So They Can Thrive

When Africa’s female farmers thrive, everyone benefits. When these women succeed, they invest in their children’s nutrition and education, into their local communities, and they invest in their economies! With focus upon the right investments and policies, Africa’s woman-run farms will produce a bumper crop of development. Thank you for being a big part of our ongoing efforts to support Ugandan women SO THEY CAN THRIVE!

This year we are empowering rural craftswomen in Uganda through social entrepreneurship and inclusive innovation. By investing and partnering with these artisans, we are now creating an income stream so these women can provide essential needs for their children! We are providing employment and vocational training in artisan crafts for over 60 women in northern Uganda, where poverty is extreme and opportunities are few. By creating these opportunities to earn income for their families, these women are now able to pay for their children’s school fees, provide adequate nutrition, and keep their families together. The benefits of providing training for women ripple through their communities, providing positive changes that support future generations.

The relative peace that returned to northern Uganda-Gulu has spurred thousands of internally displaced people to begin moving to their home villages from camps. While it is good to go home, these returnees face enormous challenges as they try to resettle in their former homes. We are working alongside these communities to help them rebuild their communities SO THEY CAN THRIVE again. Our Executive Director Ivan Woods Kasujja and his team are on the ground, traveling Uganda, talking with local leaders, and planning out how to make the biggest positive impact on these vulnerable communities. We have begun this year by focusing on providing sewing machines for the cooperative, which is quickly invigorating the local community and will soon be completely self-sustaining. We also focus upon making the most of the fertile land to provide stable food supplies for these communities.  Thank you for supporting this important work! With your generous donations, you are saving lives and invigorating local economies!

Last weekend in Palaro Village-Gulu, in northern Uganda, we finished assembling the machines and handed them to the female artisans. While this tailoring business may look small and simple, it is really big for women in rural Uganda. This project helps women earn income for their families, increases their self-esteem an motivation, and invigorates their local community. We are providing sewing machines for these women SO THEY CAN THRIVE and earn income that transforms the lives of of their families and communities! Many of these craftswomen have already filled orders for their neighbors and local schools and are now focusing on mending and making new garments. The five machines we delivered are giving these 30 women a start. They work in shifts to share opportunities to work with the machines. We plan to provide another five machines for this growing group so they can further provide for their families and communities. Thank you for being an essential part of this project!

In the village of Gulu in northern Uganda, a place once considered to be among the toughest in the world to be a woman, we are partnering with women by providing them with opportunities for personal development and leadership training. We are connecting  with them SO THEY CAN THRIVE! Through our fundraising efforts, we will provide sewing machines for a women’s cooperative. A portion of earnings will be reinvested into the cooperative, providing needed supplies for the organization.  In this way, our this project is creating self-sustaining income-generating opportunities that inspire, empower, and educate women and their communities for generations to come.

We are excited to partner in the creation of this women’s sewing machine cooperative! Members receive training in tailoring techniques and sewing machine mechanics. With their new sewing machines, these women can fulfill orders for their neighbors, sew clothes for their own children instead of purchasing them, and continuously improve their skills. They can also take big orders for school children’s uniforms and from companies in their communities and beyond. This sewing machine cooperative provides women with the ability to provide for their families and communities. When these women have the ability to earn an income, they gain access to life-essentials, including food, clothing, shelter, and education for their families, while also building a more secure and sustainable future for all.

Your generous support enables these women and their families to escape the cycle of poverty while improving the lives of those in their communities as well.  Thank you for being a part of this vital work!

“While we might feel small, separate, and all alone, our people have never been more tightly tethered. The question’s not if we will weather this unknown, but how we will weather the unknown together.” -Amanda Gorman