From Vision to Visibility: UWADS’ Impactful Year of Growth

Uganda Women Advocacy and Children Development Services (UWADS), is one of several Rockflower partners that took the time to take stock of all the achievements and challenges overcome in 2023. By building on lessons learned in their quest to empower women and girls in 2023, they hope to consolidate further support in 2024. Here are a few of the highlights we are proud to share with you.

UWADS in 2023: Triumph Amidst Adversity

2023 was marked by recovery, rebuilding, and significant accomplishments against the backdrop of economic and climatic challenges. The central theme of the year “Creating opportunities for women and girls to find gainful employment locally,” guided UWADS' endeavors, leading to notable achievements.

A significant triumph for UWADS this year was the expansion into new regions. The organization extended its reach beyond the Mbale district, venturing into additional sub-counties and districts including Bududa, Jinja, Sironko, and Manafwa. This expansion meant bringing hope and opportunity to more women and girls, many of whom face similar challenges across these regions. By establishing contacts with community development officers and district leaders, UWADS has laid a strong foundation for long-term growth and impact.

UWADS focused particularly on skills development, training more women in baking, mushroom growing, entrepreneurship, and small business management. These skills are more than just tools for livelihood, they are the stepping stones towards self-reliance and confidence. The bakery project, in particular, has been a beacon of success, enabling women to participate actively in the economic development of their communities whilst laying the groundwork for their own entrepreneurial ventures.

Education remained a cornerstone of UWADS's efforts in 2023. The organization amplified its advocacy for young girls, striving to increase the number of beneficiaries of the tuition assistance program. This year, they reached out to a partner in Butaleja district, which led to the placement of some secondary school girls in schools where they were also able to receive mentoring and life skills development. This initiative is a testament to UWADS's commitment to not just educating girls, but nurturing them into adulthood.

Another highlight of the year was the receipt of a generous donation from Tools with a Mission (TWAM) - UK. The tailoring group within UWADS, now equipped with new tools, has evolved into an independent unit, exploring group business opportunities such as making uniforms for schools. The addition of a sweater machine and a hands-on trainer has further enhanced their capabilities. The organization is also excited about introducing women to new skills such as welding, carpentry, and building, signaling a new era of diverse vocational training.

Perhaps the most heartening achievement of UWADS in 2023 has been in the progress of the wellbeing of women and girls in the communities they serve. The transformation from individual to group baking businesses is a clear indicator of the success of their training programs. Savings groups have seen remarkable growth, with over 20 active groups fostering financial independence and positive peer influence. This has led to a noticeable improvement in the leadership skills of women, their confidence levels, and a communal stand against discrimination and domestic violence.

UWADS also shared compelling stories of individual triumphs - from a mother overcoming displacement and loss to children of mentally ill parents excelling academically. These narratives underscore the profound impact of the organization's work on individual lives.

Looking Ahead: Goals for 2024

Central to UWADS's vision for 2024 is the establishment of a vocational training hub. This will mean building dedicated classroom blocks for training and workshops, significantly enhancing learning environments. Alongside this, the organization plans to formalize a vocational training school or skills center. This pivotal step aims to legitimize and expand UWADS's educational reach, enabling them to support more women and girls in their quest for knowledge and skills.

To keep pace with their expanding initiatives, UWADS is set to strengthen its team by recruiting additional staff members. This move is crucial to managing the increasing workload and maintaining program quality. Concurrently, the focus will be on ramping up fundraising efforts, particularly for education, ensuring that more girls can access schooling and thus, pave their way towards empowerment and self-sufficiency.

Furthermore, UWADS plans to establish a social emergency fund, a critical resource for addressing the immediate needs of the most vulnerable in their communities. This initiative will provide a crucial safety net, mitigating suffering and trauma. With the existing machinery and tools, the organization is also preparing to broaden its skill training programs, offering a diverse range of vocational skills. These endeavors not only reflect UWADS's commitment to empowering women and girls but also their dedication to building a foundation for sustainable, long-term growth and development.

Conclusion

The journey of UWADS is a testament to the power of dedicated commitment and strategic partnership in changing lives. The accomplishments of 2023 are not just milestones but stepping stones towards a future where every woman and girl in Uganda can harness their potential and contribute positively to their communities.

By providing the necessary catalytic funding and support systems needed for UWADS to grow and build its ideas, this partnership proves our belief in the Currency of Mind™ and has opened doors for UWADS to receive further support from other organizations like Tools with Mission. This follow-on investment and support underscores the critical importance of building trust at the grassroots level to ensure long term sustainable empowerment for community-based organizations.

A Year in Reflection: UWADS’ Impact in 2022

Uganda Women Advocacy and Development Services (UWADS) has been working to give women and girls a voice and promote agency regarding gender, economic well being, education, leadership and decision making since 2009. Their mission is to train, sensitize and empower women so that they are able to influence and make decisions that affect their lives. To date UWADS has helped over 500 women across three communities. Recently, the organization provided an end of year report for 2022 as well as an update on the first few months of this year.

In 2022, the team at UWADS sought to uplift women in their communities and combat the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the year they were also faced with a number of devastating floods in Mbale followed by droughts that only added to the challenges. Despite all of this, they found a way to adapt their work and provide support for the evolving needs of the people that rely on them. In addition to their educational programs, they managed to aid in disaster relief for flood victims by providing food, utensils and blankets to more than 20 households.

This year, UWADS started an education fund with Rockflower’s support that they chose to title the UWADS Tine Education Fund (UTEF) named after Rockflower’s founder, Tine Ward. Through this fund they were able to keep more than 15 students in school. Many of the students are exceeding expectations with their grades and have ambitions of attending university in just a few years.

Education is a key pillar of the work of this organization. In addition to supporting those that attend school, they also seek to provide those without a formal education with practical skills to earn an income. They continued to run bakery trainings and five women from the cohort this year moved on to create their own small businesses selling mandazi, buns, and bagiya rolls. To date 24 women have graduated from the bakery training program and are able to earn an income with this skill. UWADS graduates run two thriving local bakeries and work on training as many other women as possible. 

This year UWADS also trained 40 women in tailoring and are working to secure deals with schools so that the trainees can sew uniforms. In order to support all of these initiatives, the savings and loan program was established to provide seed money for small businesses and allow the community to grow economically. The contributions to the fund come from the profits of small businesses, and this allows for those businesses, and new ones to take out loans as needed.

The high inflation of basic necessities has greatly impacted the area this past year. The cost of food has increased so much that many are struggling to provide food for their families. It has also decreased the profit margins of the bakery program. In response to this challenge, UWADS began training women in raising pigs and poultry on a small scale to create more local food sources. Those without basic education in Uganda struggle to find any type of employment, so UWADS’ vocational trainings are vital to women in poverty.

In 2023, UWADS plans to create a full vocational school for unemployed women. They have already acquired the land and started the brick work for this ambitious project. This will provide a single location for all types of vocational education and allow the organization to expand their offerings. Connecting with neighboring districts and expanding their reach is also a priority for 2023. The team at UWADS has accomplished so much in 2022 and there’s no doubt that they will be able to scale their work and extend their reach this year.

Uganda: Spotlight on Stories of Hope and Resilience

Rockflower is a global venture philanthropy fund maintaining partnerships across the world, in particular across the African continent. As the pandemic continues to have a disproportionate impact on those countries without access to vaccines and medications, we have chosen to spotlight the situation in Uganda where we currently have nine partnerships -  Farm Life, Foundation for Women’s Dignity, Hope for the Future Organization, Hope for Rural Women (HORUWO), Kinyamaseke Youth in Development (KYID),  Rwenzori United Group for Life Improvement (RUGLI), Women Advocacy and Development Services (UWADS) Youth and Women Initiative for Sustainable Development (YWISD) and Dare Now Uganda (DNU). 

In recent months, our partners in Uganda have faced immense challenges caused by the spread of the recent Delta variant of COVID-19, which has brought a halt to all planned activities during the most recent 42 days of lockdown. Many Ugandans are now without income or community support and are struggling to fulfill basic needs such as access to food. Our partner organizations work hard to support their communities and create stability, and throughout this time have found themselves overwhelmed with requests for food, and other basic necessities. 

Through the generosity of our supporters, Rockflower has been able to ensure that funds have been made available to support our Ugandan partners throughout this time. Funds that would normally be allocated to community based projects for women and girls, are now being used for the purchase of food to keep them alive. 

The situation in Uganda has worsened in recent months despite evidence that in the early stages of the pandemic, the country was extremely successful at protecting its citizens. In 2016, Uganda founded a global health security program at the Infectious Disease Institute at Makerere University in Kampala in order to combat and plan for pandemics. Early in 2020, the government quickly developed border screenings, laboratory testing capacity, community surveillance and infection control in health clinics and hospitals. As a result of this expeditious rollout of safety measures, Uganda was reporting fewer cases and deaths than other countries of similar population size.

It wasn’t until the Delta variant began spreading rapidly that the condition worsened. This variant of COVID-19 transmits more easily and has led to a higher percentage of severe illness, including those requiring oxygen support. Uganda has a population of 44 million and so far has recorded a total of 91,355 cases of COVID-19 and 2,483 deaths, according to the latest data from the health ministry. The virus has spread to 108 districts, out of which 20, including Kampala and Wakiso, have been significantly affected. 

On June 19th, Uganda re-imposed a 42 day complete lockdown, which only allowed citizens to leave their homes for essential purchases and included a ban on the use of any private vehicles other than those operated by essential workers. The response from the broader population was not welcoming of the lockdown. Many believed that it would do more harm than good, and those who may be in dire need of resources and support are afraid to approach local law enforcement, and would prefer to stay silent.

Unfortunately, the only measure that can truly stop the spread of COVID-19 and pull Uganda out of this desperate situation is the ready availability of vaccinations. COVID-19 is now considered a preventable disease thanks to the numerous vaccines that have been proven effective, but without access to these vaccines, the pandemic will continue to spread in unvaccinated populations. 

In March of 2021, Uganda received their first donation of vaccines, and felt confident that they would soon be able to vaccinate 50% of their population. In March they received 864,000 vaccines donated through CoVax and another 100,000 donated from India. Although still beneficial, this number is a drop in the bucket against Uganda’s population of 44 million. First responders and high risk patients were prioritized, but once these vaccines were used, vaccination efforts were shut down until late June when France donated another 175,000 doses. Since then, Uganda has not received any additional doses.

The Ugandan government has so far failed to purchase any vaccines, with officials saying the country had been priced out of the market by richer nations in the West, and therefore has been relying on surplus donations from other countries. Like many nations, Uganda was hoping to purchase vaccines produced in India, however due to India's recent devastating outbreak, they are no longer exporting doses. 

The phrase ‘vaccine diplomacy’ has long been the topic of conversation regarding how vaccines will be distributed across the world. The issue is that this phrase represents a political rather than science-based effort to vaccinate populations. It has become a matter of politics and money. Developing countries that have the capacity to produce vaccines are unable to negotiate for the licenses from drug companies and countries without strong bilateral relationships may get passed over. This vaccination distribution method does not eliminate hotspots of the virus, which will lead to even more dangerous variants emerging. The world is quickly losing time, and will require a global resolve to end the pandemic equitably.

Rockflower has received updates from a number of Ugandan partners informing us of their current situation, and in many cases asking for help. Our partner organizations are pillars of support for their communities, and have therefore been inundated with requests for help throughout the lockdown. Nankindu Angella, Chairperson & Co-founder of Youth and Women Initiative for Sustainable Development (YWISD) explained the challenges faced by her community throughout the current lockdown.

“It's a hard and challenging time for us community leaders, we were working on improving the market then boom the lock down came in and everything is now so hard. Now we have put the training on hold to observe and follow Standard Operating Procedures for COVID-19. Since we supported our beneficiaries during the previous lockdown even now they keep coming to us for help and we have done what we can, we are supporting very many women in the community who cannot feed their children. I myself am a single mother, I clearly understand what many of these women pass through now since many work for day-to-day food.”

Our partner organizations have been forced to suspend activities, which in many cases has caused the loss of the sole source of income for women and girls who support themselves and their families. Rockflower partner, Biira Mary, the Executive Director of Rwenzori United Group for Life Improvement (RUGLI), sent us an update explaining the economic impact and long-term devastation caused by the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has created a lot of devastating social, economic, and political crises that are going to leave deep scars for years to come. The impact caused may  reverse   the progress made in tackling global challenges  for many years  putting at risk the lives and livelihoods of people living in underdeveloped countries  but pressing many vulnerable people, the youth and persons with disabilities. The dreadful virus has caused a lot of gaps in the development process increasing the vulnerability of youths due to lack of essential resources such as clean water, food, medical supplies and even basic information. The disease has proved to be a tragic longer-term impact, with the potential for mass unemployment, and the risk of increasing inequality, marginalization, and poverty.”

Upon receiving these and many other messages from our partners in Uganda, Rockflower was able to put together a small but impactful emergency relief fund to help with food and other basic necessities for these communities. We are looking at all opportunities to raise additional funds including an additional surge of cryptocurrency donations to sustain this fund and provide life-saving necessities to women and girls who have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Sarah Namunyagwa, a single mother who has participated in YWISD projects in the past, is one beneficiary of the emergency relief fund. Her gratitude for such a small gift of food, is extremely humbling.

"I don't know how much I can thank you for this food, may God continue blessing you abundantly. I had nothing, totally nothing, to feed my 4 children in this COVID lockdown. I am a single mother and having gone through weaving training and you gave me hope to change my life but COVID is making it very difficult for me. Last month I was learning online marketing and I hoped to increase my sales and better the livelihood of my family but COVID lockdown came and all is at pause now yet basic needs are needed…you have not given up on me again you have provided food to help us survive, just extend my gratitude to your partners.”

As of July 30th, the full lockdown in Uganda has been lifted and the country is now looking toward rebuilding all that was lost during this time, providing basic necessities to those who are still without and continuing to fight COVID-19. The challenges faced by these communities are far from over, especially because the country is still severely lacking vaccines for its citizens. 

As our partners begin to resume their activities, the opportunity to gain income via e-commerce is one that could greatly improve their situations. Currently the gender gap that exists on online platforms is excluding billions of dollars from the wallets of female entrepreneurs and the opportunity for economic improvement via their training and participation is immense. The Council for Foreign Relationships noted, “Watershed moments to transform women’s economic status globally are few and far between, but COVID-19 and the post-pandemic recovery offer one of these rare and critical junctures. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity for development and an equitable future for all.”

A few of the outstanding goods being made by some of our partners are shown here by one of our partners, Hope for the Future. We continue to believe in the possibility of new and emerging lines of commerce to benefit their beautiful and innovative work and look forward to exploring these and other opportunities for growth.

Rockflower remains committed to providing support for all of our Ugandan partners so that they may resume activities to support the women and girls of their communities.  Please consider donating to Rockflower’s Emergency Fund, either through traditional channels such as our website’s donation page, or through cryptocurrency via our partnership with The Giving Block. Please be assured that even a small donation can be extremely helpful for women and girls struggling to fulfill their basic needs and those of their families. 

UWADS Continues Providing Women Marketable Skills for Economic Independence with New Project

Rockflower is pleased to announce the continued support of Uganda Women Advocacy and Development Services (UWADS), as they undertake a new project to economically empower the women of the district of Bududa. In the past, Rockflower has worked with UWADS to construct a local bakery in the district of Mbale and provide women the skills necessary to bake and establish their own small businesses. This project proved to be a great success as the women were able to learn useful skills, create their own small businesses and even move forward to create small savings programs in their communities.

In their new initiative, UWADS will replicate and expand this program utilizing the help of the women previously trained, to build a local bakery in the district of Bududa. UWADS will train women to bake, start their own small businesses and take strides toward economic empowerment and independence. This group of women includes single mothers, many of whom are still children, girls who have left school, and women and girls who have escaped abusive situations.

Given the success of the organization’s previous project, the potential for the women's success in this endeavor is extremely high. Rockflower looks forward to supporting UWADS in this new project as the women of Bududa gain skills, education and most importantly independence.

Women Advocacy and Development Services

Uganda

Ugandan President Museveni has extended the lockdown on multiple occasions but begins to ease measures. Uganda has had one of the strictest lockdowns in Africa with only essential businesses functioning, dusk-to-dawn curfews, and bans on transportation. While the lockdown was extended yesterday, it will begin to ease as businesses including hardware shops, restaurants, wholesale stores, and others will be allowed to reopen.

Challenges and Adaptation Measures

As with many of our partners, Women Advocacy and Development Services (UWADS) has seen the women entrepreneurs lose their daily incomes and turn to their savings for survival.

UWADS has sent basket-making materials to the women for an additional activity to do while in lockdown.

Emergency Fund

With the Emergency Fund from Rockflower, UWADS was able to purchase 500 kgs of maize flour, 2 cartons of soap and a box of hand sanitizer. In addition to distributing the previous items, materials were given to the women entrepreneurs to make their own reusable masks.

Update from June 2020

UWADS Coordinator and two volunteers have spent two weeks visiting each member of the organization to provide them with food items, soap and materials to make face masks.

Update from July 2020

Around the world, over 243 million women and girls have been subjected to sexual or physical violence in the last 12 months. UWADS has been providing trainings against domestic violence throughout the pandemic. In their discussions with the women they work with, they have found that none of their members has been abused during the lockdown due to the education they have provided in how to respond accordingly to a situation and their economic empowerment in being able to support themselves.