Telling the ECSA Story

Zawadi Maransi  lives in Goma, North Kivu Province in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with her husband and their two children. She has   been active in the Mawe Tatu (II) project since 2019, participating in a VSLA group, partaking in entrepreneurship trainings, and even eventually starting her own successful soap-making business. Zawadi Maransi BEFORE MAWE TATU Before her soap business was up and running, Zawadi was not able to find a way to consistently contribute to meeting household needs for her family. Her family was surviving 100% on the money her husband received from his work, and even then, it was only a means to get from day to day – it was not a long term solution or sufficient, not even fully covering a month’s needs. Borrowing money was a frequent option, but that only further complicated   her family’s   financial situation.   “We could borrow from where we normally buy goods in the neighborhood…[but] I knew at the end of the mon...

  Mary Athou, 45 “Agriculture is one of the ways to empower women at the grassroots level because it does not need one to write but dig with the skills they acquire from different organizations,”  says Mary Athou, 45. Her words may sound simple but are powerful and carry a lot of weight.   This words come from a place of disappointment due to gender inequality that is triggered by cultural norms. This gender inequality has for years deprived girls and women of their right to attain an education making women lag. The mother of five, who is the bread winner of her family, depends purely on agriculture as her source of income. Mary in her farm She recalls that during her childhood, growing up was not easy. “As a woman in my community, we had limited opportunities which made life quite challenging but am glad that a lot has changed today because Organizations like CARE are here, not only to provide help, but build resilience and make us self-reliant.” she says. Mary is a FEED...

Anneta Ayuru Aliga, 52 years old, is a widow, and mother of six children. Anneta takes care of her seven grandchildren in Mugali Payam located in Eastern Equatorial. Annetta was in the refugee camp in Uganda but returned to her village in 2009 and thereafter in 2010 lost her husband leaving her a huge responsibility of taking care of their grandchildren single handedly. “ The toughest time in my life was when my husband died, leaving me with seven orphaned grandchildren. My day starts with preparing breakfast, followed by fetching water, cooking, bathing the children then attend to my income generating activities like fetching firewood and burning charcoal, and during the dry season my main source of income is cutting grass for sale .” Annetta says as she explains her typical day. Anneta in her farm  Besides being a farmer, Anneta completed senior three and acquired skills in sewing table clothes and bed sheets from Juba and Gulu Uganda. Her skill set earned her a job as a Hygi...