Organizational Profile
Background
Agrilinks for Women Empowerment (AWE) Ltd is a non-profit community based, organization founded in 2009 (Formerly known as SAS). AWE was established to promote and benefit the most marginalised, vulnerable and high-poverty sectors among Northern Ugandan communities. Our focus is mainly on women, children and youth who are exposed to adverse effects of stagnant development. AWE is also committed to the overall advancement of the rural Ugandan society to address socio-economic conditions conducive to the livelihood, social development and health needs of the most vulnerable household through strategic advocacy and implementation of programs and projects.
Our Mission
AWE endeavours to ensure sustainable improvement in the quality of life of the marginalised people especially the women and children , particularly among high poverty rural communities through need based, participatory and integrated community development in food security, Livelihood, health and leadership initiatives.
Our Program
Organizational Structure of AWE
Has got a management board based in the US and at Local levels. Local management is headed by an Executive director and local staff. Management formulates policies, directives, programs and budgets, and monitor and oversee the same.
The executive director is Christine Aoyo, an agriculturalist with a masters degree in Agribusiness. She is assisted by other local staffs. She has vast experience in community empowerment and Agribusiness. She has been greatly involved with other structures in AWE to implement the different programmes. AWE is assisted by field coordinators and the elected women group leaders (Master farmers) to network and implement the different project activities. AWE intends to expand to include other structures into a social business.
The head office is located in Gulu Omoro highway. AWE has three Professional staff and one administration assistant. Due to lack of funding these only operate on short term basis depending on available funded activity and when necessary.
Objectives
- Ensure sustainable food security through farmer empowerment
- Improve the income level of targeted communities and sectors through capacity building, sustainable technologies and project development
- Improve the nutritional status and well being of the targeted communities through focused activities
- Improve gender equity by promoting awareness and recognition of fair practices that promote togetherness and unity with male counterparts
- Promote basic health care practices for a healthy growing society
Operational Areas
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.
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.
Focus of Intervention
Food security
The main objective of this program component is to provide seed capital, knowledge, information and training towards a commercialized agriculture which will focus on raising the level of incomes of the targeted communities especially the women farmers.
Nutrition
A range of programs that promote the nutritional status of children and the family at large shall be explored and implemented. This ranges from growing seasonal vegetables, capacity building to use of inexpensive methods that lead to good nutrition; including bakery establishment, family based nutritional campaigns focusing on mothers and children.
Health
AWEs’ program believes that a community that has been exposed to war such as the communities of Northern Uganda needs a massive health revival. There are cross cutting themes such as basic health care practices, reproductive health for the women and girls, HIV/AIDs awareness and protection that are incorporated into the program.
Environmental conservation
There is still low adoption of incentive measures to promote conservation and sustainable use of natural resources without adversely affecting the ecosystem. At the same time there are a few interventions put across by the development actors in this field in the general North and Uganda at large. With this background, AWE has since been involved in carrying out measures that promote environment protection with the women.
Marketing and Value addition
Food security is achieved when high quality products are produced and hence increased income among the farmers. AWE has since been involved in creating awareness about the different methods used by its women members to achieve high equity fame products. These mainly include use solar driers, PICs bags, Dry Cards. The communities are being encouraged through capacity building on the different methods to be adopted on value addition, hence increased access to markets.
Technical training
AWE focuses in particular fields of modern agriculture ,nutrition, Income Generating Activities (IGA), counseling, OVC(Orphaned and Vulnerable Children) /Youth, village savings management, organizational management, Monitoring and Evaluation We will carry out training of community groups, with a focus on women, children and youth. Training to both the community and CBGs (Community based groups) will be conducted so as to enhance the quality of the development programs. Some training is being conducted in collaboration with other partners, especially Gulu University and District Production Departments.
Skills training and provision of startup toolkits
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 between planting seasons when they are not busy. Depending on the level of availability of funding start tools/kits will be provided to enable trainees to apply the learnt skills immediately as they join the field.
Values
- We value community empowerment as a tool for self-sustenance.
- We value free and healthy society in the world
- We value conducive environments for the growth and empowerment of women and their families
- We value environmental protection and conservation
- We value unity and team spirit
- We value service to the community
- We value people centered, family and community focused and people owned programs and projects
Strategies
The effective and efficient achievement of the aforesaid objectives can be attained through:
- Active beneficiary and constituent participation in needs identification, planning and implementation of development efforts
- Addressing and reducing the three interlocking problems of the marginalized communities: poverty, ignorance and disease
- Fostering stewardship and efficient local resource mobilization in development
- Enhancing the development of strong team spirit in leadership
- Inspiring and encouraging indigenous knowledge and appropriate technology to build a strong foundation for sustainable development
- Encouraging and ensuring networking and collaboration among stakeholders that contribute for the common good
- Integrating gender issues in all development interventions
- Building and strengthening the capacity of community based organizations for sustainable management of developmental programs and community empowerment