Esther Bagoole
Esther Bagoole, along with her husband Tom, is the founder of Healing Focus Orphanage Centre (HFOC), a Ugandan NGO that has been running a school for orphans in Busiiro Village in Luuka, Uganda since 2010. Esther Bagoole is also the founder and managing director of Femlead, a Ugandan NGO that has had success in reducing the number of under-age and forced marriages and teenage pregnancies in the area.
The Ugandan government continues to limit freedom of expression and association with human rights defenders being subjected to threats, intimidation and judicial harassment due to their legitimate human rights work. A number of human rights organisations have reported break-ins at their offices. Particularly at risk are human rights defenders advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
