Initiative for Women in Uganda
Initiative for Women in UgandaBackground
Uganda has almost half of the people living below the poverty line. Especially women suffer from discrimination and male domination in the society: Early pregnancies, arranged marriages and school dropouts are the most common reasons that led the women into the poverty circle from which they are unable to escape on their own.
Why Women?
Women Can Change The World
Given the chance, women can play a critical role in solving the most persistent development problems facing the world today. By investing in girls’ education, preventing early marriage and teen pregnancy, issues such as HIV and AIDS can be resolved and the cycle of poverty can be broken. It’s not about prioritising girls over boys (in fact, we do lots of work with boys and men in the community), it’s about working with all members of the community to level the playing field and tackle inequality.
The “Empowering Young Women and Girls” Project
The “Empowering Young Women and Girls” project aims to provide about 100 young women and girls from remote villages with education and starting capital to help them improve their lives.
Integrated Empowerment of the Young Women and the Community
On the one hand, the women are provided with trainings that empower them for their daily life and their future, such as family planning and personal hygiene. Also the surrounding of the women (partner, family, and community) are integrated in the trainings. This is essential to root the knowledge effectively in the cultural environment.
On the other hand, the women are provided with economic education. Depending on their talents, experiences and professional goals they are clustered into groups for individual training on, e.g. agriculture, saloon work or tailoring. They are assisted to develop their own project ideas and raise their own startups. To get started they get the needed starting material, e.g. tailoring machines and cloth. Through this they should be able to secure a basic income that makes them financially independent in the long term.
In the trainings as well as in the group collaborations, the women benefit from sharing experiences with each other. They are motivated to strive for their goals together. This strengthens their self-confidence and the team spirit.
Implementation and funding
We are in direct contact with the targeted women and we give them professional training. Depending on the initiative they include experts on other fields, e.g. technicians, farmers and engineers, who conduct the projects.
We implement the projects together with our partner organization and volunteers. This ensures that the projects work well in the cultural environment on-site. We are looking for funds to realize the initial investments, e.g. to buy materials for economic projects. In the long-term the project should pay for itself and should continue without any external help.
Impact: The Women Like Us Achieve Program.
Counseling
For victims and their families affected by violence and abuse
- Individual and group therapy
- Confidence and character-building workshops
- Programs have benefited a lot of women including their families
Computer
- Computer skills reach 5 women per day
- The 3-month program prepares our women for jobs in super markets and as secretaries and house agents
Sewing
- Women have graduated from training program
- 75% are currently employed as domestics, or in microenterprises and factories
Microenterprise
- Workshops and educational programs for business studies and finance
- Women run their own businesses from home including raising chickens, sewing draperies and clothing, hairdressing and cooking
Farming
- Growing vegetables for sale at market; improved nutrition for families
- Part of profit goes toward children’s school fees
- Women and their families benefit from improved nutrition each year
We believe that education is key to the economic empowerment of women. Lack of financial resources is one of the major reasons that hinder girl students from pursuing higher education.