Agrilinks For Women Empowerment (AWE)
AWE is a Social Business in Uganda, dedicated to empowering women. Located in Gulu, Omoro Region.AWE believes women, children, youth and families prosper and flourish when society and its communities provide opportunities to be productive, healthy and live in harmony.
Mission
MISSION STATEMENT: AWE endeavours to empower women farmers in Omoro District/Bobi Subdistrict to achieve a higher standard of living.
VISION: Subsistence women farmers are transformed into middle class citizens.
STRATEGIES: Empower women farmers for higher yields and incomes.
GOALS (CSF): Women farmers will be middle class citizens.
TACTICS: Trainers and extension workers will empower women farmers with improved farming methods.
OBJECTIVES: Higher incomes, family food security, all children go to school.
Areas of Operation
Gulu, Amuru, Omoro.
AWE has been operating in the two districts of Gulu and Amuru, now Omoro district, since 2009. From 2014 our activities have since been supported by funding from different sources. We expect to expand utilizing best practices adopted from our activities in this region. The targeted communities are characterised by low educational and health status, severe levels of poverty, insufficient social services, and low levels of investment in human and local resources both by government and private sectors. Among these are low levels of community capacity accompanied by post war trauma- needs that have been neglected for a long time.
Food Security and Technical Training
With the implementation of low-cost technologies such as solar driers, Dry Cards to identify the correct moment to store food and PICs bags that keep insects from ruining the harvest, AWE can increase food security to families and enable them to sell their products in the off-season, enabling them to increase their income.
Psychosocial Support
Skills, Motherhood, Community.
Most of the northern Uganda community is still recovering from insurgency and many in the community especially the women and girls lack skills as well as hope and encouragement. In particular the child mothers/youth who are parents already at their young age constitute a sector which is generally rated to be doing badly in the region. Psychosocial support activities are emphasized together with the common traditions of the region such as ‘wang-oo’ (evening bonfires) in a manner that restores the values of motherhood, family and community support structures and the family as a whole.
Partnerships
AWE receives funding through valued local and international partnerships, including:
Rotary International (with partners, Kitgum Rotary, Uganda, and Beaverton Rotary, USA.)
Fund to Benefit Women Farmers of Northern Uganda: The Fund to Benefit Women Farmers of Northern Uganda is a 501c3 created in the US as a partner to AWE. All donations to the Fund to Benefit Women Farmers of Northern Uganda benefit AWE.
The Women’s Empowerment Compound
Currently under construction in Gulu, the walled AWE Women’s Empowerment Compound will eventually house a grain storage building, a training center, and a communal bakery/store.
Six AWE Women Trained to Dig Wells
“I never knew that I, as a woman, could receive this kind of training! I am grateful for the support, and I will go back to the village to encourage other women that some things we just fear for nothing; we can together change our society.”
Needed: Makiga Soil Block Press
A great need for AWE is to get one or more presses like this Makiga soil block press, to make stabilized soil blocks to build water storage tanks. An incredible amount of water will come off the roof of the planned grain storehouse, and the current design plans...
Savings and Loan Circles
The AWE women in six villages of Omoro District have formed about 30 Savings and Loan Circles (S&L), each with 12 to 25 members. These circles provide a safe place to save small amounts of money and offer access to capital for small business ventures. Members meet...
Six AWE Women Trained to Dig Wells
“I never knew that I, as a woman, could receive this kind of training! I am grateful for the support, and I will go back to the village to encourage other women that some things we just fear for nothing; we can together change our society.”
Skills Training
AWE continues to empower the Women and the girls and its members with skills training since this is the form of non formal education that is short term and also empowers them to start with an IGA to help their families. The women farmers benefit a lot especially in...
Support for Mothers
Most of the northern Uganda community is still recovering from insurgency and many in the community especially the women and girls lack skills as well as hope and encouragement. In particular the child mothers/youth who are parents already at their young age...