Joseph Terranova, co-founder of Tukula, shares his company’s model for women’s empowerment.
In the East African country of Uganda, a staggering 276,000 young people cannot find jobs each year. Even though many of these youth are university or trade school educated, there is simply not enough infrastructure to accommodate them in the job market. And without jobs, many of these youth will relapse into the cyclical poverty endemic in much of their country.
Photo credit: Bobby Neptune/Tukula
Young women are particularly vulnerable to unemployment. Many find themselves caught in premature marriages, struggling to support their children with little hope of saving for the future of their families.
But in the heart of Jinja, Uganda’s second largest city, five young women work diligently to create beautiful handmade bags and other accessories for Tukula (meaning “we grow” in Luganda), a for-profit social enterprise based out of Lancaster, Pa. The women, who range in age from 16 to 33, have different life stories.
All of them have completed some amount of tailoring school, and two are continuing their education using the money they earn at Tukula. The women hail from different tribes and ascribe to different religions. But what brings them together is their desire to better the future of themselves and their families.
One of these women, Ayakaka Sally, talks about the impact that Tukula has had on her life. “I used to depend on people,” she says. “But Tukula has made me to be on my own. Now I can afford my food. I can pay my rent. It’s good for me.”
Tukula works with its artisans to create budgets and savings programs aimed at preparing each woman to attain her future goals. By creating and selling beautiful, high-quality products, the company hopes to impact more women in the future.
Tukula is working to eliminate abject poverty in Uganda before it begins, one woman at a time. To learn more visit tukula.org.
Looking to perk up your Tuesday night? Look no further –- we’re having a Twitter party, and you’re invited. ONE is teaming up with Mom It Forward, a worldwide network dedicated to enhancing the lives of women, their families and the communities in which they live, on Tuesday, March 8 to discuss women’s empowerment in the developing world. Perfect timing, since that just so happens to be International Women’s Day.
So how does this Twitter party work? Every 10 minutes, Mom It Forward will tweet a question on empowering women, and ONE will tweet back the answer. You’re free to discuss via Twitter…until the next question comes along! There are some serious chances to win ONE swag, so keep your eyes peeled!
Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to join (so guys, that means you, too!). And we would love if our members and blog readers could be there to represent ONE and help boost awareness around our Senate budget petition.
Here are the details:
What: Girls’ Night Out Twitter party. Use the Twitter hashtag (#gno) to show that you’re participating! When: Tuesday, March 8 from 9 to 11 p.m. EST (8CT, 7 MT and 6 PT) Where: From your computer or mobile phone Who: Brand Panelist: @ONECampaign; Moderators: @jylmomIF @Dadventurous @troypattee and @MomItForward RSVP: Click this link and enter your Twitter URL and Twitter ID
There’s so much potential in Africa’s females, and with 430 million women and girls currently driving Africa’s economy, we’re getting there. When women are given the proper tools, they can help lift communities out of poverty and transform millions of lives.
ONE Communications Coordinator El Medhin recently had the chance to talk agriculture with Evelyn Nassuna, Ugandan county director for Lutheran World Relief.
In the video, Nassuna discusses her work with small, local farmers in Uganda. This has changed not only their lives, but the lives of families and communities as a whole. But she also talks about the challenges. “Nobody wants to invest in farmers,” she notes. “They are a very high-risk group.”
El notes, “Nassuna’s voice may be quiet, but her experience and stories speak volumes about how African poverty can end, and how we all can affect change!” Check out El’s interview and share your thoughts in the comment box below.
A great story from our partners at Self-Help Africa about a market gardening project in Burkina Faso. For 25 years, Self-Help Africa has given farmers new seed, irrigation advice, small loans and access to markets to help them grow more food and lift their families and communities out of hunger and poverty.
Forty-one villagers in Dassui make up the ‘Wenden Kondo’ (God Will Provide) market gardening group. Through a local group the partners with Self-Help Africa, they learned how to grow the best crops and were given seeds, tools and funding for fencing and a water supply.
Today, they grow onions, cabbage, carrots, chili, garlic and rice and grain during the rainy season. They use some of the vegetables to feed their families, and some they sell in the nearby Bitte market.
Zungrana Awaya, a mother of six and the secretary of the group, is one of Wenden Kondo’s 20 women members. She says the gardening project has provided a valuable source of income for her family.
‘I was born in this village, but I left because there did not seem to be any way for me to make a living. But the garden is creating new opportunities.”
It’s a hard job, she says. But life is getting a little better. In fact, everything is getting a little better. The money that they get from their farming activities is helping Zungrana and the other villagers send their children to school and buy medicine when it is needed.
And their hard work is supporting nearly 400 people in their local community.
“My son, who is 17, says that he wants to leave because he has few prospects of work,’ Zungrana says.
But she tells him not to forget about the garden. “It is new, but we are hopeful that it will grow.”
This is our very first post from ONE’s government relations intern, Zach Kelly. Make sure to give him props in the comments section!
Last week, ONE had the exciting opportunity to partner with the U.S. Department of State to host a luncheon discussion with the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program.
At the lunch, women from 35 African countries shared their experiences about working in the African business world. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Pearl Alice Marsh of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, provided a congressional perspective of women’s challenges and opportunities and the role they play in commerce and job creation on the continent.
She emphasized that both the public and private sector must make special efforts to remove obstacles that impede the success and growth of African businesswomen because they are proven and effective agents of development in their society.
During our discussion, we learned that African women have difficulties in gaining access to capital and other financial resources when starting and operating a business because of their gender. A participant from Ethiopia said she is working a solution to the problem: partner with other Ethiopian businesswomen to start the first-ever commercial bank owned by a majority of women. This would make it easier for women to access financial capital.
A participant from Nigeria shared her advocacy victory. By teaming up with local cassava farmers in securing assistance and support from the Nigerian government and the USAID, she saved a faltering cassava-processing factory in rural Nigeria. The factory is now fully functioning and ready to supply the beverage industry with glucose-syrup, creating jobs and real economic growth for the area.
These were only some of the amazing stories shared at the event, but each one highlighted the fact that these women are pioneers and leaders in their countries. They are passionate and committed to advancing the role and prosperity of future generations of women in African society, and with the help of global partners and investors, will certainly achieve these goals.
Nine women are joining ONE this week on a listening and learning tour through Ghana and Sierra Leone. Maura Keefe reports back:
These women work hard, and their spirit amazes me. They come here because this farm is the key to a better future for themselves and their families. The transformation that is taking place in Ghana is not unlike the changes we have seen in the States. Women get a job and make money. They are able to invest this money, make small profits, and bit by bit, they gain greater control of their lives.
With greater productivity on these farms, the women are less vulnerable to the whims of the weather, not to mention changes in their government and personal lives. These women prove that they are successful in business, garner respect from their neighbors, and become leaders with the power to make improvements in their communities.
Interestingly, statistics show that women working on farms like these are likely to invest their profits well. Some studies estimate that women invest up to 90% of their extra income in their families, compared to only 30-40% for men.
On a national scale, women are key drivers of economic growth, particularly in the agricultural sector. The farm we saw today is funded through Technoserve, an organization that focuses on providing people living in poverty with access to productivity-enhancing tools like seed and fertilizer. Technoserve also works with these people to develop entrepreneurs and institute good business practices. Technoserve works with public and private-sector partners, including U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The rice farm we visited this morning is one of those projects. This partnership is enabling women with greater access to high-quality seeds, fertilizer, and training for their farms. Women actually produce up to 80% of the food produced in the developing world, where agriculture is the backbone of most economies. That means that these women, by showing up to farm every day, are not just feeding their families for the day. They are helping to pull their countries out of poverty and feed entire nations.
Studies show that if women were just given equal access to agricultural products like seeds, fertilizer, and training, agriculture yields could grow by over 20%. By investing in women in agriculture, the United States is stretching its dollars to fund sustainable development that is giving these people ground to stand on in the long term. With more funding for projects like this one, more women and their children would be going to school, receiving better health care, and, critically, would be helping their local economy grow—possibly the most important pathway out of poverty.
We also visited a school that is being funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and USAID in Nyanyano. There we were able to visit a few classrooms and met a wonderful group of committed teachers and administrators who were proud to show off their new facilities. Under very trying circumstances, these men and women are working everyday to ensure that young girls have the same access to education as young boys. In our classroom visits, it was clear that young girls are attentive students and active participants in their lessons.
Before we departed the village, we were treated to memorable performances by the students. First, the children entertained us with a four-act musical drama that told the story of the importance of educating young girls. The story revolves around a mother, father, son and daughter, all played by the children, and narrated by a student choir. The father refuses to allow the mother to pay for education for their daughter and throws the mother and daughter from his home, his decision has long-term consequences. He stays with his son who does not take care of the father in his old age, while his daughter continues her education and goes on to become a doctor. When the father becomes ill as an old man, he goes to the hospital only to be treated by his daughter. When the daughter recognizes it is her father she refuses to treat him and he begs for her forgiveness. It is only when the mother reappears that she brings the family back together again. The ONE delegation was delighted by the creativity and spirit of our young theatre troop and roared our approval!
An additional part of our send off was a poem read by a young girl names Joyce. Joyce, wrote a poem about the importance of empowering women. And, I have to say, it made me tear up. You cannot help but be inspired by the changes that are happening for women in Africa. I cannot do our young poet justice, but you can see her presentation in this video:
From education to agriculture, women’s economic participation is critical to long-term poverty reduction. I’m convinced that if all Americans witnessed what I saw today, they’d be moved to even greater action to make sure that the U.S. continues to invest in the women I met here at the Technoserve Rice Farmers Cooperative and through the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Politico is running a piece today co-authored by Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice exploring The Shriver Report and its implications for women in the workplace.
Greater equality, they point out, “empowers women with the freedom of choice — the universal right to determine their own destinies, careers, beliefs and family structures.”
According to the Shriver report, the rise of women in the workplace has been accompanied by a significant shift in social attitudes, including acceptance by men of women’s professional roles and support for the idea that women should be entitled to equal pay for equal work. Men are also more likely to agree that the challenge of meeting both economic needs and child-care responsibilities is a joint one, requiring the time and energy of both partners.
As members of the advisory committee for the study, who together make up the entire pool of former female secretaries of state, we find that the most intriguing aspects of the transformational shifts documented in this study are the implications for women across the globe. The changing landscape of the American family and work force has been made possible only by extending equal opportunities for women in the classroom, in the boardroom and at the ballot box.
When women are treated as chattel, however, the symptoms of social and moral decay are almost certain to spread. A society that is not decent to women is not a decent society, and an indecent society is a dangerous one. Men who tyrannize women are prone, in time, to extend their despotism to social and political rivals of every description. In our 21st-century world, such societies ultimately pose the greatest threats to global security. In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s repression of women festered into a society that condoned terrorists who turned to violence against innocents as a form of political expression. They must not be allowed to succeed.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
