Ecobank marks 2025 Ecobank Day with support to Children with special needs.

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ecobank Uganda has marked Ecobank Day 2025 with an outreach visit to the Angel Centre for Children with Special Needs, reaffirming its commitment to inclusive education under the theme “Enabling Inclusive Learning for All.”

The initiative brought together Ecobank staff, partners, and volunteers who donated assistive devices, CP chairs, learning tablets, and food items to support children with intellectual and developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy.

Speaking at the event, Ecobank Uganda Managing Director Grace Muliisa said Ecobank Day is a moment for staff to step beyond their offices and connect directly with the communities they serve.

“Across 32 countries, Ecobankers are out in the field—not as bankers, but as neighbors and partners,” she said. “For us, this year’s focus on inclusive learning is not a slogan—it’s a promise.”

Muliisa said the 2025 celebration was particularly significant as the bank marked 40 years of service across Africa, 13 years of social impact through the Ecobank Foundation, and the final year of its three-year education campaign.

She noted that many children with learning challenges remain excluded not because of lack of ability but because society has not adapted to their needs.

“This year, we say no more. Technology is breaking barriers that once seemed unmovable,” Muliisa said, highlighting new tools that allow visually impaired children to learn through text-to-speech and others to write using voice recognition.

Muliisa commended Angel Centre founders for their work transforming lives.

“What they have built here gives disability a human face. It’s humbling and inspiring,” she said.

Rosemary Nambooze Nuwagaba, Executive Director of Angel Centre, said the partnership with Ecobank was a strong endorsement of inclusion and compassion.

“Angel Centre was born from our own experience raising a child with Down syndrome,” she said.

“We started in 2012 to support children with intellectual disabilities and ensure they live dignified lives.”

The Centre currently supports over 130 children 55 based at the facility and 82 in surrounding communities through education, therapy, and family-based care.

“Running the Centre is expensive because children need extra support assistive devices, nutrition, medication, and trained caregivers,” Nuwagaba explained.

“But every contribution counts. We are grateful to Ecobank and its partners for standing with us.”

Muliisa urged Ugandans to embrace community-led giving rather than relying on foreign aid.

“We are a generous nation. If each of us gave for causes like this, we could build our own local aid movement and transform lives,” she said.