Community Knowledge Worker (CKW) initiative

Thank you so much for your support! We truly appreciate the compassion and generosity you show. With your help, more farmers like Esther are continuing to improve the lives of their families and their communities.

As a mother of four, Esther always put her children’s needs before hers. Growing up in the Kapchorwa village in eastern Uganda, it was difficult for her to deal with constant hunger and the hardships that came with it. Watching her family go through similar struggles made her want to change things for good. Even when she found work, she was not able to live comfortably. Thanks to you, Esther’s life has changed for good. She is now a Grameen Foundation Community Knowledge Worker (CKW), a volunteer teacher, a farmer, a seamstress and a domestic violence counselor. She is not just able to make her family’s life better and pay for her son’s education, but also impact the lives of women around by helping them improve their farms.

Now, her farm is doing much better and the produce from it helps her save up. As a CKW, she learned the best way to care for her cow through accessing farming information on her mobile phone. The milk production has doubled, which allows her to sell some at the market and keep some for her family.

Esther’s dream is to send her children to university and the money she earns from her banana and coffee plantation is keeping her hopes up. Her new knowledge goes beyond making her personal farm better. She has been serving her community for four years now as a CKW, and has helped hundreds of her neighbors grow better crops, stop diseases in their animals, and earn more money. By supporting Esther, you have not just helped one woman, but an entire community! Hundreds of people in her village are now better able to send their children to bed at night with food in their stomachs

Esther feels empowered after becoming a Community Knowledge Worker. She has seen herself get more respect from all the members of her community who now seek her advice and counseling. She loves how she has improved her own skills and impacted the lives of others positively.

Thanks to your generosity, we have accomplished the following:

• Nearly 1,300 CKWs are currently helping farmers by providing tips on how best to care for their crops and livestock – which they depend on for both their food and their income.
• We’ve now reached more than 276,000 total farmers helped.
• Our CKW program has reached a total of 21,800 villages!

Thank you for helping poor women like Esther improve her life and help others in her community. This work couldn't happen without you!

Links:

• Watch a video tour of Esther's farm
• Check out our live video chat with Esther