UG 21 - GET UP AND WALK: WOMEN EMPOWERMENT KANGOLE
Project Location
The project will be carried out in Kangole Catholic parish, in the two centers of Nawaikorot and Lokupoi in Moroto Diocese Napak District Karamoja region, a semi desert region that receives little and unreliable rainfall located in the North – Eastern part of the country. In terms of development rate, it is ranked 159 out of 189 in the human development index (UNDP) with gender inequality, child malnutrition and illiteracy among the most serious and urgent problems.
On education, pre-pandemic indicators of primary school drop out rate was 64.5%, and 4.9% is the literacy rate of adults (United Nations Population Fund).
In Uganda, Karamoja is the poorest and least developed region with poverty rate of 60.2% Overall in education and literacy rates in Karamoja region Napak District stands at only 25% compared to 94% in Kampala, while in Napak District, where the project will be implemented, 86.4% of women are illiterate according to Uganda Beaureau of Statistics (UBOS).
Women and girls in Karamoja live very disadvantaged and often violent lives. It is now well known that here very poor families, who struggle to survive, sell their daughters, these girls are then transported to the capital city where they are resold as servants or prostitutes. Illiteracy and ignorance contribute to this problem.
Project description
The project will have an intervention in Functional Adult literacy learning (FAL) and agriculture cultivation in food production for subsistence (home consumption) so as to improve on the illiteracy levels and livelihoods options for the most vulnerable and malnourished children in the community. The project will be implemented in the centres of Nawaikorot and Lokupoi.
Women are trained on adult literacy two times a week. Also training in agriculture to acquire skills in cultivation during rainy seasons like planting sunflower, sorghum, groundnuts, green gram will be carried out. Also the project will focus on human formation and mentorship and social life skills for self-reliance and sustainability.
In particular, the project will aim to create self-awareness among women through trainings on various topics to make them aware of their rights in the context of Karamojong society where women are deprived of them; and to socially empower women through participation in groups where they will discuss issues concerning their families and fight common phenomena such as domestic violence and alcoholism.
Objectives
- Increasing the resilience and furthering the community engagement of 120 women by supporting their livelihood and building up their skills through quality training and education.
- Empowering women economically through community programmes of food production.
- Achieving basic proficiency in literacy (in Karamojong or English and Numeracy).
- Create self-awareness through training on various topics.
- To socially empower women
Beneficiaries
Direct: 120 Vulnerable women and young mothers
Indirect: Malnourished children of women, families and the society in general
Referent sister of the project: Sr. Elizabeth John Agostino Magas
Project's costs