Village Given a Voice on a Global UN Stage
How are We Creating Global, Social Change?
Read how OneMama takes action based on a village’s feedback on-the-ground in Uganda.
OneMama.org’s attendance at the United Nations is always an electrifying time. As a team, we feed this flame with promotions, networking events, and weeks of behind-the-scenes access to what it takes to share at the United Nations. We are proud of the work we do each year, this year was no different, but in the midst of the exciting energy surrounding the Commission in the Status of Women, we always have the bigger picture guiding us – the women of the OneMama village and clinic in Uganda. We all work around the clock each year to make these events happen for them, to insure their voices are amplified so they are heard from a world stage. They are the paintbrushes for the art that OneMama is creating. They are the music to the dance we dance each year at the United Nations.
It has never been, and will never be, us, stateside, deciding what the clinic in Uganda needs. That is what is so special about what we do here – we empower, we teach, we celebrate the voice the village has, and we help get that voice heard on a global stage!
This year, these are the things the women of the OneMama village and clinic in Uganda shared they needed…
WE NEED CAPITAL.
“Us OneMama women need capital to start small businesses in order to lift up our standards of living from our small rural village.”
ONEMAMA IN ACTION
For the past eight years, OneMama has been building economical suitability programs to teach the women skills for crafts, clothing, and agriculture, so they have more empowerment to create more capital. We are always finding new ways and building out more programs for economic empowerment in the village.
WE NEED SEWING MACHINES.
“We hope to have sewing machines to tailor the clothes of our community and to create better clothing for OneMama collection. Lastly, there are many girls who have dropped out of school and there are many women who stay home who need help in improving our incomes.”
ONEMAMA IN ACTION
OneMama funds itself through teaching the village members how to make clothing and create crafts to sell. We do all this with only one sewing machine. We are looking into ways to expand and buy more sewing machines and create a teaching center for sewing, tailoring, and making crafts to sell. We are moving forward even though we don’t have funds or resources currently to buy sewing machines. If you want to help by donating a sewing machine, connect at [email protected].
WE NEED TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
“Since most OneMama women do not have businesses, they rely heavily on their husbands for everything for their livelihood, things like petroleum jelly, knickers, sanitary pads, etc. These basic needs create fights and in a lot of cases the men will not provide these needs. Most men believe that every thing in a home belongs to the man, so women struggle to get things they need as women even though they do most of the work in the home. This is a huge cause for domestic violence in families. Therefore, there is a need to educate men on their roles and the rights of women in their homes. Since OneMama has started the domestic violence training and economical suitability programs, I have had less violence in my family due to these resources.”
ONEMAMA IN ACTION
In October of 2015, OneMama implemented a domestic violence training program. Since its beginning, the surrounding communities are heavy in attendance and both women and men are learning how to communicate without violence. A big part of that breakthrough is helping women create their own income and the understanding that they have the right to do that. We are still building out these programs, we have a long way to go, but we have seen major changes in the community that we are all proud of.
WE NEED HELP WITH AGRICULTURE.
“Since all families in our rural community depend on farming to survive, most of us don’t have enough food because of the prolonged drought. OneMama women, we need help to irrigate our gardens on a small scale in order to grow food for our families.”
ONEMAMA IN ACTION
OneMama is continuing to bring forward training programs and partnerships to teach our village members how to grow and create lasting crops that are more profitable for the rural community. We are working to expand these efforts to promote smarter agricultural decisions and to earn more income for the families.
WE NEED ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER.
“Most of the families of the OneMama community are lacking safe drinking water and water for domestic usage. The water sources are very far from our homes and this has also increased domestic violence, family breakages, and a higher rate of girl dropping out of school. When women and girls go to fetch water in the evening, men rape them which leads to early and unwanted pregnancies. This has caused STDs, including HIV/AIDS to many families.”
ONEMAMA IN ACTION
Through OneMama’s family-planning training programs we are teaching women how to protect themselves in these scenarios. We are looking to partner with a group who directly targets clean water issues in Uganda.
WE NEED SCHOLASTIC MATERIALS.
“Our husbands have already abandoned their obligation of giving scholastic materials to our children. Our children have no school uniforms, books, pens, pencils, shoes, socks, and sanitary pads. We want our children to have access to better elementary education.”
ONEMAMA IN ACTION
While OneMama doesn’t officially work with traditional education, our economical suitability programs help the women fund and pay for school that the men in their families will not pay for. Our next step is finding partnerships to help provide direct solutions for some of these problems.
From reading, you can tell that there is a common theme scattered throughout each need of the OneMama village – women creating actionable plans to better their lives and the lives of their children. Aligned with the OneMama model of grassroots empowerment, we are asking the individuals in the community to directly voice their most immediate needs. Through this process, we can find the most direct solutions to take action on these high-priority issues. We are building community, enacting actionable solutions on-the-ground, and strengthening the foundation of social change that is OneMama. This is the OneMama way. We love partnering with powerful women, even in the midst of their struggles; they commit to working hard to better the community for themselves and future generations. That is what is at the heart of this OneMama community and all the future OneMama communities.
We are All OneMama.
If any of the specific needs of our community resonate with you, we would love to partner with you. Find more information at OneMama.org.
