Linda Cole, AFRICAN WOMEN RISING,Uganda
African Women Rising, a small non-profit with big impact, was launched by Linda Cole in 2006 in Santa Barbara and Uganda to empower women after war by providing technical skills and support for success via education, agriculture, and micro-finance training.
Our Belief:
Women are powerful agents of change
Sustainable impact comes from within a community
Simultaneous action creates synergy & sustainability
What we do:
Our project outcomes and long-term impact have broad ramifications and include increased soil fertility, increased crop yields, better diet and nutritional intake, increased income for participants and increased access to healthcare and schooling.
Adult Literacy Literacy is one of the greatest problems for the women that we serve. During the war many of these women were abducted, forced to fight, became girl mothers, or simply had to drop out of school to help their families cope with the effects of the conflict.
Our new Girls Education program increase access to primary and secondary education for girls in rural areas of the conflict-affected Acholi region of Northern Uganda.
Our Micro-finance program provides women with access to capital and also emphasizes weekly savings. We help women become financially literate and provide support in business skills and basic record keeping.
80% of women in our programs double their income and savings within one year
90,000 children now have increased access to education
15,000 women have been empowered since 2006
80% of women in our agricultural programs double their yield
WHY WE CHOSE TO WORK IN AFRICA….
African Women Rising believes in a just and equal world where all people have the opportunity and right to live their lives with dignity. Despite great gains in the fight against global poverty, sub-Saharan Africa is the only region consistently failing in these attempts. Across the continent indicators on hunger, displacement, access to health, food, income and education paint a troubling picture of the situation.
One in four people across sub-Saharan Africa remain under nourished.
47% of the population lives on $1.90 or less. Lack of access to food, or capital to buy food, is the main cause. Conflict often interrupts people’s ability to earn an income or grow their own food. Environmental challenges such as erosion, desertification, deforestation, and most importantly, drought and water shortages keep people from building sustainable livelihoods. Climate change threatens the vulnerable in disproportionate ways.
One of the success -stories: "I've been working at this school for ten years. We have seen a big difference with AWR’s Girls Education Program. We have very few dropouts. They (AWR) have been helping us with the textbooks and teaching. All the girls receive sanitary pads so they are not missing school any longer. The mentors from AWR are also providing academic support to students, especially the weaker ones. They also do home visits and make sure the girls attend school. We have more students succeeding now.” Evelyne
Watch my interview with Linda here:
Thank you so much Linda for taking the time to share your beautiful story about empowering women in such a challenging country as Uganda.
We wish you all the best for future projects of AFRICAN WOMEN RISING and hope, that when we're out of the Covid situation , you will be able to restart the projects that have been on hold for some time now.
I invite you all to follow Linda and her important work in AFRICA WOMEN RISING on:
Website: www.africanwomenrising.org
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/africanwomenrisingorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africanwomenrisingorg
All the beautiful photos are courtesy to Brian Hodges: https://brianhodgesphoto.com
