Education and support of young people are some of the biggest factors in helping girls and all children around the world—leading to better opportunities and pay, a cycle of education as they send their children to school, prosperous communities and more. So we were thrilled to learn of this team up between Malayaka House Orphanage in Uganda and Abu Dhabi-based Monyati Initiatives, a philanthropic organization providing funds, to renovate a pizza restaurant central to the orphanage's mission. In a country already facing high unemployment, girls and orphans are even more at risk. Through this program, older girls learn skills like managing money, helping to run a business and cheesemaking, while the restaurant raises funds for the orphanage. The restaurant and training center are both run by women. The project supported by Monyati Initiatives will allow for a renovation of the restaurant, making it even more beneficial and cost effective.

thenational.ae - DUBAI / Orphans in Uganda have been given the chance of a brighter future thanks to a UAE-inspired pioneering project that also aims to empower female entrepreneurs.

Abu Dhabi-based philanthropic organisation Monyati Initiatives has funded a Dh91,825 project to renovate and upgrade a pizza restaurant in Entebbe that, it hoped, would become a sustainable business.

Working with Malayaka House Orphanage, Monyati Initiatives believes the restaurant will provide an environment for the girls to learn.

“This has been a dream come true, and our girls could not be happier,” said Monja Wolf, Abu Dhabi resident and founder of Monyati Initiatives. “Everything has become easier for them.”

Although the restaurant was already being used by the orphanage as a means of raising money, the changes meant they could expand their activities.

“The primary goal of this project was to take the pizza business and do what the orphanage has already been doing for a number of years – but do it better, cheaper and faster,” she said.

Read the rest here.