3000 Women Empowerment programme in Uganda

There are so many young girls that have become pregnant, facing serious consequences of having to drop out of school, and not being able to stay with their families.

Inside our empowerment program there are new materials including a hammer, a shoe stand, a cutter, spare leather and threads. There are also new sandals and damaged shoes that she will repair – a sign that her new business is getting clients.

Beneficiaries says this makes them believe that this is an important turning-point in her life following years of hardship and poverty.

Through all those stakeholders, we have been informed about the challenges that teen mothers are facing. There are so many young girls that have become pregnant, facing serious consequences of having to drop out of school, and not being able to stay with their families. They have to sometimes leave the house and try to fend for themselves. Together with the local authorities we have come up with this project so that we can provide a small contribution to solve this large problem,” Community Outreach Officer said.

Following beneficiaries training, the people in the programme set up a loan and savings group to work together to further improve their living conditions.

“In the past we did not have saving and loan associations because we did not have money to save. We also wasted even the small money that we got because we knew nothing about small savings,” Keren - beneficiary said.

“When we save money, any member who has an urgent need applies for a loan and pays it back with a small interest rate. We are planning that once we hit our annual savings target, we will rent an appropriate house where we will establish our dressmaking workshop.”

As SCOEN we are committed to extend our support to other areas where this is needed as long as we can do this in strong collaboration with our local partners including local authorities.

Thank you our supporters, people like have built confidence and improve lives of many women in the commmunities we work with.

We still appeal for your kind support towards this inovative approach.

With gratitude,

SCOEN team

Women and girls around the world should have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. They should be free from the threat of violence.

Thanks to your support, Women’s Empowerment programme supports many womenin Uganda. We support them to have power and a voice. To recover from violence. To live a life of dignity and opportunity.

How do we empower women?

We support women to have a voice and to be able to make informed decisions that affect their lives. We empower women within their homes, communities and beyond. We also work with women and men to challenge violence against women.

Our women’s empowerment programmes are based on an approach that works at many levels. We support people at individual, local and societal level. We bring about change in people’s homes and communities. We push for change in institutions and politics.

• With individual women: We build confidence and self-esteem. We increase knowledge and skills.
• Within households: We work towards shared decision making within the household. Shared control of household wealth.
• Within communities: We build positive attitudes for gender equality. Challenge negative attitudes. Demand rights and equal participation of women.
• Wider society and institutions: We address power imbalances. We challenge political and economic structures. We influence laws and policies.

Our programme also reduces the risk of violence to women and girls. For survivors of violence we provide support, recovery and social change. We also engage men to improve attitudes towards violence against women.

Thank you for your commitment to our mission of empowering young people in Uganda. We couldn't do it without you, and we are grateful for your support.

Warmly,

Lucas + SCOEN Team