A better life for Hope

19-year-old Hope grew up in a poor family and at one point had to drop out of school because her parents could not afford to pay her school fees. At 16, she ran away from home and moved in with her boyfriend. She started going out and partying a lot, started taking drugs and having sex for money. At the time, it was Hope's only opportunity to earn money, so she could pay rent, get food and clothes on her body. Hope, who was otherwise on the pill, forgot it for a period of time and became pregnant.

A NEW FUTURE WITH HER OWN MOBILE SALON

Hope didn't get any support from her boyfriend, so she moved back in with her parents. Today she is a single mom of a one-year-old girl and still lives at home. But there are indications that she faces a better future:

On the radio, she heard about a project that the Plan International is behind with support from ZENZ. The project trains women in various crafts so that they have the opportunity to earn money to support themselves. In addition to learning hairdressing skills, Hope is very involved in other activities offered by Plan International Denmark. She participates, e.g. in debates and various sports activities, and she has learned a lot about her rights and how her body works.

Today she owns a mobile hairdressing salon, so she has enough money to support herself and her child.

In an open-air hairdressing salon, a bride-to-be gets her make-up fixed. Many young women work in the salon, who have received help to get hairdressing training. They all come from poor backgrounds in the slums of Uganda's capital, Kampala, and for many of them, getting an education means they are not forced into prostitution to earn money.

A PROJECT FOR CHANGE

Many more girls and women will benefit from the project in Kampala that ZENZ and Plan International Denmark supports. The collaboration ensures that more women can get entrepreneurial training and learn the necessary skills to earn money, for example by working in a hairdressing and beauty salon. The free education gives vulnerable women a way out of poverty. The women who take part in the project not only receive money to feed themselves and their families. They are being educated about children's well-being, nutrition and health. The women also receives help to process their harsh past. 

ZENZ work with a promise to always to better with respect for people and the planet these includes supporting partner's promote and work for good health, gender equality and quality education. Our collaboration with Plan International Denmark makes it possible to make a difference for those who really need it.


With the project in Kampala, ZENZ supports the UN's Development Goals for Sustainability #3, #4 and #5. Read more here.

Read more about our project with Plan International Denmark to support the girls in Uganda here and here.

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Et bedre liv for Hope

19-årige Hope er vokset op i en fattig familie og måtte på et tidspunkt droppe ud af skolen, fordi hendes forældre ikke havde råd til at betale hendes skolepenge. Som 16-årig stak hun af hjemmefra og flyttede ind hos sin kæreste. Hun begyndte at gå meget i byen og feste, begyndte at tage stoffer og dyrke sex for penge. På det tidspunkt var det Hopes eneste mulighed for at tjene penge, så hun kunne betale husleje, få mad og tøj på kroppen. Hope, der ellers var på p-piller, glemte det i en periode og blev gravid. 

NY FREMTID MED EGEN MOBIL FRISØRSALON

Hope fik ingen støtte fra sin kæreste, så hun flyttede tilbage til sine forældre. I dag er hun enlig mor til en etårig pige og bor stadig hjemme. Men noget tyder på, at hun går en bedre fremtid i møde: 

I radioen hørte hun om et projekt, som PlanBørnefonden står bag med støtte fra ZENZ. Projektet uddanner kvinder i forskellige håndværk, så de får mulighed for at tjene penge til at forsørge sig selv. Ud over at lære frisørhåndværk, er Hope meget engageret i andre af de aktiviteter, som PlanBørnefonden udbyder. Hun deltager f.eks. i debatter og forskellige sportsaktiviteter, og så har hun lært meget om sine rettigheder og om, hvordan hendes krop fungerer. 

I dag ejer hun en mobil frisørsalon, så hun tjener nok penge til at forsørge sig selv og sit barn. 

I en frisørsalon under åben himmel får en vordende brud ordnet sin makeup. I salonen arbejder mange unge kvinder, som har fået hjælp til at få en frisøruddannelse. De kommer alle fra fattige kår i slummen i Ugandas hovedstad, Kampala, og for mange af dem betyder det at få en uddannelse, at de ikke bliver tvunget ud i prostitution for at tjene penge. 

SAMMEN GØR VI EN FORSKEL

Mange flere piger og kvinder vil få gavn af det samarbejde, som ZENZ og PlanBørnefonden har indgået. Samarbejdet sikrer, at flere kvinder kan få iværksættertræning og lære nødvendige færdigheder til at tjene penge, eksempelvis ved at arbejde i en frisør- og skønhedssalon. Den gratis uddannelse giver de udsatte kvinder en vej ud af fattigdom. De kvinder, der deltager i projektet, får ikke kun penge til at brødføde sig selv og deres familier. Kvinderne får også undervisning i børns trivsel, ernæring og sundhed samtidig får de også hjælp til at bearbejde deres barske fortid.

Hos ZENZ arbejder vi med et løfte om altid at gøre det bedre med respekt for mennesker og planeten. Dette ansvar inkluderer at støtte partneres indsats for at fremme sundhed, ligestilling og uddannelse i verden. Vores samarbejde med PlanBørnefonden gør det muligt at gøre en forskel for dem, der virkelig har brug for det.

 

Læs mere om vores udviklingsprojekt med PlanBørneFonden for at støtte pigerne i Uganda her og her.