COVID Restrictions Have Put Them at Risk
By Leslee Goldstein, PhD
Director of Charitable Programs for AWAGO, Uganda
For the past several years I have been working with ultra-poor women living in Kampala, working with an organization called AWAGO, African Women and Girls Organization. AWAGO partners with NGOs and Community Organizations that provide skills training and counseling to these women. There are currently over 3000 women and over 2500 children who have benefitted from AWAGO’s programs. AWAGO provides training in the Transcendental Meditation® program (TM®). A 2018 research study in Uganda found that TM helped women reduce stress, increase self-efficacy—their percieved ability to cope and deal with challenges in their lives, and improve mental and physical quality of life—clearer thinking, greater energy and vitality.
An urgent situation has arisen for these women…
… and that has driven me to personally undertake a timely fundraiser to help these women feed their families.
In Uganda, 70% of women who live in poverty make their income as street vendors selling things like mangos or tomatoes.
Two COVID lockdowns have forced these women out of work. And while the economy is slowly re-opening, the government has put many restrictions related to mitigating COVID on street vendors and markets.
But the effect has been to force these women to sell their wares by moving from place to place to avoid police, and often selling at night. This is risky and dangerous, made even more dangerous by the risk of gender violence that often confronts them.
Here’s how you can help
To overcome these barriers, I am raising funds to cover the cost of market stall rent for two months for these women to have access to safe and legal market stalls.
Market stall rent is $14 per month and we have 1550 women who need our help.
Please help me raise $45,000. We’ve already raised almost $5,000.
What’s so cool about this is that once these women have their stall rent for a couple of months, they’ll make enough to pay it themselves in the future, so you’re really giving them a permanent livelihood, help them create self-sufficiency, and allow them to feed their families!
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO DONATE
Donations will be processed by a local 501c3 charity here in Fairfield, Iowa where I live: Sacred Sun Ministries, headed by my good friend Sandy Kelly, who so kindly has offered to help with this fundraising outreach.
1) USE PAYPAL:
The Paypal address is: sacredsun@lisco.com
- Please designate the ‘Family and Friends’ option, so that Paypal will not take a fee from your donation.
- In the ‘Notes’ section please designate your inspiration (AWAGO) so that your donation is credited to the correct account.
2) OR DONATE BY CHECK:
Make checks payable to: Sacred Sun Ministries
IMPORTANT: Please leave the memo blank, and include a note with your check saying ‘inspired by AWAGO’
Please include your active email address to receive an email acknowledgment of your donation, or include your mailing address if you prefer to receive an acknowledgment by mail.
Mail checks to me:
Leslee Goldstein
1750 Jupiter Avenue
Fairfield, Iowa 52556
Together let’s meet this challenge and transform the lives of these women!!!
Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!
Love
Leslee