Let Us Build Ourselves

ISSUE:
Illiteracy amongst women prohibits many individuals in Innocent Baguma's community from understanding and claiming their rights, voting, opening bank accounts and becoming active and vocal members of society. Illiterate women are undervalued by their society. They suffer from a lack of privacy, and must ask others to read documents for them, often leading to deceit and manipulation. Further they have trouble traveling without the ability to read signs, cannot vote on their own, and have difficulty managing their own financial affairs.

SOLUTION:
This male-led team is working to reduce illiteracy amongst women by teaching reading, writing and accounting skills and by holding trainings about women's rights. Their goals for each class of women are that after 12 months:

• 30 women no longer have problems with reading and writing
• 15 more girls are sent to school from the families of the beneficiaries because the families value girls' education
• 50% of the women begin to attend local meetings
• 60% of the women are able to read and understand the laws on civil marriage
• 70% can read the newspaper
• 50% of the women open a bank account
• 10 of the women run for office in local elections after graduation

IMPACT:
Let Us Build Ourselves is working closely with 50 women from the Rwezamenyo Sector in order to offer a truly comprehensive educational experience during their first year of operations. After one year of operations, all of the first class of 30 participants now know the alphabet and can write words, and the team has enrolled a second group of 20 women in 2010. Using Global Grassroots' training skills in partnership development and fundraising, the team was able to collaborate with several other NGO partners to help participants open bank accounts, and secure health insurance for all of the women for 2009. Let Us Build Ourselves is also using workshops from Global Grassroots to teach their participants bookkeeping skills, and the team plans to help the women start small income generating projects using the money they have saved after graduation. At the request of the local community, the group has also begun teaching English classes, and is using the profits they generate to subsidize the cost of their literacy program.