PCI CALL FOR ACTION TO SUPPORT ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN.
PUSH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE (PCI) FUNDING APPEAL,2023.
CALL FOR ACTION TO SUPPORT ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN TO COME OUT OF VULNERABILITY.
The problem we seek to address:
HIV/AIDS services for adolescent girls and young women are still limited, menstrual hygiene needs for adolescent girls and young women are ignored, poverty is still biting and vulnerable families cannot fend for the members in their households and negative coping mechanisms like Child survival sex ,drug abuse and domestic violence are on the increase in the program areas. Adolescent girls and young women are at a big risk of absorbing the negative effects of child abuse, HIV/AIDS ,gender-based violence and household poverty due to their high vulnerability. In the program area , adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) find themselves with “sugar daddies” and other intimate partners who lure them into unprotected sex in exchange for small gifts including food, and sanitary pads thus exposing them to HIV/AIDS and lifelong problems like unwanted children.
Our appeal:
PCI seeks financial support of $50000 from concerned individuals and agencies both profit and nonprofit to intervene in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and care, skills empowerment for beneficiaries and poverty reduction in order to promote and advance the rights of 200 vulnerable children, adolescent girls and young women in Mbale District of eastern Uganda.
Justification for the appeal:
Studies have found adolescence to be characterized by dramatic physical, psychological and social changes that are often not well understood by adults yet, adolescents lack skills to cope with these changes. Adolescent girls and young women in Bufumbo and Jewa Town Council in Mbale District are vulnerable: they highly depend on adults, peers and spouses for life choices, health education and basic needs. Their inexperience and lack of positive guidance exposes them to high risks of contracting HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) human trafficking and general abuse.
Who we are:
PCI is a child focused Uganda indigenous organization driven by the vision, “An empowered Community Safe for Children “and the Mission “To protect children from all forms of abuse through interventions that overcome poverty, ignorance, disease and social injustice. The organization is guided by her core values of: compassion and love for children, time management, professionalism and accountability. We are registered by the Uganda NGO Bureau under Reg No.5101 we operate in Mbale District with head office in Jinja City, Eastern Uganda.
PCI is a partner of choice for stakeholders having a passion for vulnerable children and adolescent girls in rural Uganda. Formed in 2019, PCI’s general objective is saving lives, reducing suffering, promoting human dignity, creating hope and increasing resilience of vulnerable children. PCI is opposed to child rights deprivation, gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, poor adolescence and reproductive health and general community suffering. The organization’s work is centered on four thematic areas: education, health, livelihoods and child protection.
Our Competence:
Since 2019, PCI has directly supported over 200 adolescent girls and young women (10-24) in the rural subcounties of Jewa and Bufumbo in Mbale District of Eastern Uganda. The beneficiaries have been supported through offering tailoring skills and making of reusable sanitary pads for menstrual hygiene management at the PCI’s skills center in Bufumbo.
Our six months artisanal tailoring skills program has increased economic empowerment among AGYW in the program area. With support from the PEPFAR small grant fund and the American Embassy in Uganda we have implemented The Skills for HIV Mitigation and Prevention (SHIMP) project which has supported AGYW to benefit from more tailoring skills, HIV/AIDs awareness and life skills. We have adapted the certified training manuals from PEPFAR such as the Steppingstones and Journeys Plus suitable for engaging adolescent girls and young women. Besides we have an innovation of employing puppetry as a form of mass mobilization and awareness raising on community issues including HIV/AIDS and ASRH. Puppetry is a form of theatre that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, which are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. We employ puppetry skills to mobilize, inform and educate community members in trading centers, schools and churches on key development concerns.
Our Strategic Principle:
“Here for Children”. We are a child centered organization. We believe that well nurtured, empowered and skilled children are the answer to poverty, global peace and development. We are convinced that by supporting adolescent girls and young women(AGYW), we will create opportunities for children under their care to thrive and achieve their potential. We also believe that the world out there is still concerned and compassionate about children and is will to stand with PCI in this cause.
Contact us on:
Pushcommunityp@gmail.com/info@pushcommunityinitiative.org
Tel +256 772 888331.
Website: www.pushcommunityiniative.org
