Action Aid celebrates women

Three years ago Justine Nabifuga separated with her husband with whom she had three children. Nabifuga‘s husband had married another woman and decided to abandon her for the second wife.

"The work load became too much for me till I could not bear the burden anymore, so I decided to look for start up capital for my business to be able to pay my children's school fees and to pay house rent," Nabifuga recalls,

Nabifuga borrowed sh100, 000 to buy groundnuts and sugar, cups plus tea leaves and started to work.

She became a market vendor as soon as she got the money and now sells tea and roasted ground nuts in Kalerwe market.

Because of many women like Nabifuga facing injustices in their marriages these  are the reasons Action Aid and Institute for social transformation are celebrating women.

Speaking at a women's gathering organized by Action Aid and Institute for Social Transformation, Nivatiti Nandujja Action Aid Uganda Women's Rights Coordinator said, there are high rates of gender based violence in urban communities mainly with in the small, entrepreneurs in the businesses and markets thus compelling Action Aid to meet such women and give them skills on how to start up business and fight against poverty.

"We don't offer cash to the women but we listen to their complaints and latter raise them before government or Parliament, so that they are rectified," Nandujja said.

Grace Akullu programmes officer Institute for Social Transformation (IST) said they train women in leadership skills and capacity building in business and financial literacy to help the women create jobs and help them fight poverty in their families.

She said women in market places are the marginalised majority in the informal sector where much of their effort is overlooked.

She added: "Such women are invisible in both the eyes of government and other stake holders, thus a need to celebrate them."

"Their immense potentials have for long not been earthed, nurtured, and supported," she said citing that women in market places have limited time to participate in public events since most of their time is spent in market places.

Akullu said it's very paramount for Action Aid and I to bring such services closer to women at their convenient time and space so that they too feel that they are recognised and are thought of.