Together we can transform communities
Date Published:
Our story:
Uganda had the longest Covid-19 pandemic lockdown for more than 83 weeks which imposed devastating psychological and financial stress on underserved communities and individuals, including a 29 year old, boda boda rider (motor taxi) who set himself on fire inside a police station who according to police sources he failed to get his bike back which he had lent his friend who was caught carrying a passenger in breach of the lockdown restrictions. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53278900). Other incidences included, substance abuse, domestic and gender based violence, teenage pregnancies, petty robbery among others. In 2021, with a group of volunteers we realized that we had to reach out and mobilize able members within their communities to pay special attention to the needs of the marginalized groups which include the physically handicapped, the youths, adolescent boys and girls, sex workers, domestic workers and the refugees. We donated food items and essential assorted items to ease the burden of the effects of the lockdown we are glad that we were permitted to conduct this exercise through clearance from the Residential District Office. (Kampala). But even before the lockdown, even the able members including the volunteers in the communities were exhausted could not continue to support and mobilize.
What we do:
We have continued to nurture the spirit of volunteerism and community engagement and we have gone ahead to empower communities by carrying out community outreaches in different regions of Uganda. We conducted trainings on financial literacy, Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), establishment of Income generating activities in Nyarusinza Parish Kisoro District, English and Mathematics classes for urban refugees to enable them communicate easily with the local communities and seek admission to the available universities, we use sports outreaches to address the challenges faced by the youth, adolescent girls and boys including dissemination of information on Sexual Reproductive Health, Mental health, Substance abuse, we have conducted advocacy meetings with local communities and local council leaders in order to strengthen advocacy for the equitable treatment of domestic in homes they work from and also sex workers who are arrested by police and yet they do not have any other source of income. We have conducted training on Container based Sanitation and we want to partner with other organizations that can provide a cheap and reliable products to persons in rural areas, prisons, refugee camps and the different slums (ghettos) in Kampala city.
This year July 2023, we reserved a name with the registrar of Companies - "Together for Transformation Initiatives" and finalising the process to incorporation. Our four community centered strategic pillars are 1)Preventative health 2) Job creation, education and training 3) Advocacy and 4) Climate.
My Wish: Is to end the lack of access to menstrual products in the under served communities in Uganda including the stigmatization faced by girls and women who can not afford proper sanitary supplies and instead end up using newspapers, cuttings from old clothes and towels, are forced into self isolation and miss attending class or their daily activities. My wish, is to create Menstrual Pad Hubs across the country which are readily accessible, reusable without compromising their quality for all girls and women in underserved communities like refugee camps, schools, prisons, and the slum communities locally known as 'Ghetto".
Uganda had the longest Covid-19 pandemic lockdown for more than 83 weeks which imposed devastating psychological and financial stress on underserved communities and individuals, including a 29 year old, boda boda rider (motor taxi) who set himself on fire inside a police station who according to police sources he failed to get his bike back which he had lent his friend who was caught carrying a passenger in breach of the lockdown restrictions. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53278900). Other incidences included, substance abuse, domestic and gender based violence, teenage pregnancies, petty robbery among others. In 2021, with a group of volunteers we realized that we had to reach out and mobilize able members within their communities to pay special attention to the needs of the marginalized groups which include the physically handicapped, the youths, adolescent boys and girls, sex workers, domestic workers and the refugees. We donated food items and essential assorted items to ease the burden of the effects of the lockdown we are glad that we were permitted to conduct this exercise through clearance from the Residential District Office. (Kampala). But even before the lockdown, even the able members including the volunteers in the communities were exhausted could not continue to support and mobilize.
What we do:
We have continued to nurture the spirit of volunteerism and community engagement and we have gone ahead to empower communities by carrying out community outreaches in different regions of Uganda. We conducted trainings on financial literacy, Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), establishment of Income generating activities in Nyarusinza Parish Kisoro District, English and Mathematics classes for urban refugees to enable them communicate easily with the local communities and seek admission to the available universities, we use sports outreaches to address the challenges faced by the youth, adolescent girls and boys including dissemination of information on Sexual Reproductive Health, Mental health, Substance abuse, we have conducted advocacy meetings with local communities and local council leaders in order to strengthen advocacy for the equitable treatment of domestic in homes they work from and also sex workers who are arrested by police and yet they do not have any other source of income. We have conducted training on Container based Sanitation and we want to partner with other organizations that can provide a cheap and reliable products to persons in rural areas, prisons, refugee camps and the different slums (ghettos) in Kampala city.
This year July 2023, we reserved a name with the registrar of Companies - "Together for Transformation Initiatives" and finalising the process to incorporation. Our four community centered strategic pillars are 1)Preventative health 2) Job creation, education and training 3) Advocacy and 4) Climate.
My Wish: Is to end the lack of access to menstrual products in the under served communities in Uganda including the stigmatization faced by girls and women who can not afford proper sanitary supplies and instead end up using newspapers, cuttings from old clothes and towels, are forced into self isolation and miss attending class or their daily activities. My wish, is to create Menstrual Pad Hubs across the country which are readily accessible, reusable without compromising their quality for all girls and women in underserved communities like refugee camps, schools, prisons, and the slum communities locally known as 'Ghetto".
