By Grace Petr | Partner Liaison
Happy Fall from GlobeMed at the George Washington University!
As the year winds down, we would like to take some time to highlight Set Her Free's (SHF) work this year to continue to empower women through their programming and counseling services, as well as their community outreach. Our GROW team of interns had a fantastic time working with Set Her Free this summer and establishing the framework for our partnership this school year, and was able to set a plan in motion to help Set Her Free achieve one of their longterm goals: establishing a life skills center. Set Her Free works daily to teach valuable life skills to its beneficiaries that will enable them to live self-determined lives.
Two recent programs in particular are helping to spread Set Her Free's outreach in the Kampala community. The SHF Loan and Savings Program was developed this Fall to teach beneficiaries personal finance skills and foster group development. Each Friday, the girls and young women in SHF's vocational progam meet to contribute to a communal savings fund. Beneficiaries are asked to contribute any amount they can to the communal savings fund. The meeting is led by a group of elected beneficiaries who record every contribution. The savings fund is then either used for girls who have unforseen medical emergencies or those who wish to take out a loan. The loan program is based on trust, not financial security, making it feasible for the girls to take out loans when they otherwise could not.
SHF also started holding Open House Saturdays, where beneficiaries and community members are invited to stop by for a shared meal, and to take part in regular SHF activities like counseling sessions, reproductive health education lessons and life skills development. Open House Saturdays are opening SHF's doors to its neighbors, allowing it to share its messages of empowerment and equity directly to the Kampala community.
Finally, GW GlobeMed is holding our annual gala tomorrow, November 4th at George Washington University. We are excited to hear from Robin Nestler, one of Set Her Free's founders and Executive Director, as well as two other GW Faculty who have years of experience working in community empowerment programs. If you are in the DC area and would like to attend, ticket information can be found on our Facebook page.
We would like to extend a sincere thank you and appreciation to each and every one of our donors. Your contributions are directly helping girls and young women in Kampala to lead out self-determined lives and break the cycle of poverty.
With gratitude,
The GlobeMed Team
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
