“The main motivation I was involved to EACO was that it is a non-profit organization run by  Ugandans and it empowers the needy in the rural communities. I have seen and experienced first-hand that the most successful community development projects are those run by Ugandans themselves.'' Shadrak Kyobe Project Coordinator.

 

At EACO, we  have a belief that every human being is a unique individual and that we all have a right to good health and basic needs and should access means to a comfortable life in one way or another

The Empower And Care Organization provides physical and psychosocial support to marginalized and at-risk women, vulnerable children  youth and the elderly living in the Mukono district. EACO has a special focus on single mothers, widows, and women who are taking care of orphaned children. The organization seeks to empower women through economic development, which it achieves through education programs, vocational training, and the provision of health care. EACO also campaigns for Poverty, HIV/AIDS and human awareness and provides direct support to children who have been orphaned as a result of the Poverty, HIV/AIDS, Violence, Displacement War, or Conflict. In addition to providing orphans with school supplies, EACO has established and created income-generating opportunities for women, vulnerable children, youth and the elderly living in the Mukono district.    

Working in a Rural and Agricultural Community

The community in which EACO is situated is largely rural, with most people making very low incomes through agricultural activities.

EACO’s activities are targeted toward vulnerable women, particularly widows and those living with HIV/AIDS, as well as vulnerable children, youth, and the elderly.

EACO is committed to a development process that promotes equality. EACO believes in and strives to uphold the rights and dignity of all people especially in the rural communities. EACO upholds principles of stewardship with its resources and is committed to support vulnerable children and disadvantaged people fight poverty, ignorance and diseases such as Malaria and HIV/AIDS.  

Accomplishments

We have empowered 4o women house hold  with knowledge and skills in beekeeping, as a way of addressing rural poverty and general health issues  provided them with a set of basic tools and support to help them get off the poverty trap. Funding came from the US Embassy Kampala through the community Grants Office, you can also join us 

Income Generating Activities Promote Independence 

• Of 80 widows and other vulnerable children (OVC) who have implemented or are currently implementing Income Generating Activities (IGA) with EACO’s support, 60 have begun to generate enough income from their activities to independently support themselves and their families.

       Shadrak Kyobe, Zikula Client and David Agricultural trainer at the banana project

 Batuuka Prossy and Luciano Bianchi a volunteer from Italy at the clients Mushroom project

• Of the 47 remaining beneficiaries, clients are moving on well and making profits for themselves. Ten are in the nascent stages of establishing their IGA. This project was made possible thanks to the support of International Justice Mission Uganda.

Training Future Entrepreneurs

EACO has learned the importance of gauging individual interest and level of commitment to the project before providing IGA assistance.

EACO held a work-shop at Zion-church. The theme of this work-shop was on entrepreneurship: How to Start a Money-Generating Activity and How to Handle the Projects, and other related topics.

During the work-shop, clients were taught the qualities an entrepreneur must have, and  the challenges and risks he must take in order to achieve his objectives.

• Of the 47 clients (who are included in the 80 beneficiaries in the bullet point above) with whom EACO has been working since December 2008, 36 clients have begun to generate enough income from their activities to begin independently supporting themselves and their families.

The 10 remaining clients are still in the nascent stages of establishing their IGA.

Maize & sweet potato gardensEACO has also supported the community in which it operates through programs that addresses some of its most pervasive needs.

EACO has provided 70 grandmothers and 270 OVC with support tailored to their specific needs. 

This has included activities such as “top-up” of school fees and funding midday meals for school children, construction of houses for the elderly, and providing gardening supplies so that families are able to grow their own food.  As you can see in the                                 photo.

Vocational and Life Skills Training Program

Finally, through the Vocational and Life Skills Training Program, EACO has facilitated the development of economic sustainability for previously destitute individuals with little or no income. We also had 7 workshops for our clients where 200 women, girls and youth were provided training and individualized instruction in entrepreneurship, marketing techniques for small businesses, micro finance, and the implementation of income generating activities (IGA). This support was from Sure Volunteers of Sure University in England. We help workshops in December in the areas of Namaganga Kyampisi subcounty, Lugali village Nama Subcounty and Kabembe.

Sure Volunteers assisting the workshop in Kabembe

Considering that in EACO’s community, 74% of members of the general public earn less than two dollars a day, 71% of widows earn less than one dollar a day, and most orphans generate no income at all , the Vocational Life Skills Program meets an urgent need in the community – and has succeeded in making 80 community members financially independent.

This client has been able to produce eggs from her project; pay the school fees for her children with the income earned from sales, as well as improving her and her families health by consuming them.

IGA Helps Women Send Their Children to School

Rose Misago is really very happy for the support given to her through EACO:

“I didn’t have food but now I have food to eat and sell to the market, I have managed to take my children to school and they are now living a happy life. Thanks to EACO management and those who are supporting its activities. May God bless you in abundance.”

Nalongo Plaxeda did piggery and she has started making money since her pigs have  given birth:

“ I am really happy with this project. My income level was very poor but now I can earn something bigger. I have been able to take my children to school as well expanding my garden and now I have enough food to eat and sell to the market in order to sustain my family.  Thanks to EACO and to all those who are supporting its activities may God bless you ”

EACO has developed supportive relationships with other organizations

In the Mukono District, during periods of low rainfall when shallow water wells dry out, women and children walk up to 10 kilometers in search of clean water. More often than not, this results in children not attending school and women having less time to engage in income-generating activities.

With funding from Vibrant Village Foundation, EACO has constructed and repair boreholes in the villages of Namasumbi, Nabale and Nyanja and trained residents in borehole maintenance and repair to ensure sustainability. EACO will also conduct sanitation and hygiene education classes for villagers.

The goal of this project is to make clean water accessible within 1 kilometer for 100% of the people in rural Mukono and bring relief to thousands of residents, including those in surrounding communities.

EACO has also developed supportive relationships with other organizations. Through its partnership with Hopacom, HIV+ community members receive more comprehensive services: they are not only able to receive counseling and ARVs, but also the nutrition they need to live successfully with the disease. Further, EACO partners with International Justice Mission Uganda, US Embassy Kampala, UNDP/UNV and http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/, Just A Drop.

EACO also receives support in several different ways from International volunteers, individual community members. Though EACO contracts professional trainers to conduct its income generation and entrepreneurship training workshops, volunteer trainers from the community work alongside the professional trainers to make participant home visits where participants are provided with materials, instruction, and support in implementing income generating activities. EACO currently has seven permanent volunteers serving in this role, all of whom are retirees with a professional background in agriculture. EACO also receives volunteers on a seasonal basis who help with tasks that do not require specialized professional skills, such as sorting and distributing donated food staffs, clothes, Scholastic materials and others to OVCs, Widows, and the elderly.

Other support EACO receives from individual community members includes project participant contribution of the labor necessary to construct the structures needed to implement their IGA, such as pig pens and chicken coups. EACO also receives donations from individuals in the community, both in-kind – for instance, user rights to the kibanja used for the EACO demonstration site and foodstuffs for HIV+ community members – as well as monetary donations.

Public Health. EACO with support from volunteers was able to put up a a latrine for this home which had a poor latrine which was also dangerous to the children. 

 Thank you for your generous support towards our community, you've made our people improve their health and sanitation, and they are going to live a happy life. They said and are still saying "thank you very much for having warm hearts; May God bless you." 

As EACO we are very grateful for being open and able to help where need was shown. It was on short notice but you showed your love and kind heart to our beneficiaries. Lucy, your coming to EACO, was really a blessing. And EACO team wishes to continue working with you, your friends that is Harriet and Jo and more people you think you can talk to about our projects more so in that field of public health and other projects; thank you for speaking on our behalf and we know you will continue. We love you and cherish you.

Harriet & Jo, your love and support towards this project has real made a difference in the lives of this family!