Women support each other: together we are strong!
Upendo, the women’s organization in Lira in Northern Uganda, saved her life. Dorcas Akello (34) was depressed and desperate: she did not know what to do anymore. She was a victim in a violent marriage. Her ex-husband became increasingly aggressive after it became apparent that there were no children. Further examination in a hospital revealed that he was infertile, not Dorcas. But he couldn’t accept that. Dorcas eventually fled the house and came into contact with Florence Angom, the charismatic chairman of the women’s organization Upendo, who offered her warmth and a listening ear. Upendo was set up 20 years earlier by Florence, when the brutal war with the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army was still raged in the area around Lira. Florence focused on the many vulnerable women in the area, to help them, and to try to make a little money together by making and selling local art together. Upendo now also runs a small eatery in Lira, performs for a fee with a local dance group and sometimes organizes catering for hotels. However, the most important thing remains the contact among each other as women, the conversations and the joint processing of traumas caused by poverty, lack of rights and (sexual) violence.
Dorcas is now often taken to meetings by Florence to learn in practice how to run an organization. This also includes professional dealings with donors. Finding a paid job is very difficult for Dorcas, but at Upendo she can release her energy and give something back to others. She might want to become chairman soon! For the time being, she is looking for advice on how she can improve the marketing of the beautiful products that the women make together.