Today the family and friends of Esther Nakajjigo (R.I.P) held a farewell ceremony for the late ambassador for women and girls at Princess Diana High School.
Esther lost her life in June 2020 in a tragic accident at Arches National Park in Utah in the USA. Her remains were flown in Uganda on Saturday 22nd August 2020.
The European Union young leader had dedicated her life to supporting the vulnerable and most underprivileged people in society – especially the youth.
Her outstanding service for underprivileged members of the community can be traced way back to when she used her personal resources to establish the Princess Diana Health Centre III in Makindye, Kampala. The centre provides free adolescent health and reproductive health services to young people.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Thomas Tiedemann the Ag. Head of Co-operation of the European Union to the Republic of Uganda told the mourners that they should commemorate and celebrate the life of Esther Nakajjigo, Uganda’s Women and Girls’ Ambassador, or Essie, as she was affectionately called.
“One outstanding achievement of Essie’s was the “saving innocence challenge”, a reality TV show that saw girls from well-off families go on an expedition to experience the reality of their underprivileged peers and seek to transform the lives of these disadvantaged girls. As part of the “saving innocence challenge”, Essie shone a light on the shocking situation of teenage girls in the Kalangala islands who, out of socio-economic vulnerability, engage in what is dubbed “sex for fish”, an exploitative practice resulting in teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and abject poverty.” Tiedemann said.
Based on her outstanding work in Uganda, Essie was selected as one of only 16 young leaders worldwide to participate in the 2018 European Development Days (EDD) organised by the EU institutions in Brussels, Belgium. At that meeting, she presented on the topic of “Women and Girls on the Move: Towards Safer Work and Migration for Women” alongside the Executive Director of UN Women, the Deputy Director General of IOM and other dignitaries.
Esther will be buried at her ancestral home in Bulegeya, 13miles from Masaka Town off Bukunda Trading Centre in Kyanamukaaka.
