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





Tuesday, 9 December 2014

HEALTH FOR ALL

'Health Is Not a Commodity or a Privilege, It Is a Human Right!' We are proud supporters of Universal Health Coverage Day Because it Transforms Communities, Economies and Nations! Join the Global Coalition Calling For #HealthForAll #LoveToTheWorld #EveryNation #YimbaUganda




Monday, 27 October 2014

BIG THANK YOU

On behalf of Yimba Uganda I would like to recognize and appreciate the very hard work of 2 very humble people who have played an intricate role in the success of Yimba Uganda.

Chris and Sandy Reddan from Australia are one of the strong pillars of Yimba Uganda. To not thank and appreciate them for their hard work and ongoing efforts towards the progress of the organisation would be unfair, even though I know they would rather it be like that, simply because of their overwhelming humility.

To start with, they have been very supportive of their daughter Anne Marie and all the work she does in Uganda even if it means her being away from home for several months every year. They also were the best hosts I could ever have wished for during my stay in Australia, making sure I never lacked a thing, had the best fun and continuously going out of their way to make sure I attained some life skills like swimming (black boys can swim hehe).

They have selflessly financially given to the organization to help run most of our projects. In addition to that they continuously physically work hard at all of our fundraisers and markets (often more than the rest of us), including waking up at 6am to set up, as well as selling their own plants, and home made crafts!

They are a truly spiritually guided couple, continuously encouraging me during hard times, and praying for the progress of the organisation. But most of all, they have loved me and love everyone who has the chance to be around them.


I pray that God will greatly reward you and continue to bless the work of your hands and fulfilling your hearts desires. You surely do all you can to be a blessing to those less privileged than yourselves, and would like to take this opportunity to say a heart-felt thank you!



#yimbauganda  #lovetotheworld #changemakers #thankyou #appreciation





Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Kikaramoja Slum Overview

Check this out, Anne-Marie being interviewed about Yimba Uganda's first outreach in Kikaramoja Slum! Take a listen

http://lightfm.com.au/conversation-with-clayton/anne-marie-reddan




Monday, 20 October 2014

Australia Outreach

Well, the last 3 months have absolutely flown by and Emmanuel has safely just arrived back in Uganda again after 3 months abroad in Australia.

We had an amazing time in Australia, fundraising for future projects, raising awareness for current needs and projects and celebrating the unique Ugandan culture with communities in Australia. We would like to take this opportunity to THANK everyone who supported us throughout this time; to the schools who opened their doors to us and allowed us to run cultural engagement programs with your students, to the individuals we have come into contact with and have supported us through donations, purchasing our crafts or through your prayers, to the community groups and churches who invited us to minister to them, and to everyone else who gave us support in anyway.

This is a very exciting time Yimba Uganda, as when 'one door closes another door opens' and we are looking forward to launching our new projects in the coming months. We would really appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time to ensure we make the right decisions and are able to have a positive impact on those we are trying to assist. So watch this space to see what we are getting up to BACK IN UGANDA in the next few months.

#Love to the World
YIMBA UGANDA