17 Sep Breaking the Cycle: How Act4Africa is Empowering Women, Changing Communities
Gender inequality, violence and abuse are deeply-rooted systematic issues that women across the world, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa, continue to endure. While quietly carrying the weight of nurturing their communities, women are forced to trade off their well-being and happiness to act as unshakable bridges to a better future – one that often does not include them.
Act4Africa aims to change this story.
Amid the outbreak of HIV/AIDS in Uganda, Act4Africa was established in 2000 by Martin and Kathy Smedley who were driven by a deep commitment to stop the spread of the disease through spreading awareness among the communities affected in Uganda’s Jinja. Over two decades later, the charity has reached 2 million people with life-saving information on HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence, along with providing 50,000 people with essential healthcare services. Moreover, our goals have evolved to not only focus on the disease but also devise long-term sustainable solutions for the group which is statistically the most disproportionately affected by it – women.
Gender inequality directly shapes who is more vulnerable to infection – women face greater risk simply because of the existing unequal power relations within relationships. Forced and early marriages are common, while safe access to essential healthcare and education services is scarce. Left vulnerable and without any economic or social tools to protect themselves, women often fall victim to abuse and diseases.
Act4Africa has taken on the challenge to fill in this gap in skills and help empower women to fight against the road blocks they face through the best remedy – education, training and the creation of a safe space to build a community that provides support where needed. Through our H.E.A.L approach, which focusses on Health, Education, Agriculture and Livelihoods, our aim is to provide long-term sustainable solutions to the issue of gender inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa through our current programmes She Leads, Grains for Growth and Kathy’s Kindergarten, among others.
Like the name suggests, She Leads centres around fostering skills to enable future women leaders of their communities. Through projects like vocational training, workshops, mentorship programmes as well as financial training, we provide foundational skills that reduce their vulnerability by becoming independent and creating avenues towards financial stability. The women in our programme not only train to be entrepreneurs, fashion designers and leaders, they network and support each other through the community that we have built.
Act4Africa has mobilised around 3,500 youths to form 112 youth savings and loans accounts to assist them in saving up and accessing loans for SRH related emergencies. Additionally, the charity has trained 120 people in vocational skills, along with providing start up kits and entrepreneurship training to 111 people so that they are able to start their own businesses. Around 90 women’s savings groups have been established and 9,000 people have been provided with livelihood support packages.
Most of our foundational skills are nurtured in our early years. Recognising the important of early childhood education, Kathy’s Kindergarten was built in 2014 to provide quality schooling to children between the ages 3-6 years old. By supporting children through their early years, we aim to nurture their holistic development, provide nutrition support as well as enhance the involvement of parents and community in children’s education.
Over 500 children have received essential early years education at Kathy’s so far, with our Grow a Girl programme supporting 11 girls through primary and secondary education as well. Around 225 adolescent girls and mothers have also been given training focussed on mental health and stress management to enable them to deal with present trauma of abuse as well as to identify and stop similar situations.
Grains for Growth, another project started in 2014, focusses on the issue of food security and storage of crops. In partnership with the World Food Programme, households in the Mayuge district of Uganda are provided air-tight silos so farmers can safely store their crops throughout the year. Along with training on how to efficiently use the silos, community mentors also provide support to the farmers so that sustainable farming practices on the area can reduce poverty and provide food security.
This programme has not only boosted food security for 510 households, it has stabilised their income and ensured that families have money for healthcare as well as education. While 100 farmers have been trained on correct agronomy practices so they make the most out of their harvest, 100 others have been provided with storage technologies to reduce harvest loss.
All the people that Act4Africa has reached so far are more than just numbers to us – they are stories of faith and resilience. They are proof that the right intervention at the right time can lead to positive, long-lasting change within communities. Your support, whether big or small, means the world to the people we are supporting in our mission to change the lives of women across Africa.
We ask you to join us on our mission, whether it be through donating, sharing our story through our newly-updated website or partnering with us to create sustainable change.
By Veronica Balyan
