Telling the ECSA Story

Agatha showcasing her soya nutrition flour "Sote Lishe"     Agatha Mkayula,49, a mother of 6 children, resides in Ibumila village in Iringa DC, Tanzania. In 2017, she engaged in the Growing is Learning project. She has received multiple trainings in Soya farming practices, Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), home gardening, Participatory Scenario Planning, post-harvest management, recordkeeping & data quality, food types, Gender-Based Violence and entrepreneurship. Agatha had an opportunity of participating in the soybean processing training in 2018 and commenced her small scale business. She processed soybean drinks and nutritional flour for children/adults in the same year. "I was engaged in a project as a mere farmer with an increased responsibility of being a lead farmer," Agatha says. Conversely, it was an eye-opener for her. However, Agatha used soft plastic bags to pack soybeans products which limited my markets opportunities due to the use of poor pa...

  Khadija Ahmed at the water point at Ashabito, in Mandera. Prior to the drilling of the borehole and operationalization of the pump, the community would have to access water from a waterpan that was also used by cattle and other animals. this exposed them to waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera. (CARE/ David Mutua) Mandera County is one of the most water insecure counties in Kenya as indicated in the County Government’s 2021 fiscal strategy paper. Perennial droughts and the hot climatic conditions in the county have worsened the situation. In a survey conducted by Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA) in February 2021, only 49.3% of all households surveyed reported accessing water from safe improved, or semi-improved water points. In Ashabito location, which has been one of the area's hardest hit, Senior Chief Jele Ali explains, “From the colonial days this area has always been quite dry. We used to have two dams which have since dried.” Located in...

  Françoise Mbweki en plein travail de fabrication d'un masque à Goma. CARE/David Mutua Depuis 2020, la pandémie de COVID-19 a fait des centaines de milliers de victimes, mis à rude épreuve les systèmes de santé et détruit les économies et les moyens de subsistance. La République démocratique du Congo n'a pas été épargnée et, le 6 avril 2020, les villes du pays ont été confinées à la suite de la fermeture des frontières avec les pays voisins.     Cela a eu un effet dévastateur sur le pays. Selon la Banque mondiale, on estime que 73 % des personnes vivent avec moins de 1,90-dollar par jour en RDC. Le confinement a empêché de nombreuses femmes travaillant dans le secteur informel, comme les vendeuses de nourriture, les couturières et les épicières, d'accéder aux marchés où elles s'approvisionnent. Dans le même temps, les experts de la santé ont conseillé à la population de porter des masques pour endiguer la propagation de la maladie. Néanmoins, dans un pays où de n...

My name is Aline YAMINYOBORA. I am 23 years old. I live on Buseruko hill, in Mugina commune of Cibitoke province. I was born in a modest family. My father Jérôme NSABIMANA, a 62 years old butcher and my mother Félicité HAKIZIMANA, 48, a farmer, both manage to provide for their six children: 3 girls and 3 boys and I am the fifth child of this family. Since my young age, my mother has always advised me to study, prepare my future, pay attention to boys who could mislead me and destroy my life but I did not pay attention. At the age of 15, I was in 6 th grade and I passed the national test but could not get the grade required to go to high school. I had to leave my commune to study in a private craft school and I took the sewing option. The school was located in another neighboring commune of Rugombo where I had to walk one hour in the morning and evening. There are lots of vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles on Mugina and Rugombo road. People I didn’t know could stop to give me an...

October 20, 2018 Joyce Driciru, 30, is one of 45 refugee s and host community youths who participated in skills training in Omugo, an extension of Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Northwestern Uganda. Joyce is originally from Arua, Uganda and is a single mother to her three children, ages 10, 8, and 5. Joyce completed a 7-week instruction of bakery and catering at the skills learning center. Joyce started skills training in late August 2018 and finished in October 2018. This project is implemented by CARE and local partner WINEPS, with funding from Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA). Joyce at the skills learning center with fresh sambusas. In early March 2018, Joyce was one of 208 youth selected to attend business skills training and receive mentorship in business plan development. Before Joyce attended the business skills training, she was not working and was staying at home. The father to her children is no longer in the area and does not support them fi...

October 24, 2018 On a windy, cloudy day I went to visit Hellen Yomi at her small business, Hellen Yomi Enterprises. Upon my arrival, her business had several customers under a common sitting area Hellen and her husband recently built to add value to her shop. She pointed out, “ This is an area people like to come and drink sodas and socialize.” Hellen is one of 201 youths in Omugo, an extension of Rhino Camp, being trained in business skills, mentored, and supported with a 1-time in-kind grant. This project is funded by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) and implemented by CARE International in Uganda and local partner, WINEPS. At the end of the training, each youth was supported in writing a business plan for a business they plan to open. After a vetting process, 200 youth, including Hellen, were selected to receive in-kind start up grants that enabled her to apply her business skills knowledge to start her business. Hellen standing in her shop. Hellen, 25, ...