Title: Let Us Stay Alive (LUSA)
Location:
Categories: Human Rights
Health
Status:
In Progress
Timeline:
January 7 11 to January 7 14
Description:
The project beneficiaries will mainly be out-of school girls, female sex workers, street girls and adolescent mothers. These are groups of people that are vulnerable to violence, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, poverty and isolation due to their social status and for them having to support their households, a reliable source of income is crucial. However, as highlighted by several studies, there is a lack of formal work opportunity for rural girls and women in Rwanda that would allow them to obtain a stable income.
The project will empower the beneficiaries to take a leading role in prevention and management of all the above mentioned issues for their own advancement and security as well as for the community as well. Empowering women through agricultural cooperative compiled with awareness raising on HIV, malnutrition, poverty and women’s rights will provide them with knowledge and skills required for their increased participation in prevention and response to Violence, malnutrition, poverty and HIV/AIDS which are major critical issues for the women’s improved quality of life and participation.
Through three cooperatives of 300 members the project will facilitate the creation of community gardens of vegetables (eggplants, amaranth, beets, cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, red onion, spinach, squash, and sweet peppers) as a tool to stabilize income to meet their basic needs. The cooperatives will use the marshland made available by local government to create the community gardens and facilitate their integration into the labor market in order to improve the quality of life for their families.
This is in line with Rwanda government policy orientating for promotion of gender equality as a cross- cutting issue in all sectors. Women empowerment is emphasized in all important Government programs, policies and laws including vision 2020, Economic Development poverty reduction strategy (EDPRS) and the constitution that guarantees equality of rights and participation without any discrimination.
Background:
The Rwanda genocide of 1994 was a tragic period of history as most are aware, causing close to one million of death with over 99.9% of the population most of which are females being witnessed to violence and death.
Over 300000 children were made orphans with over 85,000 under 18’s left with the responsibility of looking after their young siblings. This has lead to many social problems with the young population today. Many women were made widows, infected with HIV/AIDS, heads of families and poor, and a great number of girls were lead into prostitution due in large, to immense poverty and lack of knowledge of other alternatives.
In addition, due to immense poverty many young children are forced to drop out of school at very early stage but the situation becomes very worst for young girls who are at higher risks of rape, pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. Many girls who drop out of schools are more often involved in sexual practices with much older partners who impregnate them and leave them with children .
This situation has led many girls into street and sex work where they are repetitively raped. The context of violence, poverty, commercial sex and lack of social support jeopardize those women's improved quality of life and the the shape of future of their children.
Objectives:
The purpose
To strengthen the women’ s abilities to become catalysts of change with regards to poverty and its cycles
Mission
We want to enhance skills, health and economic conditions and women rights through providing opportunities and training to socially and economically excluded women in rural communities of Rwanda.
Vision
Women and girls are the agents of change within their respective communities and free of economic dependency on men.
Goals
1. To develop the women and girls’ confidence, leadership and their self-esteem skills through cooperatives as tool of empowerment.
2. To provide land access with the vulnerable women and girls to implement their agricultural small projects through community gardens of vegetables
3. To provide seeds and tools with the cooperatives to start to implement their food processing micro-projects as an opportunity to generate the adequate and nutritious food and an income to meet the women and girls’ basic needs.
4. To ensure long-term financing system to women cooperatives through creating partnerships with micro-finance institutions to provide loans and an appropriate market of their produce
Milestones:
1. Making contacts and meetings with key stakeholders: By Jan2011
2. Recruitment and training of volunteers: By February2011
3. Contacts with district leaders look for a land to cultivate by the cooperatives: By February2011
4. Creation of the women cooperatives: By February 2011
5. Conducting trainings for the cooperatives: End February of 2011
6. Providing the cooperatives with seeds and tools End of March 2011
7. Training of the cooperatives on micro-projects management: by March2011
8. Recruitment of an agronomist and for the cooperative training in sustainable agriculture:Beginning of April2011
9. Nutritionists counselors training : May 2011
10. Determination of an appropriate markets for the cooperative produce to be sold : By June2011
11. Establishment of partnership with a micro-finance institution: By June 2011
12. Harvesting and selling the first produce of each cooperative: End of Septemeber.
13. Evaluation of the project phase1 :End of December 2011
Budget:
INCOME
1. Amount from various donors: $4500
3. Amount in kind donation: $1500
Total Income: $6000
EXPENSE
1. Travels: $1000
2. Communication: $300
3. Trainings & employees fees: $2000
4. Costs of tools, seeds and materials to create gardens $2700
Total expense: $6000
Needs:
Volunteers,
Funds & donors
Partners
Various Equipment
Seeds and tools to make community gardens, Ideas and trainings
Contact Name: Valens Ntamushobora
Contact Email Address: valbor7@gmail.com
Contact Phone Number: +250788676759
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