GlobalGiving.org: Empower Rural Women - AIDS Skills for Women

PROJECT QUARTERLY REPORT - December 2011

Teopista Auma — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:18:59 GMT

PROJECT QUARTERLY REPORT

We at Rural Women Empowerment Network send gratitude to our dear friends, donors and well-wishers. Allow me take this moment to thank you all for generous support.

In this last quarter of the year we have managed to reach number activities under the following themes: Health, Education and Economic Empowerment.

With your support the OVCs (orphans and other vulnerable children), PLWA (people living with AIDS) and the women have directly benefited and are very thankful.

Among the benefits are:

v Scholastic materials, uniforms, school fees Top-up, school mid-day meal for the 300 OVCs.

v Balanced diet (nutritional support for the AIDS patients), whole food, home visitation and counseling.

v Basic agricultural skills, improved vegetable seeds, local poultry keeping, local goats and piggery.

As we involve ourselves in these activities we found that many lives are being changed compared to time when this programmes were not in place.

Many children are able to go school mostly the OVC, good number of people can now go for Voluntary Testing and counseling (VCT) after going through The Long Term HIV/AIDS Survival Skill Training. Many families acquire basic agricultural skills and are now practicing food security.

Although we are realizing good development in education, there are still inadequate support in areas of:

Treatment for People Living With AIDS (PLWA).

Care and Support for child headed homes and promotion of girl-child education.

Sustainable Organic Agriculture skill and inputs among women and men.

Above all I want to send my sincere thanks to our partners, donors and friends at Global Giving and The River Fund.

Warm regards,

Teopista Auma

Director, RWEN

Attachments:

August 2011 Report

Teopista Auma — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:07:00 GMT

RWEN REPORT
JUNE 2010-2011 JUNE

Executive: RWEN started in 2008 by 5 devoted Trainers of Trainers who had been trained for three years by great Lynde Francis of Zimbabwe under the influence and care of the Director of River Fund a friend of African women.

These were:

Teopista Auma               –             Chairperson.

Mary Justine                   –            Vice Chairperson.

Rose Olowo                    –             Treasurer.

Sabina Wanyongo          –             Secretary.

Anna Namanyi                –             Publicity.

Members:
Women                                   41
Elderly                                    24
Men/widowers                        4
Widows                                  55
TOTAL                                  124
Children   (OVC)                    300

Groups
Formed: Through RWEN 3

Amonokakinei
25 women-lead by Grace formed in 2010.

Tororo                            20
women-lead by Rose Olowo formed in 2010.

Bugiri
women-lead by Bulandina formed in 2009 an old group of more than 60 members.

February this year we received funds from global giving through jaya the Director River Fund and we have been
able to improve on same of the activities on our program of RWEN, we are grateful.

Activities:

Training :

25 women were
trained in long team survival skills HIV/AIDS at Amonikakinei by the tots of RWEN

60 RWEN women have been trained in Agricultural skills and vegetation Cultivation and food security

Tailoring, hair dressing, have been tried

Long term survival skills –HIV/AIDS.

Women are well advanced in long term survival skills improved health / Nutrition / improved positive living.

Nutrition:

2 elderly women and epilepsy boy are always feed on porridge,
beans and posho.

HIV/AIDS children feed at school under RWEN’s care.

Agriculture:

The members have been trained in vegetable growing and proper methods of farming Sukuma, Tomatoes, egg plant, dodo and other green vegetables, ground nuts, beans.

Maize, sweet potatoes and cassava for food security although there is famine due to cassava virus and prolonged sunshine.

Health:

We have worked hand in hand with ODECO to train the women in different activities for family health nutrition and basic agricultural skills.

Life for members and OVCS is far much better than before.

Piggery:

There has been an epidemic of pigs and we have lost most of our pigs the number is small.

Education:

We have been able to provide school uniform for one hundred and fifty children (150).

Enough scholastic materials for one hundred and fifty children.

Our children have been average in their learning according to the results of term one.

Achievements:

We have moved from 100-150 OVC under RWEN care.

Our members are better in agricultural skills.

Families have improved in their ways of life especially HIV/AIDS homes due to long term survival training.

Self stigma has gone out of people stress has reduced due to long term survival skills.

Women have become very active and creative.

Self awareness has made life very simple for HIV/AIDS positive people. It has made them happy and free.

Challenges:

Our members miss septrine on clinic days because of the serious demand for it.

Each term scholastic materials are needed for the children.

On our nursery school would do better if we had transport for children and looking for food from different places.

Our tailoring project would do better if we had enough sewing machines there are still few and we need to buy more if funds are realised.

There is luck of some of the salon materials e.g. creams drying machines also advanced training if funds are there.

We lost most of our pigs.

We lost 2 members who were HIV/AIDS positive because they had T.B attack.

On behalf of RWEN members, I wish to thank the Global giving members and the Director of the Riverfund , all our kind donors for the great work done for the people of Africa, Uganda, Bugiri, Busia, Tororo, Lumino and Amonikakinei.

Thank you very much,

God bless you all,

Teopista

Chairperson RWEN.

Spring 2011 Update

Teopista Auma — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:39:39 GMT

New Women's Group - Amonikakinei

Rural Women Empowerment Network (RWEN) Rural Women Empowerment Network established in 2008 by five women is a Community Based Organisation focusing on promotion of improved health and education. It is based in Busia District with its head office in Lumino. It was formed after the women in Eastern Uganda going through a three year training in the Long Term Survival HIV/AIDS Skills being conducted by Lynde Frances (now the late) and was facilitated by Jaya Canterbury-Counts the Executive Director River Fund. Since the formation RWEN has registered 125 adults and 300 children who are orphans among these 35 women and 2 men are HIV positive. Our strategies are: • Advocating for improved health. • Education and • Agriculture We have been trained 25 a new women group Amonikakinei in Long Term HIV/AIDS Survival skills. During the training we covered the following topics: Nutrition table Counseling, Stress, and Self awareness, Self stigma and Disclosure, Local herbs, Gender equality Women learned how to feed their children, take care of their families, growing different types of green vegetables on different plots with best methods of farming Proving millet mixed with maize flour to children to feed and elderly women. Education: 150 children are getting assistance under the orphan centre from different schools and levels in scholastic materials, uniform, for most needy and food Secondary 21 children, Primary and 129 children. Other activities: 1. Goat keeping 2. Piggery 3. Growing vegetables 4. Poultry 5. Savings and loan scheme 6. Tailoring 7. Mat making These projects are done on individual basics but under RWEN’S supervision these make members to be very keen in taking care of what they have. Agriculture: We have provided women with improved seeds; these include beans, white peas, dodo, and ground nuts All these initiatives have been met by the support we received from River Fund our partner organisation. We are so grateful to Jaya Canterbury-Counts the Executive Director River Fund who visited us last October 2010 together with Vicky Gersom, we had good time with them may God bless all those who are transforming our lives. Thank you all, Yours faithfully, Teopista Auma

November Site Visit Report

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:52:03 GMT

Women welcoming us

The Rural Women's Empowerment Network:

Group 1

-          2010, presented in Bugiri, Lumino, and Masaba to groups of female and male adults, whole day presentation in each setting
-          When the town councils have gatherings, the 'Trainers of Trainers' are called to make presentations.
-          They have made 3 visits so far to sex worker groups in Busia

Group 2

-          Janet and Rose have a group of 25 that meet weekly for savings and agriculture
-          They meet monthly with the positive test clubs in 3 parishes; total about 120 people
-          Plans to start talk with sex workers at truck park near cement factory
-          Speak with people after church weekly. Funerals are another informal venue for HIV/AIDS survival skills topics

RARUDO group

-          Meet with 3 positive test clubs, total 90 members
-          Visit local schools and present dramas about HIV/AIDS
-          Identify and counsel positive members at their homes
-          Train prevention of mother/child transmission, and have trained 2 additional counselors in this area
-          Coordinate with disabled group for increased survival skills training and IGA (income generating activities)

GOALS / FUNDING NEEDS

-          One day training at Amonikakinei Village
-          Three day training Aug. 2011
-           School fees, uniforms, seeds, blankets, mosquito nets, female condoms

Additionally the Busia Group has a nursery school caring for 170 poor children and a primary class to primary 4 for 70 children. 150 of the children are orphans. Several children are HIV+. The trainers have taught nutrition to parents and guardians.

HIV+ child

Beautiful children

Children lining up for lunch

Child not in school

Old women next to house group built for her.

Prevention Training in Schools

Joseph Onyango — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:21:21 GMT

School Children

On behalf of the families that benefit from HIV/AIDS programmes which is being conducted by the Training of Trainers a product of The Long-term HIV/AIDS Survival Skills,we would like to extend our gratitude all friends and our donors who are contributing to this Initiative since it began. We have teamed up with Community Based AIDS groups, Counselors whose mandate is to provide Home based care, medication, nutrition, ongoing counseling. The goal of empowering women and training trainers is to equip rural women with skills to enable them stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, help the people living with HIV/AIDS live longer life. The HIV/AIDS trained counselors are carrying out the following. i) Nutrition, care and support. ii) Conducting AIDS education to local communities, churches and schools. iii) On going Counseling conducted weekly. iv) Monthly home visitation v) Medication The Trainers have among the 1,600 women sensitized in the recent past, identified and trained more 4 women to help as trainers as well in Tororo. As a team they reached and sensitized 133 rural women in Busia and 50 women in Bugiri. The PLWAs livelihoods are changing gradually thus gaining hope. The team also visited 5 schools around our operation areas to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS scourge among children particularly the OVCs. The schools include Segere Primary schools, Guule Primary, Nambogo Primary School, Iyolwa primary School, and Magola primary school Thank you so much for the support and may God Bless you

Rural Women Empowerment Update

Teopista Auma — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:58:27 GMT

RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT NETWORK On behalf of the women, I wish you a merry Christmas season and a prosperous new year 2010 together with our friends who are always with us in their hearts. Thank you very much for your donation of 1,000,000 shillings which was delivered to us on 20 December 2009. The women were so delighted. The group started in October 2008 with five trained members. These were: Teopista Auma Chairperson Mary Justin Ayo Vice Chairperson Sabina Wanyongo Secretary Rose Awwo Treasurer Annie Namanyi Publicity The group has now grown to rural women as a base and we have a branch in Bugiri too. Right now the group stands as follows: -women, widows, children and the elderly. Widows 55 Elderly 25 Women 4 Men 4 men; 2 are HIV positive'2 are widowers Total 125 Children 300 We are now taking care of 100 children only due to capacity of our group. Long term survival skills HIV/AIDS- Creating awareness; On health and nutrition: On nutrition we prepare millet porridge and soya porridge flour for HIV+ sick people. Nurse ulcers wound and daily dressing. 'Women: We have given 50 pigs kept in different homes for multiplication to reach each member in The nearest future. Elderly women: We have bought 3 blankets for three old women how are very needy. Also a blanket for an HIV positive boy of 12 years. Education: We have provided scholastic materials for 100 school age children. We gave a top-up boarding fee for 2 girls who are now joining senior 2 this year. We went to Bugiri and trained more than 50 women in long-term survival skills. Our plans for 2010: To continue with long-term survival skills for Bugiri & Busia. To continue assisting OVCs & elderly, HIV+ women & widows. To involve in poultry & piggery as income generating activities. To continue nursing the sick- Agriculture for nutrition e.g. vegetables, beans, soya & millet. Greetings to our donors. Love, Teopista.

Training the Trainers Update

Jaya Canterbury-Counts, Joseph Onyango — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:42:10 GMT

Orphans

AIDS skill for women Training is a fundamental part of our programs, all our activities include on-going activities are based on the foundation of different categories of training specifically:- • The long term HIV/AIDS survival skills. • Key farmers sustainable organic Agriculture training. • Solar Energy food processing, small scale bakery training. • Vocational skill training Training the trainers-AIDS skills for women was initiated to help rural women in Uganda acquire appropriate skills to mitigate the spread of the HIV/AIDS, bring hope to hopeless and give voice to the voiceless women and children. We are enabling a previously silent group of sufferers including abandoned alienated child-headed households and abused to find a voice again and to enjoy an improved quality of life. Many of the sick children, women living with AIDS (PLWAS) that have been reached by our AIDS Trainers in Tororo have serious problems that cannot be met by a weekly or monthly or quarterly appointment at the center.

They need intensive physical and emotional rehabilitation and in some cases, terminal care because of: • Advanced HIV/AIDS • Severe malnutrition • Severe trauma as a result of loss bereavement, Isolation and in most case neglect. • Family members unwilling to help or unable to care because of poverty or fear of transmission or because they already had so many other orphans or mature sick person to care for • Isolation and loneliness. It is clear that that they need CARE and ATTENTION on daily basis as far as possible. The 8 women groups with the skill acquired reached 20 small women groups with about 1600 women in total whose hearts & minds are being restored. The uniqueness and success of these programs is due to the way they are run in partnership with the local community volunteers, local leaders, churches and small village clubs. It has been our experience that, once communities are sensitized to the need of PLWAS, children with AIDS, OVC, they would really want to help them. Our challenge is yet to train many other trainers to reach many people as possible and bring hope back to many vulnerable groups with aim of surviving longer with HIV/AIDS. Thanks to the support of the River fund and thank you Global Giving for your joint effort.

Women for Skills training

In the rural village for training

A Postcard from Training the Trainers - AIDS Skills for Women

Alexis Nadin and Brian Banks — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:03:07 GMT

Alexis and Brian visited this project on May 5th, 2009. They write:

When we first visited Training the Trainers, we could not have imagined the profound impact this program has had, not only in the local community, but throughout Uganda. This project teaches women long-term HIV/AIDS survival skills including nutrition, agriculture for income generation, and how to care for themselves when they are sick. Initially, 35 women from all over the country were trained. All have since returned to their communities to teach the survival skills they have learned. Nine women have received advanced training, allowing them to train other trainers. This process is being continually repeated, thus expanding the knowledge exponentially. According to Toppi, one of the advanced trainers, over one million Ugandans have received training all over the country.

The lives of many of the women we have met over the past few days have been saved by this project. Justine, who has become our mother in Tororo, described her life before the training: she had become “burned out” by the burdens of her disease, she was unable to eat or sleep, and she constantly worried for her children. Following her training, she is healthy, empowered, and she has become a leader in her community. She uses the strength she has gained from this training to help others develop the same skills. Other women’s stories are similar. We have even heard that as a result of these trainings women are more willing to get tested for HIV because they are confident that they can continue to live a long, productive life with HIV/AIDS. The countless impacts of this project will save the lives of millions of women in Uganda.

When asked what they would tell their friends about this project, Alexis and Brian said, “Incredible: You need to see this!”

GlobalGiving is committed to incorporating many viewpoints on our 600+ projects. We feel that more information, especially from eyewitnesses helps donors like you continue to support organizations doing great work in the community.

October Site Visit

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:55:04 GMT

In October, we visited the Rayland Rural Development Organization in Uganda, a community we are helping toward economic sustainability. Lynde Francis, from The Centre Zimbabwe, was inside the vocational training center teaching about 50 people “Long Term Survival Skills for HIV.” I went to see the new bakery -- powered by charcoal fire since there is no electricity in this village. That’s when I saw the starving young woman and her baby. The baby was tiny and listless. The mother was too malnourished to produce milk for the baby. In rural villages, this image of mother and child is far too common. I greeted her and shook her hand in the Ugandan way. Our good friend Joseph, who runs the RARUDO project, and I agreed that we had to help this person who was in our path. Within 24 hours we had medicine, safe housing, a bed, blanket, food and supplies for the baby. We learned the woman had been starved and beaten by her husband. She had head wounds and a broken leg from being thrown. She had returned to her village, but had no family to help her. The women we trained will look after her – even though they told me they see many like her every day.

Who controls tradition, culture and gender roles? How does tradition affect the health of women and girls in this time of AIDS? How can we as women help other women? What are our hopes for our daughters? These are some of the questions that we ask the women of rural Uganda as we lead workshops in “Long Term Survival Skills for HIV.”

In the workshops, the women put on two skits. In one, a man takes a third wife, abuses the first wife, and forces the new wife into sex without a condom. Infected with HIV, she becomes an outcast. In the second skit, a young man needs money to get married. His parents remove his 14 year old sister from school and sell her to an old man, and everyone celebrates. Both of these scenarios are common, which is why we discuss culture and women’s rights in order to improve the lives of women and children in Uganda.

In its fourth year, the training has now reached over 7000 people and has empowered strong local leaders in three regions of Uganda. Calling themselves “The River Fund Women,” they are developing a grassroots network of trainers, peer educators and community organizers. We came home convinced that these volunteers are ready to run the program themselves, if we can help them with costs for workshops and direct services to families: widows, orphans and grandmothers raising too many children with too few resources. Truly, we are witnessing the African motto, “Educate a woman - Educate the nation.”

Four new trainings in 2008

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:15:40 GMT

Training the trainers 1

In fall 2008, I will be returning to Uganda to host four workshops for Ugandan women. Two will be for women who have already attended the initial "Long Term AIDS Survival" training. One will be an introduction, and one will be for advanced trainers, "Advanced Training in Counseling Skills Workshop" who are already teaching our program all over Uganda. First, we will host the women of a small mountain town near Mt. Elgon. Many of these women are from cultures that continue to practice female genital mutilation. Then we will teach a short introduction to the workshop concepts in RARUDO, followed by a 3 day intensive of advanced trainers. The fourth group of women is coming from Kitgum in the far North of Uganda very near the border with Sudan. These women have lived under brutal circumstances and in refugee camps because of a war raging around them for the past twenty years! All the participants will develop their skills as teachers, organizers, presenters and community activists. This is how the program grows – when they go home, these women will be ready to help their communities and reach others through grassroots networks, the most effective way to create change and empower women. The training is absolutely free for the participants. We provide transportation, room and board and all of the materials needed including seeds for kitchen gardens, training packets, female condoms and mosquito nets for each participant. You can help us make a difference for women in Uganda.

Trainers 2

Trainers 3