Joan Kembabazi
A 28 years-old founder and leader of Gufasha Girls Foundation, a community-based organisation in Uganda working to end child marriage and strengthen girls’ rights.
BACKGROUND
Joan Kembabazi, 28, is the founder and leader of Gufasha Girls Foundation, a community-based organisation in Uganda working to prevent child marriage and promote girls’ rights. Her work was inspired by a tragic personal loss: in 2012, her close friend Gufasha Moureen, aged 13, was forced into marriage with a 62-year-old man and died during childbirth, far too young and without access to urgent medical care. Determined to prevent such tragedies, and in the memory of her friend, Joan founded Gufasha Girls Foundation in 2016, to protect girls’ rights and ensure that every girl can pursue education, health, and their own future.
WORK & IMPACT
Under Joan’s leadership, Gufasha Girls Foundation provides education, health support, mentorship, and community dialogues that challenge deeply rooted gender norms. The organisation works closely with parents, religious leaders, and traditional authorities to create spaces for open discussion on child marriage, rights, and alternative futures.
Gufasha’s approach combines girls’ empowerment with community engagement, directly transforming individual lives while shifting collective attitudes. Today, the organisation has reached over 2,000 girls through its programs and offers educational sponsorship to those most at risk.
By preventing child marriage, Joan not only protects girls’ education and bodily autonomy but also contributes to healthier, more equitable, and socially stable communities. Her work addresses one of the most structural causes of gender inequality, creating long-term impact for future generations.
WHY JOAN IS A FINALIST
The jury selected Joan Kembabazi as a finalist for the WIN WIN Youth Award for her norm-changing leadership, demonstrating how grassroots initiatives and inclusive work in education and community dialogue can create lasting impact, empower girls to shape their own lives, and inform global advocacy for gender-equal societies.
“Gender equality is not a gift we give to girls, it is a force they unlock for the entire world. When we invest in the rights, leadership and potential of girls, we are not only advancing fairness, we are laying the foundation for a more sustainable and inclusive future for everyone!”
- Joan Kembabazi