Summer Appeal 2026
The Universal Fund is back, and young people in Uganda need your help to keep it that way
This summer, we're raising £60,000 to support the Universal Fund for the next three years and give vulnerable children and young people in Uganda the education and skills they need to build an independent future.
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What your gift will help us do
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Sustain the Universal Fund for the next three years
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Increase the number of young people completing secondary education and vocational training
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Begin extending support once again to primary school children
What your gift could achieve
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£150
Could fund six months of vocational training or an apprenticeship, turning practical skills into income within a short time.
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£250
Could give one child a full year of primary school; the foundation on which everything else is built.
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£320
Could give one young person a full year of secondary education, at the stage where falling behind is hardest to recover from.
Whatever you're able to give, your gift will help another young person gain the education or skills they need to build a more secure and independent future.
Why we're asking now
The Universal Fund helps orphaned and vulnerable children and young people in Uganda stay in education or learn a trade. It's been part of Mildmay's work in Uganda since 2002, known until recently as the Child Sponsorship Fund. For the past two years, it's had to pause due to a loss of funding.
Working through our longstanding partner, Mildmay Uganda Hospital in Kampala, the Fund identifies orphans and vulnerable children and young people already in their care, assesses each household's needs, and supports them into secondary education, vocational training, or apprenticeships, wherever they are in their journey, and whatever will have the greatest impact on their future. They come from households affected by poverty, bereavement, disability, and serious illness, including HIV.
An initial grant of £10,000 from supporters here in the UK, made earlier this year, allowed Mildmay Uganda to restart the programme this spring. Around forty households are already back in the programme, with young people once again completing secondary education, gaining apprenticeships, and learning trades. We now need to build on that start.
Case studies
"I always wanted to become a lawyer so that I could defend the rights of vulnerable young mothers in my community."
Supported by the Universal Fund through apprenticeship training and a return to school, Samira is now preparing to sit her Uganda Certificate of Education exams in November 2026 - one step closer to her dream.
Growing up in the Wakiso District of Kampala, Samira lived with her single mother and seven siblings. Like many young people facing economic hardship, she left school to work as a housemaid and help support her family. "I always wanted to become a lawyer so that I could defend the rights of vulnerable young mothers in my community." During Uganda's COVID-19 lockdown, Samira found herself facing an unexpected pregnancy, at a time when schools were closed and support was hard to find. "I felt I had disappointed my mother and lost my future," she recalls. "I did not know what would happen next." Community Health Volunteers working with Mildmay Uganda identified Samira and referred her to Mildmay Uganda Hospital, through an initiative supporting vulnerable pregnant teenagers and young mothers. There, she received antenatal care, psychosocial support and maternal health services throughout her pregnancy, and safely delivered a healthy baby girl. "I delivered my baby with peace of mind. The health workers cared for me with kindness and taught me how to look after my baby. I felt at home." Through the Universal Fund's safe-space programme, Samira enrolled in apprenticeship training, which offers vocational training in fields like tailoring, hair plaiting, and liquid soap production, skills that now help her earn an income and provide for her daughter. She was also reintegrated into formal education, and is currently studying for her Uganda Certificate of Education exams, which she'll sit in November 2026. "I am passionate about my studies and grateful for the support I have received. It has given me a second chance. With the support I have received from Mildmay, I am confident that I will achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer."
"My dream is to become a medical doctor, so I can serve my community and contribute to the fight against HIV and AIDS."
Like Samira, James was identified through the Universal Fund after his family's income collapsed: his mother had died of an HIV-related illness, and his father could no longer afford his school fees. Now a peer HIV educator with Uganda's PIASCY programme*, James is preparing for a different future:
Read James's story and more
*Presidential Initiative on AIDS Strategy for Communication to Youth
Give whatever you're able, and consider giving regularly
A regular gift means we can plan ahead, funding work in Uganda with confidence, not just appeal by appeal. The easiest way to set this up is Direct Debit — visit mildmay.org/donate, choose monthly, quarterly or annual, and select Direct Debit as your payment method.
Where your money goes
Mildmay began as a hospital in the most deprived part of the East End of London, and that work remains our foundation. Around ninety per cent of our UK running costs are met by NHS contracts, and the remaining ten per cent is made possible by people like you.
Our international work is different again: built on more than 30 years' experience overseas, and sustained entirely by charitable giving: donations, grants, and the generosity of supporters like you.