WHAT WE DO, AND WHY
LOCALLY LED CHANGE
One of Elgon Empowerment’s founding values is that we should mobilise and leverage the resources available to us to specifically support the vision and work of communities in Uganda and East Africa. We are committed to support and respect local empowerment work, local leaders and groups. We defer to the needs of the communities we work with, ensuring we support their vision for change instead of imposing our view of development.
OUR GOALS
The challenges identified by the communities and local leaders we work with and our subsequent goals, are:
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Social empowerment provides people with the resources necessary to live beyond survival.
Developing communities across Uganda face devastating poverty, but social empowerment helps provide opportunities and means to improve conditions from the ground up.
Decreasing the barriers to education for young women is a key priority for us and an example of social empowerment through education.
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Women’s empowerment supports those identifying as female with issues typically experienced by women.
We’re passionate in the belief that every woman has a right to understand female reproductive health, to be able to access sanitary products and to be able to have periods in safety. Lack of access to sanitary products and knowledge around female health should not be barriers to education or employment.
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We all experience differing mental health, so why has it been a taboo for so long?
At Elgon Empowerment we’re dedicated to supporting communities encouraging good mental health and talking openly about emotions.
Establishing safe spaces to talk through Women’s and Men’s groups is a considerable step in mental health advocacy.
“Our communities girls are benefiting from the reusable sanitary pads, they're no longer missing school"
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“Our communities girls are benefiting from the reusable sanitary pads, they're no longer missing school" • • •
Jeremiah, Director of community charity, Mother’s Heart Uganda (Mbale, Uganda)
“Not having access to sanitary pads is unacceptable… we can help make this change”
— Donatas Juskevicius, fundraiser
WHAT WE’VE ACHIEVED WITH OUR LOCAL PARTNERS SO FAR:
-Facilitated the delivery Women’s Empowerment workshops to over 700 women and girls since 2022.
-Distributed over 4500 reusable sanitary products to women and girls in Mutoto, Uganda
-Provided essential resources for the Golden Hill Academy - Mutoto, Uganda.
-Provided Men’s Workshops for 100 men and boys - supporting their knowledge of women’s health and facilitating open conversations about mental health.
-Supported the founding of a community men’s group and invested in them.
WHY WE DO IT…
47% of Ugandan households live in multidimensional poverty (UNICEF, 2020).
More than half of girls who start primary school dropout, “mainly because of menstrual challenges such as inability to afford sanitary products such as pads” (DaysForGirls & Ugandan Ministry for Education and Sports, 2020)
OUR PHILOSOPHY: IF WE CAN HELP, THEN WHY NOT?
We’re a diverse bunch, but we mutually recognise the privilege afforded to us by living in the UK. So why not use that privilege for something great.
The statistics above are a snapshot of the challenges we’re working with communities to counter. It illustrates just how serious a problem many face. Yet with relatively little, we can do a whole lot of good.
Imagine a world where approximately £5, the cost of a coffee in the UK, would fund reusable sanitary products lasting up to 2 years in Uganda. You don’t have to imagine… £5 is often all it takes to keep a young lady in education.
