Team Women

Overview

NKURINGO EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT was started nine years ago with the express aim of helping the people in this poor remote community have a better life.  We have always looked to enable the community rather than dictate to them and over the years so far have achieved many things which can be seen in the pages of this website.

We have now embarked on one of our biggest projects to date.

When we are in Nkuringo we are surrounded by women.  The women’s groups dance for us and sell us baskets, bags and other things they have made.  We see the women toiling in the fields – so many of them bringing up children on their own.  Women, always smiling, always there, always so pleased to applaud when we help a child or another member of the community through difficult times.  We felt it was time not just to see these women but to really see them, to understand and appreciate them – and perhaps unite them into a powerful group where each person feels supported and has a voice.

We needed something to turn all these women into a Team…… yes that was it:

Team Women.  Their strapline is:  Stronger Together.

We spoke to the women.  We had a very positive enthusiastic response.  Just like the schools give focus to the students, Team Women should become an entity in which each woman, young and old, can feel that they still have an option to grow and have a future with hope.

In 1915 in the UK an organisation was started that was shaped by its members.  It set out to give women a voice and be a force for good in the community.  A place where women of all generations could share experiences and learn from each other.  That organisation is still thriving.  It is called the Women’s Institute. Wouldn’t it be great if Team Women could walk that same path.

Of course, such a big initiative needs a focal point, a place to meet, to share ideas and support.  Currently the women meet on grass verges, weather permitting.  With a proper meeting room we could really expand on the ways we support the women – and through them the larger community. We hope to provide a Community building which the women, among others, will be able to use.  Read more on our Community building blog about this project.

We have the women on side.  So far 127 women across four groups have been sponsored for £25 a year each and provided with a t-shirt with the distinctive Team Women logo.  The sponsor money has been split between their own women’s group to help provide materials for their crafts and other necessities and the rest goes into the Team Women pot to provide education and training.  Classes have already started and women who have never had the opportunity to learn to read and write are now embracing this opportunity with open arms (even if the classes are currently outside on the grass).  Students from the secondary school are so thrilled their mothers and relatives are getting this chance they have stepped forward to mentor them between classes so they can make the most of everything they are taught.

Even better, sponsors have begun to come forward to give a boost to our Team Women initiative.  Each group now owns pigs – the pigs will produce to provide an income to the group as well as increase their herd.  

So, the women are sponsored and already working well together for a better future.  Classes have started and there are more group initiatives pooling the resources of all.  We expect within five years the Team Women initiative will be able to support itself.

In the meantime, baby steps. Remember: Alone we are Pebbles, Together we are a Mountain.

With so much enthusiasm and hard work already turning the wheels we are confident we will reach our goals.