The Female' Effect for a Green and Health World
Date Published: 4/12/2025
For over 14 years now, I have worked with a local Charity called Women And Children's Empowerment Network in Africa (WACENA). It is an interdenominational; women led audacious reforestation and gender equality organization duly registered in Uganda, East Africa. Its primary activity among others is mobilizing women, girls and children to, education, social-economic independence, reforestation and protection of local tree species inland.
Why the above target group?
Well! Within any given context, women and girls face diverse challenges and advantages and therefore have different barriers and opportunities in terms of exercising choice and voice and shifting power relations. For example, in Uganda and many other African countries, if a woman or girl challenges or does not conform to a norm, the consequences for her can range from subtle social exclusion, to threats or acts of violence or, in extreme cases, even death.
Also, the rejection by those who should be supporting the girls has wider repercussions, often causing girls to drop out of school to avoid bullying.
Needless to say, there is total ignorance about the following environmental facts in the populace of Uganda/Africa especially students and other ecosystems that depend on forests.
Therefore, in order to effectively and sustainably address this problem, the project will distribute saplings and plant trees.
The strategy of distributing seedlings to the Schools, and communities is intended on developing Nurseries, transplant the seedlings and establish both School and Community Forests.
Since 2012, WACENA has donated over 450,260 saplings to both schoolgirls and women in various villages across the country.
Today, a large and growing body of evidence shows that empowered women and girls acting as agents of change in their communities can and do bring about better health and development outcomes for all. This means, the benefits are completely genderless in nature and design!
Here below are the core objectives, to be precise:
1. To promote the restoration, protection and management of degraded and threatened ecosystem
2. Contribute and improve the livelihood of women by curbing unemployment crisis through poverty reduction initiatives like Tree Planting.
3. Encourage and initiate general income-base enhancement of women in their communities with the inclusion of practical skills in development for sustainable livelihoods.
4. To give students (girls) an opportunity to really practice, learn from some real experiences and experience more activities than in the past by training and planting trees at School and homes for those whose parents/guardians own land.
5. Making Community Forestry a viable Livelihood-strategy for women and girls in rural and semi-urban Uganda/Africa.
My wish is to amplify this project as a reliable and genderless vessel under the championship of girls in greening and developing a health world. And once it secures the support from The Wish Foundation fraternity, its success will always be measured based on four folded preset targets within the defined time-frame and change in behavior.
And the above targets will include the following, but not limited to:
- The number of environmental clubs formed in schools, and the number of students involved in their activities
- The number of training workshops organized, together with the number of women and girls trained.
- Behavioral change in farming practices, waste disposal and birth-control methods
- The number of trees planted in schools and communities increasing
- Increased number of solar energy products users
Why the above target group?
Well! Within any given context, women and girls face diverse challenges and advantages and therefore have different barriers and opportunities in terms of exercising choice and voice and shifting power relations. For example, in Uganda and many other African countries, if a woman or girl challenges or does not conform to a norm, the consequences for her can range from subtle social exclusion, to threats or acts of violence or, in extreme cases, even death.
Also, the rejection by those who should be supporting the girls has wider repercussions, often causing girls to drop out of school to avoid bullying.
Needless to say, there is total ignorance about the following environmental facts in the populace of Uganda/Africa especially students and other ecosystems that depend on forests.
Therefore, in order to effectively and sustainably address this problem, the project will distribute saplings and plant trees.
The strategy of distributing seedlings to the Schools, and communities is intended on developing Nurseries, transplant the seedlings and establish both School and Community Forests.
Since 2012, WACENA has donated over 450,260 saplings to both schoolgirls and women in various villages across the country.
Today, a large and growing body of evidence shows that empowered women and girls acting as agents of change in their communities can and do bring about better health and development outcomes for all. This means, the benefits are completely genderless in nature and design!
Here below are the core objectives, to be precise:
1. To promote the restoration, protection and management of degraded and threatened ecosystem
2. Contribute and improve the livelihood of women by curbing unemployment crisis through poverty reduction initiatives like Tree Planting.
3. Encourage and initiate general income-base enhancement of women in their communities with the inclusion of practical skills in development for sustainable livelihoods.
4. To give students (girls) an opportunity to really practice, learn from some real experiences and experience more activities than in the past by training and planting trees at School and homes for those whose parents/guardians own land.
5. Making Community Forestry a viable Livelihood-strategy for women and girls in rural and semi-urban Uganda/Africa.
My wish is to amplify this project as a reliable and genderless vessel under the championship of girls in greening and developing a health world. And once it secures the support from The Wish Foundation fraternity, its success will always be measured based on four folded preset targets within the defined time-frame and change in behavior.
And the above targets will include the following, but not limited to:
- The number of environmental clubs formed in schools, and the number of students involved in their activities
- The number of training workshops organized, together with the number of women and girls trained.
- Behavioral change in farming practices, waste disposal and birth-control methods
- The number of trees planted in schools and communities increasing
- Increased number of solar energy products users
