Campaigns
The Proposed Project
Rural Smiles Foundation will construct a community women and health information center, to empower women to be economically self-reliant while empowering them to remain healthy.
The project will use an integrated blend of skills development in making re-usable sanitary pads, training in tailoring and business skills while providing access to health information.
This project will enable girls and women acquire skills and knowledge to start their own businesses for self-employment and self-reliance while empowering them to remain healthy. Health training will be provided using photo voices, health information charts and Sexual gender based violence redress mechanism charts.
Sewing machines and re-usable sanitary pad materials will be purchased. Through community local leaders, community based organizations, youth clubs and women groups, 20 adolescent out-of-school girls and young women (14 to 25 years) will be recruited and trained as trainers of trainees (community health teams) in making re-usable sanitary pads, tailoring, business skills,
sexual reproductive health, sexual gender based violence and its redress mechanism. These will train others and hold quarterly radio talk shows to sensitize communities on the same and popularize the women center and its services. They will also be supported to conduct community health information outreaches. Startup kits will be provided to enable graduands start up their own businesses while linking them to markets.
On a typical day, adolescent girls and women wake up and go different villages looking for what to do for a living. For the few that still have their parents have gone back to their parents with their children. In fact, 3 in 5 families in Bwamiramira subcounty have their daughters and grand children living under the same roof after the daughters are forcefully divorced.
The women and girls are the sole bread winners for their children for all basic needs like education, health care, and food. Most girls and women have resorted to alcoholism as they visit local alcohol brewing points in different villages where they provide cheap labour and they are paid one litre of local alcohol a day.
Will you support us establish the skills centre?
