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Ka Tutandike Uganda joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International day for people with Disability. This year, the theme for the day is ‘Sustainable development: the promise of technology’. The focus is ‘practical and concrete action to include disability in all aspects of development as well as further the participation of persons with disability in social life and development on the basis of equality’. We are all called upon to highlight progress and obstacles in implementing disability-sensitive policies, as well as promoting public awareness to break barriers and open doors: for an inclusive society for all.
In this regard, Ka Tutandike Uganda (KTU) embarked on the development of social enterprise as a new paradigm to deliver its charity interventions. Marginalized disabled women are key stakeholders in this venture. Vulnerable women and girls who in a patriarchal society like Uganda, Already face marginalization and discrimination because of their gender. Women and girls with disabilities face further compounded marginalization and discrimination because of their disability. KTU has, therefore chose to specifically work with women and girls with disabilities to participate in the our social enterprise #KaTuHoney, and be part of the value chain through use of local technologies to engage in beekeeping as a viable and profit-making business.
Since May 2014, Ka Tutandike has worked with with 100 women with disabilities to-date in Masaka and Luweero districts to help them set up apiaries for beekeeping, develop financial plans for investing the profits from the raw honey sales, and develop reinvestment plans. This strategy we believe will improve their family livelihoods; help them educate their children and vastly improve their family health and well-being.
Looking ahead we envisage that the women and girls with disability through their groups will then become micro-entrepreneurs and will be trained to organize themselves into cooperatives so that they can scale up the businesses, which will assist their growth into semi-commercial scale businesses to compete favorably in the commercial market.
By economically empowering disabled women we believe that they will have the opportunity to become independent and self-reliant and make a positive contribution as productive citizens
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