Tuesday 3 March 2015

Be the Change!

If you had the choice between buying food for your family or purchasing sanitary pads, what would you choose?
In many parts of the world, girls are deprived access to adequate female sanitation facilities. Girls have been found to be using leaves, newspapers and stuffing from their mattresses, anything that they can find, as a substitute. But still, as a result many girls go months of the year without going to school, work, or even leaving the house. This is not okay!!
Every girl in the world deserves to be educated, to be empowered, to feel safe and to live a life free from stigma.  However, for many girls living in developing countries, they are still not receiving these basic rights.  An organisation called ‘Days for Girls’ has obtained feedback from women all over the world, and developed ‘Washable Female Sanitation Kit’s’, which give girls back an average of 180 days of education, health, safety and dignity and that is only in the first 3 years of use!
Education is key to developing a nation and through education of a female; the next generation, the community and a nation are also being educated. Yimba Uganda has decided to jump on board, and help create change in the lives of girls throughout Uganda. Our incredible Ugandan run team holds workshops within the local community, educating them on female hygiene, to empower females in the community, while eliminating any stigma that is associated with female menstruation. 

Currently our packs are being created by a group of very generous women in Australia, however it is our goal to have all sanitation packs produced within Uganda.  Not only will this reduce costs of postage and boost the local economy, it will also encourage Ugandans to take control of the development of their communities and allow them to be the change they want to see in their country.

Yimba Uganda will provide a group of needy Ugandans living in the slums with the opportunity to join our tailoring course, to learn new skills in which they can use to become economically independent, while also being employed to create ‘Hygiene Packs’ for other women in their communities.  As a result these Ugandans will obtain a sense of empowerment and dignity as well as independency, because they are now in a position where they are able to provide for themselves, their families, and their community.
In order to commence our tailoring course and begin Ugandan production and wide spread distribution of these ‘Hygiene Packs’ we need your help! As Yimba Uganda is primarily a fully Ugandan run organisation, we require your assistance in providing the infrastructure for this program. Any amount you would like to donate, whether it is large or small, will go a long way in creating change for women in Uganda. A $10 donation can sponsor the production and distribution costs of one hygiene pack, that is one girl’s life changed with just $10! Up to a $150 donation which will sponsor a sewing machine for a women, which will change the life of her and her family swell as the hundreds of women throughout Uganda, who will receive the packs she has produced.
 If you are not in a position to donate, we would still LOVE for you to be involved in other ways. How about spreading the world to family, friends and your local community?

Thank you so much for your support, whether it is through donating, spreading the word, or keeping is in your prayers.  We hope that you will be inspired to partner with us, to help empower, educate and encourage females in Uganda.  
Please follow the link below to DIRECTLY donate to this amazing project! https://www.mycause.com.au/page/89025/yimbaugandafemalesanitationproject?fb_ref=Default










Whats in our Packs?!

A Big thanks to everyone for your interest in our 'Female Sanitation Project! We are really excited about this project and the change it will bring to the lives of many girls throughout Uganda. I have had a number of people enquiring as to what is actually in our 'Hygiene Packs' so here we are:
1) 1x Drawstring bag: Durable, comfortable and stylish which girls can discreetly carry their packs to school, for up to 3 years!
2) 2x Moisture Barrier Shields: Comfortable and waterproofed to stop any leaks.
3) 8x Absorbent tri-fold pads: Are folded in three for extra coverage and placed within the shields, are fast and discreet to dry and can be washed using little water.
4) 1x Wash Cloth
5) 1x Underwear
6) 1x Soap
7) 1x Zip lock bag: Effective for transporting soiled items.
We had an awesome response from the young women who participated in our first 'Hygiene Workshop and Pack Distribution' in Wairaka in Jinja. We are really excited to distribute our next 50 packs to another group of young women within Jinja District in the coming months. Currently these packs have been created by Sandy Reddan and her amazing team in Australia, as we fundraise for the remainder of our sewing machines, for them to be created by women from Katwe, Kampala. If you would like to partner with us and support this project through a donation or sponsoring of a sewing machine please contact us now! smile emoticon ‪#‎lovetotheworld‬ ‪#‎bless‬‪#‎sustainablechange‬ ‪#‎YimbaUgandaFemaleSanitationProject‬

If you want to know more information Head to http://www.daysforgirls.org an amazing organisation that has inspired us to help young women in Uganda! 

Our First Distribution!!

What an exciting time for Yimba Uganda, as we kick-start 2015 with a brand new project! Last week we had the great privilege of launching our ‘Female Sanitation Project’ in Wairaka, Jinja. This project is aimed at providing females with direct access to sustainable female hygiene and awareness, to instill dignity, to empower and encourage education within the next generation of girls, and to eliminate any associated stigma or misunderstandings around female hygiene that are held in the community. Currently Sandy Reddan and her amazing team in Australia are hard at work creating these packs, however in the coming months we hope to launch a tailoring course, training Ugandans to create these packs themselves, enhancing economic independence and empowerment within their communities. If you would like to support this program through sponsoring or donating towards a sewing machine please contact us now to find out how! A big thank-you to all of our volunteers who helped out on the day, The Reddan Family for their ongoing support and to all of you who have been praying for us, none of this would have been possible without you. ‪#‎lovetotheworld‬ ‪#‎creatingchange‬ ‪#‎empower‬ ‪#‎dignity‬ ‪#‎education‬‪#‎opportunity‬