Rt. Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba receiving $20,000 donation from Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament - Credit The Mail

The Speaker of the National Assembly on Saturday launched a charity foundation to support needy children and women as she commemorated her one year in office.

Nunu Kumba became the country’s first female speaker of the national parliament, after being nominated by President Salva Kiir last year.

The speaker launched the Jemma Nunu Kumba Foundation with an aim of providing scholarships to needy children and financial support to disadvantaged women.

“I take this opportunity to announce the establishment of Jemma Nunu Kumba to help foster and create a society in which the youth, the women,” Speaker Nunu made the announcement at a ceremony to mark her first year in office at Freedom Hall on Saturday.

“The girl child can live free from gender inequality and socio-economic deprivation,

“The foundation shall in the early, promote compassionate hope in the face of adversity and injustice and for that purpose, it will fund and support the education of needy children,

“It will promote healthcare especially the reproductive health of young people, the rights for women and girls, peacebuilding, career development and mentoring of young people,

“The women fund will focus on economic empowerment of women through entrepreneurship and address economic related gender-based violence against women and girls in line with sustainable development goals.”

The event was also attended by female representatives and speakers of regional countries of Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Malawi.

Speaking at the same event, Uganda’s Speaker of parliament Anita Annet Among, emphasized the need for support among female speakers of the region.

The Uganda legislator contributed $20,000 dollars to the Jemma Nunu Kumba Foundation.

“Let’s support each other as speakers and I love the idea that you want to open a foundation to support women and children,” said Speaker Annet.

“We as the parliament of Uganda are ready to support the foundation, and because you are a very good speaker, we as the parliament of Uganda, for the start, want to contribute $20,000 dollars to the foundation.”

For his part, Kuol Manyang Juuk, the senior advisor to the president, called on members of parliament to cooperate and support Speaker Nunu Kumba in order for the August House to deliver its mandate.

“If you have realized that our sister Jemma Nunu Kumba is doing very well then you must tell her that she is doing very good work in this forum so that she continues to do well,” said Kuol.

“This is a recognition of what she has done. I, therefore, appeal to the parliamentarians to support her and she alone cannot do much.”

The senior advisor also announced a $50,000 dollars donation by President Kiir to the foundation.