CERU, originally established in 2007 to support expectant school girls aged 10-17 who were abandoned by their families due to stigma, expanded its focus over time. It facilitated the return of these girls to school while offering foster care for their babies. However, the women providing foster care faced intimate partner violence, family and domestic violence.
As a response, CERU broadened its scope to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG). It collaborates with formal and informal structures, supports foster mothers and girls, and holds community forums on VAWG accountability.
In 2017, CERU became a registered non-government organization (NGO) in Uganda, operating in one district and expanding nationally in 2021. CERU prioritizes advocacy, transformative, responsive and social norm change strategies to empower and promote the dignity and well-being of women and girls, especially in Uganda.