The amazing story of Ayak community as they break free from poverty through the power of music and dance, is a story about the human spirit, about courage and endurance in the face of challenges and about living life loud.
Where-ever the Ayak dancers perform, you’ll see the joy, hope, community spirit and potential of each of these dancers, and connect with the adventure they are embarking on. Dancing allows the Ayak dancers to not define their lives by survival, but by the ability to be active community members, to have dreams, and most of all to have hope about the future.
Through their dancing, the Ayak dancers have had the opportunity to travel to numerous parts of the country. This has enabled them to form connections with people from all over Uganda. Through their dancing tours, they raise funds to support livelihood Programs. These programs help to provide educational support to the children as well as meet their families' basic necessities.
As an organisation, Karin would like to see more of this progress and that’s why we need you. Together, we can help equip the dancers with new and better dancing uniforms, shoes or build them a training centre. Your help means so much to the Ayak community and if you can, please send in a donation.
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With their desire to break out of poverty, Ayak villagers in Northern Uganda - Gulu organised themselves into a local Cultural troupe to earn income. The group also engages in pottery which has substantially contributed to their household income.
We are still amazed at what this initiative has done to the Ayak community and most especially what the members have been able to do with their income. Some members have improved their lives in ways we can't imagine. Many have gone on to diversify their income by purchasing cows and goats which has greatly improved their household income. Some members have been able to take their children to school, bought motorcycles and others have been able to refurbish their houses. There has also been social cohesion in families since women are earning income.
We are grateful to our donors for the support you have extended to the Ayak dancing troupe. The better uniforms and shoes bought have provided the group with a better competitive advantage in the community which in turn has increased their income.
Thank you for your support and if you can, please continue donating to our cause! Otherwise we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year 2023.
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Karin Community Initiatives Uganda is continuing their support for women groups, as they undertake a new project to economically empower the women of the parish of Agonga, district of Gulu. In this project, young women will obtain practical and marketable skills training through the creation of a local bakery. These women will have the opportunity to participate in the social and economic development of their community while learning the skills necessary to start their own small businesses and gain economic independence.
For this new project, KCIU will be supporting this women group in the construction and implementation of a bakery and training program for women in Agonga. Stella who is championing the cause is very determined that there are currently no other bakeries in the parish. Since all baked goods are currently being bought from Gulu city, the demand for local products is expected to be high and the potential for the women's success in this endeavor is extremely promising. The bakery will provide a source of income and independence for this group of women which includes mothers, many of whom are unemployed with no source of income, girls who have left school, and women and girls who have escaped abusive situations.
KCIU's women groups have equipped vulnerable women with the tools and knowledge they need to provide for themselves and their families. We have empowered these women by teaching them how to save and take loans to establish small businesses, ensuring they build economic resilience and stability to protect themselves and their families from hunger and disease. Thanks to our generous donors for partnering with us to uplift women in our community, we can't do this without you. As you can see, with more resources we shall be able to reach out to more women in the community.
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Ayac is a small village located in Bungatira sub county – Gulu district. The locals are engaged mainly in subsistence agriculture; growing maize, millet or simsim for their own consumption and selling the surplus to market traders to earn an income and take their children to school. However, with the ever changing climatic conditions especially the prolonged dry season has left so many crops destroyed and thus plunging more families into abject poverty. Worse still, high unemployment and lack of skills in rural Ayac village is another major challenge that has resulted to extreme poverty among the youth. Many youth had resorted to crime and prostitution furthering the spread of the deadly HIV/AIDS virus in the community.
With failing crops coupled with high unemployment rates in the region and the desire to break the poverty chain, the Ayac villagers organized and established themselves into a local dance troupe to enable themselves create a continuous flow of income. The women have also egaged in pottery which has substantially improved their income, making the Ayac village group a positive influence in the community for the younger generation.
By supporting the Ayac Village to acquire land, the required dancing material especially uniforms and shoes has provided them with a competitive edge to perform at various paid events which has increased their income and thus improved their livelihoods.
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported the work of Ayak Village group over the years. We have valued your financial support and interest. Know that your contribution has assisted hundreds of households being able to move themselves out of poverty.
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As you have likely seen, Uganda continues to face a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases. Poor women living in extreme poverty in Uganda and especially Gulu have been hit especially hard by the disease. However, what Covid-19 has taught us is to be resilient and carry on the best way we can! Uganda may officially end the second countrywide lockdown at the end of this year, some countries have opened their borders and everyone is trying to carry on with their lives as "normally" as possible!
What does all this mean for our Self Help Groups in Gulu? Well they can meet again, particularly if it is outside with strict following of Standard operating procedures (SOPs) and they must really try to start/carry on with their Income Generating Businesses if at all possible as this is the best way to improve their standards of living.
The exciting news this coming year - 2022 is that we plan to reach out and involve more women in the community. The Covid-19 pandemic has left many women in the community jobless and as such, many have faced gender based violence. Empowering these women will help them navigate through such unintended consequences and make extreme poverty a thing of the past.
This is our final report for this year. Please stay safe, be kind and if you can, make a donation to our project!
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