The Pearl Community Empowerment Foundation (PCE Foundation) is a Ugandan national rural development and empowerment (REG No MIA/NB/2012/01/2824) NGO currently operating in rural communities of the Butaleja, Tororo, and Jinja districts of Eastern Uganda. We are Christian-founded and we support ALL people regardless of their faith, sex, physical appearance, or tribe.

Our mission is to enhance knowledge and skills within rural communities and to promote the exchange of information and best practices through education, mentorship, advocacy and strategic partnerships for social, cultural and economic development. We seek to break the cycle of poverty and empower communities to take charge of their own development.

Our organization’s emphasis on community participation and leadership helps community members work together, own the achievements facilitated by our programs, and sustain positive change.

History of PCE Foundation

PCE Foundation was founded in 2011 by Ms. Beatrice Achieng Nas, who grew up in an impoverished community ravaged by HIV and AIDS. Beatrice’s mother supported her daughter’s dream of seeking education, but schooling became too expensive for the family to afford. Beatrice’s situation shifted when an American family from Kentucky decided to sponsor her education, ultimately allowing her to graduate with her bachelor’s degree. The only college graduate in her community, Beatrice felt called to make a difference. She developed connections in the wider Ugandan community through her work with Barclays Bank, NUMAT, GHAIND, and Build Africa. With the initial guiding dream of supporting rural girls in attaining education, she started PCE Foundation with the support and mentorship of a Board of Directors from across the globe.

Beatrice has found her voice globally through a variety of platforms and organizations, including Wellesley Centers for Women, World Pulse, the White House Council on Women and Girls, Intel (10×10) in California, the National Bioneers Conference, Women Thrive Worldwide, Stanford University, Denver University, and Portland State University. Beatrice’s vision is to work locally and internationally to support grassroots communities in Africa, especially the women and girls of those communities. This is her motto:

Everybody has the potential to live a better life. Given the opportunity, education, and motivation anyone can become someone admirable. Nobody is a nobody. Everybody is somebody.

In January of 2015, Beatrice gave this passionate talk at TEDxKampala: