Women in Action for Women (WAW) and the Advocacy Project are seeking funds to help survivors of extreme gender-based violence (GBV) in Northern Uganda earn an income through tailoring. After being forced into marriage by rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the women have gained confidence working on embroidery projects together through WAW. This start-up will train the women of WAW to make and repair clothes and start their own tailoring businesses.
LRA rebels abducted over 50,000 children between 1987 and 2006 and subjected most to extreme cruelty. All ten WAW members were kidnapped as girls, beaten and forced into sexual slavery. Most gave birth to children in the forests and faced social exclusion after they escaped and returned to their villages - with their children but without skills and with their education cut short. Several started small shops only to see them closed by the pandemic. Money remains their single greatest need.
This project will provide the training, materials, and space for a tailoring business. The WAW women are already skilled in embroidery and tailoring is a natural next step. The project will purchase a sewing machine and rent space in the town of Gulu where the women can be trained and kickstart their businesses. The women will be trained by a master tailor, and peer trainings will be held to share existing tailoring skills. Trainees will receive scissors, needles, and materials to get started.
This project will empower beneficiaries with the skills to meet a clear demand - clothes! Tailoring is a very flexible occupation that will allow the women to balance clothes-making with family and other responsibilities. The results will be tangible - money to pay for food for their families and school fees for their children. As their businesses expand, WAW will continue to grow as an organization and offer members a space to build community, and these women will become role models for others.
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