Women lacking money and financial independence have increasingly over the years fuelled gender disparity in Uganda. The situation gets worse in rural areas and among the urban poor, who have meagre resources to share. Because of these insufficient resources, men tend to dominate the ownership and distribution of these resources, including monetary incomes and wealth.
This is a fact that is well known by Heart and Hands Foundation as an organisation. It therefore set out to start programmes and initiatives that empower women economically. The organisation set out to work with widows, child mothers, and vulnerable women by helping them set up small businesses, farming projects and trading. This was done through financial literacy training, agribusiness training, and finance and credit management training. Heart and Hands Foundation also provides grants and soft loans to beneficiaries who meet the standard requirements.
Heart and Hands Foundation also economically empowers young women who graduate from the vocational school by providing them with startup capital and tools like sewing machines and a carpentry tool kit, among others. This is done to ensure that after graduation, this young woman doesn’t go out looking for a job but is able to start her own workshop to deploy the acquired skills and to create jobs for other members of the community.
This approach has paid off, as many of our graduates are operating workshops and stations in the community. They are able to earn an income for themselves. And with the financial literacy training they received, they are able to use the incomes appropriately to develop themselves through diversification when allocating and budgeting their incomes. This has inspired other girls who have joined the programme.
Widow programs
The Heart and Hands Foundation widows program is a unique initiative aimed at providing support and assistance to widows who have lost their spouses to varying diseases, old age, accidents, war and natural death. This program offers a range of services to help widows rebuild their lives and regain their independence. From financial assistance to emotional counseling, the is committed to ensuring that these women are not forgotten or left behind in their time of need.
One of the ways in which HHF is supporting widows is by building houses for them. This initiative aims to provide safe and secure housing for widows who may be living in vulnerable situations. By providing these houses, HHF is not only addressing the immediate need for shelter but also ensuring long-term stability and security for these widows. Building houses for widows is a powerful way to show compassion and support for those who have lost their spouses.
Another way HHF offers assistance to widows is through the grant program. These revolving funds are designed to provide financial assistance to widows who may be struggling to make ends meet following the death of their spouse. They can use these finances to start up income generating activities like business trading. The Foundation has trained more than 1000 widows in different hands on skills to help them create their own jobs and income generating activities. This training gives them skills and financial literacy to enable them to manage the grants given to them and proper utilization of their incomes.