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SAVE THE DISADVANTAGED UGANDA

PROJECT PROPOSAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

1.0 Executive summary. 3

1.1 Key challenges facing the organization.. 6

2.0     KEY TRAINING AREAS THAT IS PERFORMED AT THE ORGANIZATION TO END VIOLENCE ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN.. 7

2.1 Weaving Baskets; 7

2.2) Training in tailoring; 11

2.3) Hair Dressing. 15

Reason for application of funds for this activity. 16

2.4 Computer training services; 19

2.5 Counselling services. 20

3.0 Target categories of vulnerable women and children. 20

Child Mothers. 20

Street children. 24

Widows with HIV. 25

4.0 MAIN REASONS FOR SEEKING FUNDS FOR RESEARCH.. 26

Compliance with SVRI 26

4.2 Educating community members of the need to violence against women and children. 27

4.3 Key strengths of save the disadvantages organization.. 28

5.0 EXPECTED INCOME EXPENSES FOR SAVE THE DISADVANTAGED UGANDA. 29

1.0 Executive summary

Save the Disadvantaged Uganda is a Non-Government Organization which was formed way back in 2017 and registered by the Government of Uganda. The organization is purely Non-profit. The organization has its office in Kampala, Nakawa East Division.

The main objective of the organization is to ensure that it ends all forms of violence against women and children. Since its formation in 2017, the organization has been involved in activities that are committed to ending all forms of violence against women and children well aware that violence against women specifically cannot end easily unless women are engaged in some productive activities which generates some income that sustains their livelihood and improves their social status.

This organization was founded by Mabior Margret, who being a woman herself had gone through trauma including both physical and emotional violence. Margret was married to her husband as a young woman. Margret was forced into marriage by her parents as a young girl, despite her refusal, her parents beat her up to get married so that her father could get money and cows from the man who was going to marry Margret.

This caused emotional pain to Margret. throughout her marriage life, Margret has never had peace as the man who married her has other women and Margret being the third wife, she rarely gets financial support from the man.

However, Margret was determined to change the course of her life and she got a good Samaritan who trained her how to sow clothes, and business skills. This enabled Margret to set up her own business and as the business grew Margret was able to provide for her children and build her life. This enabled her to develop the passion of helping other also to be like her being cognizant of the fact that Globally, an estimated 736 million women almost one in three have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life (30 per cent of women aged 15 and older). This figure does not include sexual harassment. The rates of depression, anxiety disorders, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and HIV are higher in women who have experienced violence compared to women who have not, as well as many other health problems that can last even after the violence has ended.

Despite the high global numbers of women and children facing violence acts from relatives and other members of society. The level of violence against women and children is very high in Uganda, According to Ugandan police report, (2017) Violence against women is on the increase in Uganda despite the presence of laws and policies to protect victims and survivors. According to the Uganda Police Force’s annual crime report, gender-based violence cases that were reported and investigated increased by 4% (from 38,651 to 40,258 cases) between 2015 and 2016, this is specifically high in, in slum areas of Kampala these areas being made up of mainly very poor women without any skills and source of income to maintain their livelihood. This group of people is therefore very desperate for any help it is to this great reason that “save the disadvantaged Uganda” was formed to end any form of violence.

“Save the disadvantaged Uganda” is well cognizant with the challenges that women face that makes them vulnerable to violence. Most of it is because women are solely dependent on men for economic survival and as such, they have to bear all forms of violence against them in order to secure their economic survival.

Save the disadvantaged Uganda ever since its formation in 2017 it has been committed in offering technical training to women. This technical training is aimed at skilling women in order to enable them be in position to end violence against women and children.

The organization is specifically committed to uplifting the status of women by empowering them economically. When women are empowered economically, they will be included in the decision making for family activities and this will make them look valuable to their intimate partners and family members.

Save the disadvantaged Uganda is specifically skilling women in slum areas with technical skills which are marketable and can easily lead to self-employment in areas of; Tailoring, weaving baskets, computer training and saloon business.

The organization ever since its formation it has been training women and children in all necessary technical skills basing on the choice and competence of the person after being advised.

Save the disadvantaged Uganda currently has registered more than 800 women to learn the different technical skills in the following areas;

• Tailoring
• weaving baskets
• Computer training
• Saloon management
• Hair dressing
• Baking, coming soon if availed funds.

Currently the organization is offering these training to women, however in the last five years of offering training some women who attained the training have managed to get jobs and open up their own business. This has enabled them to live dignified lives, while other women have failed to get start up capital to buy equipment needed in the opening of business so that they can employ themselves and possibly employ other women.

1.1 Key challenges facing the organization

The training facilities in Tailoring are not enough as the organization is facing a challenge the tailoring facilities are few in relation to the number of vulnerable groups of people who need it. Currently there are 25 tailoring machines which the organization has, this is not enough given that there are more than 220 vulnerable women who are previous victims of violence that are interested in learning the tailoring skills to enable them be in position to be self-reliant.

Saloon management and Hair dressing training; this area is also facing a challenge since most of the equipment needed are missing and the organization needs to add so as to meet the ever-increasing number of vulnerable people who need the training.

‘Save the disadvantaged Uganda’ organization is also facing a challenge of lack of enough equipment in the teaching of computer skills since the number of disadvantaged children who want to learn computers is high as compared to the available resources , there are more than 90 women who have registered to learn computers however due to large numbers of  women , the organization is unable to take up every one as such some miss the lessons and yet practical lessons can only bet taught when some one has the necessary tool like a computer.

The organization has only three computers to train this vulnerable groups however there are more than 112 people who want to learn computer skills. This training is normally given to this vulnerable groups especially those who had some formal training but dropped out of school may be because of parental death and since the guardian is abusing them, they decided to go to the streets. The majority of the people who are interested in this service are mainly the street children who come to learn.

Due to the overwhelming number of trainees and the limited training facilities the organization, has therefore due to this great cause has become inspired to apply for the funds from an organization like; SVRI RESEARCH GRANT 2023 to enable it train these vulnerable groups of people the necessary skills that will enhance their capacity to be self-reliant and end violence.

2.0KEY TRAINING AREAS THAT IS PERFORMED AT THE ORGANIZATION TO END VIOLENCE ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The following are the training areas offered by the organization to end violence on women and children

2.1 Weaving Baskets;

Women are given skills in weaving Baskets. The training lasts for a period of 6 months. The group of women who are specifically given skills in weaving baskets are trained in areas of handcraft, marketing of baskets, they are also taught on where to get the raw materials used for making baskets. After women have been trained, they are expected to be able to create employment for them selves and sustain them selves and live better than they were previously doing.

Save the disadvantaged in its efforts of enabling the vulnerable members of society specifically women and children who are victims of violence, save the disadvantaged has been offering Basket weaving lessons to the women and children who are vulnerable these vulnerable groups who are mainly victims of violence are street children, HIV/AIDS infected women, poor single women living in the slum areas of Kampala. These are people who often face abuse and violence from members of society because they do not have someone to protect them and such they find themselves from both physical and emotional abuse by members of society.

Photo showing women being taught how to weave basket

This photo shows a group of women being taught how to weave Baskets by Trainers of save the disadvantaged organization members. This skill is taught to women to enable them be in position to create their own jobs. Since when women have some income, they are able to contribute to their families and as such they will be treated with respect and will most likely not be abused.

Photo of the Baskets that has been made by women

Currently more than 86 women are being trained at different intervals to ensure that they get the necessary skills though more than 200 vulnerable women and children are interested in learning this skill, however because of limited resources the organization has not been able to take up all the people who want to train.

The people who want to train in weaving baskets are far more than the organization, can manage due to lack of enough facilities to train all the people who are interested.

Despite the training offered to the women in weaving baskets most of them fail to live independent lives, something that again exposes them to violence due to lack of economic contribution and independence. This has therefore prompted the organization to seek funds, in order to give the women after training the necessary facilities like materials needed for making baskets and Bags and some cash for paying rent as start up capital for Business. The organization will therefore further review if the women are able to be economically productive with in a period o one year to assess the strengths and weakness in its training and revise how it and to be done to completely end violence against women and children.

Basket weaving class during communication skills lessons

2.2) Training in tailoring;

Women are specifically trained in tailoring. Save the Disadvantaged Uganda trains women in tailoring of clothes with hope that after the training they are able to employ themselves and will enable them to be self-reliant and end violence that they experience from family members, relatives and intimate partners. In tailoring women are trained many skills apart from tailoring only; They are also taught how to use social media and other internet plat forms to enhance their business. The ae taught some soft skills like communication, management, customer management and sales. This is to enable them succeed in this business and be creative.

The number of vulnerable women who are interested in learning tailoring services is overwhelming however the organization is able to train only a handful due to few training sowing machines.

Since the numbers of learners who are interested in learning tailoring is overwhelming, they are trained in shifts and others are advised to report next year or next intake after a period of six months. The training lasts for only 6 months and after the training the trainees are advised to go and start up their private business so as to be productive and prevent being dependants something that exposes them to violence since they are viewed as economic burdens by their care takers or spouses.

Trainees attending tailoring lessons

The leaners get trained by a professional female tailor.

Majority of the people in tailoring class are mainly;

• Street children
• Widows
• Poor slum women
• Positive HIV women.

Tailoring class during lessons

The organization offers uniforms to the leaners all this is done free of charge since they are poor.

It is believed that tailoring is marketable skill and women can do it easily; By women skilling in tailoring will enable them gain marketable and practical skills which can enable them to be employed or self employed so as they can have their independent source of income instead of being destitute and having to survive on desperate measures like prostitution.

The key findings;

Though the organization has been offering training in tailoring over the last five years most of the poor women who reside in slum areas have failed to be economically productive. This has been thought of as lack of capital to buy sowing machines which are quite expensive for these unemployed women. Therefore, the organization is seeking funds to buy for the women sowing machines so as o assess if in the period one year, they are able to be productive and can sustain themselves.

Some of the poor vulnerable women currently learning tailoring at “save the disadvantaged”.

Some of the individual passport photos of tailoring students

These vulnerable young women have a got a chance to be trained however they will need capital to purchase the equipment like sowing machines that they need to start a business, as the organization will be monitoring them to see how their business progress and their general well-being.

2.3) Hair Dressing

The organization also carries out Hair dressing training to the students and in addition the trainees are also trained on how to manage the saloon business this is to invoke the entrepreneur skills in them. So that they are able to start up their own business after he training.

Hair dressing is very marketable especially in urban areas like Kampala, therefore it is expected that the graduates from this department should be able to live economically productive lives since there is a lot of business in this area.

Hair dressing leaners re mostly women both young and women in their thirties especially widows are interested in learning Hair dressing. Despite the overwhelming numbers of women who are interested in learning this skill the organization was not able to accommodate all of them in a single calendar training period due to limited facilities o be used during the learning process.

Reason for application of funds for this activity.

To start up a saloon business, one needs some capital in purchasing the equipment to be used during the Hair dressing this has therefore prompted the organization to apply for finds from; SVRI RESEARCH GRANT 2023, so that it can purchase he necessary saloon equipment and observe if in a period of one the vulnerable women have been able to improve their welfare and the violence against them has ended.

Photos of trainees attending lessons in Hair dressing

The organization has professionals in Hair dressing that are competent enough to train these vulnerable groups of people be in position to get the necessary sills required in being a competent Hair dresser.

Hair dressing class during lessons

Students having a football match

Some of the vulnerable Hair dressing Trainees

2.4 Computer training services;

Save the Disadvantaged Uganda also offers Computer training services to women who have experienced child marriage, prostitution, disabled women and refugee women among others. The computer training service is offered to women who had some bit of formal education but they dropped out of marriage and now they are leaving on poverty after their husbands divorced them and the result of this they are living in abject poverty.

It is important to note that in many tribes of Uganda like Karamajong, Itesot, Jopadhola when a woman is married from their parents and when the husband decides to divorce that woman, they demand their dowry.

2.5 Counselling services

Counseling service is also given to the vulnerable groups by save the disadvantaged Uganda. All the vulnerable groups who are currently trained by save the disadvantaged people with disability to change their mindset positively so as to enable them view themselves as members of the community who have ability to create Economic development in their area rather than being beggars of the community and being looked at with sympathy all the time as this reduces their self-esteem.

The counselling services will also be given to different slum areas by specifically stressing to them the benefits of end violence against children and women.

3.0 Target categories of vulnerable women and children

The following below is the list of vulnerable groups of people that are catered for by the save the disadvantaged Uganda.

Child Mothers

Child Marriage – defined as marriage before the age of 18 – applies to both girls and boys, the practice is far more common among girls, especially those in rural areas.

The UNICEF indicates that, Child, early and forced marriages or unions are a global problem across many different countries, cultures, religions and ethnicities. Early marriage and forced marriage is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa where 38% of girls become child brides. Among girls growing up in South Asia, 30% experience early marriage, compared with 25% in Latin America and the Caribbean. Rates are 17% in the Middle East and North Africa, and 11% in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. While in Uganda is one of the countries with the highest early and forced marriage. 10% of girls are married off before the age of 15 and 40% of girls re married off before their 18th birth day (UNICEF 2011). In Uganda Due to extreme poverty most of the parents send their children to get married at an early age of 12 years to fetch income in form of cows and goats for the family.

Cognizant of the dangers of early marriage save the disadvantaged aware it cannot offer enough service for the whole country. The organization trainees move to slum areas across Kampala where child mother live in violent homes and in abject mothers. Most of these child mothers dropped out of school in primary school levels others are illiterates they are registered and offered training at the organization in save the disadvantaged offices.

Child mothers find themselves in a state of helplessness after their husbands have divorced them or even during the relationship in their homes, they are violently physically and sexually abused because they do not have any means of economic survival, they have to bear the pain in order to survive.

In case a child mother is divorced by their husband, their ex-husband put pressure on their poor families to refund their dowry which is usually cows and goats. However, the old brothers usually view their sisters as a bad omen to the family as a result they physically abuse them since they cannot pay back the dowry that is being demanded.

So the child mothers find themselves in a difficult situation were their husbands have chased them, their families have rejected them for causing family shame and with lack of skills child mothers find themselves in desperate conditions and as a result they resort to acts like prostitution to be able to provide for their children and families.

Currently at Save the Disadvantaged, we are training over 150 child mothers in areas like tailoring, Hair dressing, saloon management and weaving baskets. computer skills is also offered to those who had some little bit of formal education but dropped out.

The following are some of the child mothers whom we have at our organization,

Esther Mukyala. This is a child mother who is currently training in tailoring.

Prossy Mukyala is currently living in poverty and our organization “Save the Disadvantaged Uganda” is currently training her in tailoring.

However, if the funds are availed the organization will buy for these child mothers tailoring machines so as she can open up her own business and live a productive life instead of engaging in prostitution.

Sauba Namyonga; she was married off at a young age of 12 years but didn’t give birth and the husband divorced her after divorce the husband has been putting the family on pressure for dowry and this made her to flee village and currently she is living in the slums of Kampala where they have been engaging in prostitution but when our team visited where she stays, they met her and she said that she wants to leave prostitution but doesn’t know any other thing to do. She was enrolled at the organization and now she is learning tailoring when she finishes her 6 months course she will be able to work. However, the request for funds is to enable her after training get the sewing machines so as she can open up her own business and also giving back to the community by specifically training and employing others.

Currently Disabled women.

The disability in the communities of Uganda is taken as a curse by that specific family as a result the disabled women are not taken care of by the family. Families with disable daughters are seen as being punished by gods for some bad omen they committed some time back.

Currently these girls with physical and hearing impairment at Save the Disadvantaged Uganda who are being trained weaving baskets to protect them from physical and emotional violence from family and members of the community.

Most of people with Disability are denied any right to education by their parents as a result this Save the Disadvantaged Uganda is involved in identifying the disabled and retraining them on different skills something that can allow them to create jobs for themselves.

People with Disability are given the skills that what will empower them to give them the ability to be productive. It should be remembered that; unlike everything else the skills that someone has are the only thing that cannot be taken away from them.

At Save the Disadvantaged Uganda we give training to people with Disability by taking into consideration the nature of disability. People who have hearing impairment (deaf) we give them skills in areas like weaving baskets.

Street children

Save the Disadvantaged Uganda being female empowerment Organization aims at getting street children who have reached 12 years and provide training to them. Street children are first of all taken through counselling sessions, this is in order to integrate them with the community members. The street children are trained in key areas basing on their competences. Since most of the street children do not know how to read and write. The key areas that they normally receive training is mainly in Hair dressing, saloon business and weaving baskets.

The street children despite being provided training for free with the organization sometimes they face challenges in starting their own business because of lack of startup capital. Save the Disadvantaged Uganda Organization also is facing a challenge of being overwhelmed and there is need to increase the capacity of the organization to be in position to take up more street children.

Due to limited training facilities at the disposal of “Save the Disadvantaged Uganda”  it has made it difficult for the organization to offer training opportunities to larger numbers of street children, as currently there are a 44 street children being offered training. These street children move to come for training at the organization. this shows that they are motivated to come and get skills.

However, there is need to carry out more research on their ability to start up their business and be economically productive so as to improve their well being and end violence against children and women.

The purchase off more instructional materials is needed since the organization only provided technical education which is hands on therefore adding more instructional materials to train more street children is imperative as it will be of importance in understanding the level of empowerment the 6 months training will have on the street children.

At Save the Disadvantaged currently there 44 trainees who were formerly street children with different family background and circumstances that led them to the streets however, all of them want a different future from the past that they experienced during their childhood.

Widows with HIV

Save the disadvantaged also is providing training to poor widows who are HIV positive to enable them build resilience and be empowered.

Most of the widows who have HIV are being discriminated against and such they live in poverty failing to provide for their children. These poor widows live in slum areas in Kampala District in very appalling conditions with no money.

Currently there are over 30 widows being trained however, the training facilities are not enough to meet other widows who also need to be trained.

Poor widows with HIV are specifically vulnerable to abuse by their family members. The abusers are mainly the in-laws who blame widow for being the one responsible for the death of their husbands. This has given room to the in-laws to violently attack these vulnerable members of society both physically and emotionally.

Some of the widows who are currently receiving training are Halima Nakandi, she is currently receiving training in weaving baskets.

Grace Nakyobe, she is receiving training in tailoring. Her husband passed on and she has been living in the slums of Kampala surviving on prostitution. However, when she became pregnant she could no longer get business because the people who buy prostitutes do not sleep with pregnant prostitutes. Due to lack of clients she is purely surviving on the meals from the organization for her survival.

Save the disadvantage Organization currently is training over 40 women in hair dressing and in the past 5 years the Organization has trained over 300 women in hair dressing. The Organization believes that by training these women in this area they can easily be hired by some big saloons and are given employment this will enable these women to be empowered.

4.0 MAIN REASONS FOR SEEKING FUNDS FOR RESEARCH

Despite the generous trainings offered by “Save the Disadvantaged Uganda” over the years most of the women who had got the training in the different areas, continued to live in poverty and depended on their abusers for their livelihood. Only offering technical training to the women is currently observed as not enough to end violence against women and children as there is need for the funds to be given to these vulnerable groups start-up capital like;

1. Tailoring machines,
2. Saloon equipment

• Computers

1. Materials for weaving Baskets

Compliance with SVRI

In order to achieve the targets of SVRI “Save the Disadvantaged uganda” hopes to achieve over 100% compliance with (SVRI) policy of ending violence against women by specifically

Offering training in areas of;

• Weaving baskets
• Tailoring
• Computer training
• Saloon

Other services that will be offered will include

• Counselling and guidance services
• Marketing skills
• Ability to use technology to promote their business like use of social media plat form

4.2 Educating community members of the need to violence against women and children

Save the Disadvantaged also hopes to secure funding to provide legal information to the women to report cases of violence to the relevant authorities like police, local council chairperson or mayor of an area.

This will be done by moving across the slum areas of Kampala, where majority of the vulnerable women and children live. The officials of save the disadvantaged Uganda” will move from one slum area to another by holding training sessions with different groups of women and explaining to them about their rights

In order to ensure that large numbers of women are covered on sensitizing women about their rights. “Save the disadvantaged Uganda” will ensure that it informs the local council chairperson about their agenda and the L.C I chairperson will convene the women in the area. After the women will have been convened the trainers of the organization will have to introduce themselves and start teaching the women on their rights and the relevant authorities to go in case of violence.

Save the disadvantaged Uganda will also Engage men in different communities across Kampala slum areas by specifically educating them about the need to end violence against children and women since they are the perpetrators.

4.3 Key strengths of save the disadvantages organization

The organization has the following strengths that make it able to carry out an efficient research on ending violence on women and children.

• Experience over the last 5 years in fighting to End violence against women and children
• Being on the ground already; the fact that save the disadvantaged is already fighting to end violence against women and children shows that they ave the capability to continue well when provided funding support.
• Being formally registered as NGO by the government of Uganda; this enables the organization to be involved in activities geared towards ending gender violence without breaking the laws of Uganda.
• Committed leadership; the management Headed by Mabior Margret is determined, being the team leader herself, Margret knows the challenges victims of violence face and therefore this is good for the organization.

5.0 EXPECTED INCOME EXPENSES FOR SAVE THE DISADVANTAGED UGANDA

 FOR THE PERIOD OF ONE YEAR

PROJECT EXPECTED EXPENSE

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

• Position: Team leader

Name: Mabior Margret

• Position: Assistant team leader

Name;

• Head of Trainees:

Name:

• Position: Administrator and Finance manager

Name : Oketcho Wilbroad