Our Mission

I met Beatrice while interning at Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) and kicking off the Citizen Journalism Africa project. She told me about her NGO’s work and the women of Kireka. After having worked last summer in Gulu, Northern Uganda, I was touched by the women’s stories. A week later, I visited the quarry.

I’ve been curious to know if blogging can truly be used to describe the “human face” of development and alleviate poverty. In light of this, our goal is to use this website to raise enough funds to help the thirteen Women of Kireka start their own income-generating activity. Currently, the women (and many of the children) work at the Kireka stone quarries. Others work as prostitutes or are jobless.

This is a sustainable initiative. The total amount needed to start the tailoring business will be a one-time cost. Once the women have received training in tailoring and have started building a business network with Beatrice’s help and selling their crafts, we expect the project to be self-sufficient.

The blog is a platform for these women’s stories. Readers can ‘meet’ each woman; on the main blog, readers will receive updates about the women and Uganda in general; and when we gather enough funding to start tailoring business, donors will be able to witness the changes they are fostering.

Siena Anstis