Living Hope
Photo album 2014
History Living Hope was established in January 2008 to restore dignity to vulnerable women, most of whom are HIV+, single mothers and returnees from abduction into the LRA rebel army who ravaged northern Uganda. Some of these women had been brutally mutilated and bear the scars of war; others were used as sex slaves, all of them disenfranchised and victims of circumstances they did not create. Through Living Hope, vulnerable women are given a hand up so they’re empowered to take care of themselves and their children. They receive assistance with basic necessities, are empowered with vocational skills and are either employed with the program or provided with microfinance loans to start income-generating projects of their own.
Living Hope
KAMPALA
Opened in 2008, the Living Hope Centre in Kampala, Uganda is located at Watoto Church’s head office downtown. The unit in Kampala facilitates tailoring, liquid soap and candle making. The facility hosts more than 30 ladies who are employed as seamstresses for income generating activities. Discipleship, business training and adult literacy classes are also facilitated at this location.
Living Hope
GULU
The Gulu facility is located in the former Night Commuter Centre on Coronation Road, in Pece Valley. The centre was built to protect children from abduction during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel war. In the aftermath, Gulu district chose to allocate it to Living Hope (rent free) in support of empowering women affected by war. In the Gulu facility the women specialise in peanut butter making, bee keeping and Shea butter development. Discipleship, business training and adult literacy classes are also facilitated at this location.
Living Hope
GUSCO CENTRE
Gusco is a beautiful centre in the heart of Gulu, which was refurbished in 2011 to provide a tranquil environment for women who had been brutally mutilated during the LRA rebel war. As a result of these mutilations, ladies were ostracised by the community and were unable to freely live in society. The program at Gusco aims to help the ladies deal with the trauma of their past. Here they learn to forgive and find acceptance by experiencing the love of God and living a productive life. The ladies also receive discipleship, small business management skills, tools to run a small scale farm and start-up capital.
January
Making Merry During our Christmas party last month, Living Hope honoured 20 women who excelled at our workshops and our Living Hope coordinator in Gulu, Christine Lutara presented them with a special gift. Amongst them was Rhona Namuyomba. We gave her a beautiful handbag for being enthusiastically involved in all our activities at the centre. Rhona showed good leadership skills by helping mobilise other women and she never missed a discipleship class. “I didn’t know I was all those things. It was nice being identified as a leader. I was very, very happy,” she said. Rhona joined our tailoring department last year. Today she is helping us make uniforms for our Watoto schools. This opportunity helps her look after her four children. To learn how you can help us empower women like Rhona, click here.
February
One step at a time
In February, our community workers visited Living Hope ladies in their homes. During a visitation, Teddy Nantongo, 47, proudly displayed her accounts books to Auntie Jolly. Teddy was abandoned by her husband in 2001 when she discovered her HIV status. Since then, Teddy has earned a living by selling a type of fish known locally as mukene. Teddy joined Living Hope last year where she learned how to manage her finances and save money. She also received a loan which enabled her to grow her business. She will finish repaying her loan in just two months, making her eligible for larger loans in the future. To help us empower women like Teddy with the knowledge and skills to become successful businesswomen, visit www.watoto.com/livinghope