Blog
The Circle of Life for Women in Uganda
These images depict an evening of a teenage mother's life regardless of if she is married or not. It is a life we are raised to do from childhood and the only difference now is that their babies have to come along because there is nobody to babysit them later on a feeding bottle or formula to be left behind. If one is 'lucky', then their first born daughter of 3-5 years, whom they most likely gave birth to at 13 years of age, or younger sister can tag along for two reasons, one to help carry the baby as...
Why Building Together Is So Important
As seen in some of the pictures below, we train under various tree shades shifting by the direction of the tree shade. We stay near the road and so all the dust from the passing cars and motorcycles is inhaled by us but most importantly by the babies that are as young as one month old that the young skilling mothers come with. The babies are asleep beside their mothers because we don't have a nursery or the capability to rent one. Secondly, we run the very first and only abuse shelter where in we mostly have teenage mothers who...
Building Together
The Girls together with staff members take turns fetching water from the stream, digging out an Anti-hill, mixing up the clay with our feet to make bricks for the construction of a study shade.
Class of 2022
Class of 2021/2022 that will be graduating in November 2022.
Graduation 2021
Young women and their parents/guardians celebrating at our very first graduation that happened in October, 2021.
The Realities of Period Poverty: How Menstruation Deprives Women and Girls the Opportunity to Strive
No woman or girl should be held back by menstrual periods. Availability of sanitary towels and hygienic safe spaces in which to use them, the right to manage menstruation without shame or stigma MUST be a given for anyone who menstruates. Yet for many, this is too far from being their reality. The subject of menstruation is taken as a taboo with many negative cultural attributes associated with it, including the idea that menstruating women and girls are 'contaminated’, ‘dirty’ and ‘impure’ and for some the onset of periods means the girl is ready for marriage. Period poverty is not just a potential health...
Training to Help Ugandan Girls Thrive
Friends, we are more than excited to share with you pictures of our amazing group of young women and girls who for reasons such as cultural discrimination of girl child education, forced marriage, limitations of resources (poverty) are attending a 6-9 months tailoring class so as to be economically independent and self sufficient. The program is open to out of school young women and teenage girls who are at risk of pregnancy/ forced early marriage, sexual and labour exploitation from a highly patriarchal community. We provide vocational, business and life skills training opportunities aimed at enabling the girls to set...
Judith’s Story
On Friday evening a very pregnant woman walked into our office asking for help. She’d traveled eight kilometers (nearly 5 miles) on foot, alone. She introduced herself as Judith, and at 29 years old this was the 8th child she was expecting. Judith had been chased out of her own home by her husband who had brought his mistress home with him. We learned that Judith had spent 4 days and nights hiding in the bush before sneaking back to grab a few things from home, dressing and walking to WAGRAU. Judith wanted help pressing charges against her husband. As...
Enid’s Story
‘Certain forms of Violations against one’s body are deeper than others yet one thing remains true, they all hurt’. This was the response I got from Enid as I stood helpless and speechless upon hearing her story. Enid underwent humiliation and degradation as she was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), an ancient practice that has since been outlawed yet is still practiced in secret. The practice is carried out by traditional unskilled ‘experts’. The knives used are unsterilized and no anesthetic is used. Therefore Enid and many other girls who undergo this ritual ‘face the knife’ (as the community...
Jajja’s Story
Jajja is a title of respect given to an elderly person. Though Jajja does not remember exactly how old she is, conversations she had with community members puts her age between 80-85. Jajja has lived in the community of Bajjo for over 50 years since she married at 17-20 years old. In a country where polygomy is still common, Jajja was one of the ‘lucky’ elderly women, she was the only ‘woman of the home’ as locals put it. Her husband never had a wife before and never officially brought home another woman. According to Jajja, she doesn’t recall any...