too hungry and had too little energy to learn. We built kitchens at both primary schools to provide two hot meals every school day.
2007 - Grandmother Program Grows
Grandmothers raising HIV/AIDS orphans had few resources. We launched the Grandmothers program with 51 Grandmother groups of 25-70 members each, and they gave each other peer support. Soon after, we began providing them with microfinance loans and training in budgeting, leadership, agriculture, and child rearing.
2008 - First Nyaka Graduation
The pioneer class of Nyaka Primary School graduated from primary school in 2008. There were 22 graduates, 21 of whom passed their national exams to attend secondary or vocational school. Nyaka sponsored these students to attend secondary and vocational schools in the region.
2008 - Kutamba Primary School Opens
After a young boy named Hilary traveled 40 miles when he heard there was a school for HIV/AIDS orphans like him, we decided to build a school in his community. Kutamba was built over several years, admitting a new class each year, just as with Nyaka Primary School.
2009 - Desire Farm Grows
Our farm began small, but has grown to encompass 10 acres of crops with cows, chickens, and other livestock to provide food for the primary schools. Since then, the farm has created new sources of employment for the area, made food cheaper at the primary schools, and opened up new, sustainable revenue streams through the sale of surplus crops. The farm’s impact has been profound.
2009 - Blue Lupin Library Opens
Kicked off in 2009 and completed in 2010, the library provides access to newspapers, literature, computers, solar powered Wi-Fi, and a safe place to study for thousands of students and community members in Nyakagyezi.
2011 - Health Clinic Completed
The Mummy Drayton School Clinic was built to provide free and low-cost healthcare and medicine to students, Grandmothers, and community members. Although both primary schools had a school nurse, the need for healthcare was greater than what they could provide alone.
2012 - First Kutamba Graduation
The 29 students in Kutamba Primary School’s pioneer class graduated! Sheila (pictured center left) danced all the way to the ceremony because she was so excited. They joined 30 Nyaka Primary School and 15 regional secondary school graduates.
2014 - First Nyaka Students Graduate
The first class of Nyaka Primary School students graduated from secondary school! Fourteen students received their high school diplomas. Twelve of these students applied to universities to continue their education.
2015 - Vocational and Secondary School Opens
Fifty students came from Nyaka and Kutamba Primary Schools to begin their first day of secondary school. Construction on the school continued until 2020.
2016 - Secondary School Grows
The school grew to educate over 160 students. After that, six out of the eight planned buildings were opened and operational, including the administration building, girls’ dormitory, boys’ dormitory, biology and computer labs, and the carpentry, brick laying, mechanical, and metal workshops.
2019 - NVSS Anti-AIDS club does radio broadcasts.
400,000 people received monthly anti-AIDS education through anti-AIDS club radio broadcasts.
2021 - The Grandmother Program expanded into Rubanda District.
The Grandmother Program has expanded to the third district, Rubanda, in Southwestern Uganda. This growth now allows us to support 20,000 grandmothers across three districts.
2022 - Nyaka's Mummy Drayton Clinic introduced Dental Care Services.
With the sponsorship of John Brewster, Nyaka started offering free dental care services to the Nyaka students and grandmothers. This services was launched in March, 2022.
2023 - Nyaka Microfinance Limited officially started.
Nyaka Microfinance Limited commenced operations in rural Kambuga, Kanungu District.
2023 - Opened the 5th healing center for Sexual Violence Victims.
Nyaka established its fifth healing center at Kebisoni Health Centre III in Rukungiri District to support survivors of sexual violence through the Nyaka SGBV Program.
2024 - Nyaka took the big stage at CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) in New York.
Our Founder and CEO, Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, took the stage to highlight Nyaka’s impactful efforts in promoting inclusion for aging populations.
Support Nyaka
Your gift to Nyaka helps improve the lives of vulnerable children, women, and the elderly in rural communities through education, livelihood programs, healthcare, and support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
