Empowering disabled girls in Goma

Girls with disabilities in Goma and Rutshuru face multiple barriers, including poverty, stigma, insecurity, limited access to skills training, and social exclusion. Through this project, ODDPH aims to create a safe and welcoming space where more than 50 girls with disabilities can receive short-term support from their first visit to our transit center, rebuild their self-confidence, develop practical entrepreneurial skills, and find encouragement through friendship and individual support. Our approach goes beyond training: whenever possible, we will also work with families and communities to reduce stigma and help create conditions in which girls with disabilities can participate more fully in social and economic life.

The project is currently in its preparation and resource-mobilization phase. ODDPH is identifying qualified trainers and potential learners so that activities can begin with the right people, appropriate training methods, and a safe environment. The total project budget is US$9,000, and we have so far raised US$27 through our collaboration with GlobalGiving. Although this is only the beginning, every contribution represents a meaningful step toward our goal. With the support and international reach provided through GlobalGiving, we are confident that more donors will learn about this initiative and that together we can mobilize the resources needed to reach the full project target.

The expected impact is significant. Each quarter, more than 50 girls with disabilities in Goma and Rutshuru will have an opportunity to strengthen their self-esteem, learn skills that can contribute to future income generation, receive individual encouragement, and build supportive relationships. For a girl who has often been told that her disability limits her future, access to training, friendship, and a safe place to grow can be a powerful turning point. In the longer term, we hope to see girls become more confident, families become more supportive, communities become more accepting, and participants gain greater opportunities to build independent and hopeful lives.

ODDPH sincerely thanks every donor who has already contributed, including those who helped us reach the first US$27, and we extend our special appreciation to GlobalGiving for helping us connect this local initiative with a wider community of international supporters. We now invite individuals, foundations, organizations, and friends of ODDPH around the world to stand with these girls. A donation of any size can help move this project closer to its US$9,000 goal and, more importantly, closer to a future in which disability is not a barrier to dignity, opportunity, or hope. Together, through GlobalGiving and the generosity of our donors, we can give girls with disabilities the skills, confidence, and support they need to shape their own future.