Ride 4 a Woman in Uganda Africa

Hi, I am Ann Lauer Waterman,

Ron and I just returned (10/2023) from our second visit to Ride 4 a Woman in Bwindi, Uganda Africa where we spent 5 days with Ride 4 a Woman. What we found was exciting and inspiring and we returned even more committed to raising awareness for and helping support this exceptional organization. I have updated the information below and have added photos from our recent trip to my website. https://grizzlygulchgallery.com/african-quilters/?et_fb=1&PageSpeed=off . Every dollar donated helps support the organization's programs and the community.

Ride 4 a Woman exists to support over 300 local women in 12 surrounding communities who are struggling with domestic violence, poverty, homelessness and other terrible hardships. There is no running water and nearly no electricity in Bwindi and the surrounding villages - the poverty is staggering. They rely totally on items that they make and sell to tourists and on donations.

In early December after visiting the Ride 4 a Woman (R4W) in September 2021, I started this Go Fund Me page. Your generosity helped them make it through the lean time of 2021 and 2022, alleviating the need to lay off staff and cancel community projects. We are continuing to support them in 2023 and going forward as they continue to face daunting challenges.

At the R4W community center women learn to weave baskets and to use treadle sewing machines to make quilts, clothing and a variety of bags and small items to help support their families. They use treadle sewing machines and charcoal powered irons. The fabric for one quilt costs $100.

This trip, I worked with 4 teams of 2 women to make 4 different quilt patterns. They had never read a pattern, seen diagrams, used a square ruler nor used the designations on a straight ruler to cut strips. They were very excited to learn these new techniques and by the end of the 5 days I was working with them, the 8 women had made 9 quilts! 

But R4W does not just help these women, they help the entire community. Evelyn, who founded R4W in 2009, has also started a Hope for a Girl Child program offering counseling to girls 12 - 20 so that they can make a plan for their future rather than "standing along the road" or "working at night". The counseling now includes delaying marriage and birth control. The average woman in Uganda has 6.5 children.

She has also started a program to give families in the Bwindi area one goat. The goat can be bred at 6 months so the family donates one of the usual 2 kids back to R4W. After that, the goat(s) are the property of the family and provides them financial security. One goat costs $80 and so far R4W has been able to donate over 100 goats to families. Evelyn hopes to provide all 300 families with one goat.

Evelyn also plans to enlarge the water purification program at R4W. This program provides clean water for the women who would otherwise have to walk an additional 3 miles and hand-carry the water back to their primitive homes.

Private primary school for a child costs $500/year. This includes uniforms, books, shoes and a contribution to teacher salaries. Public primary school is free but there are often 100 children in a class and the teacher is not always there. Those students are far behind students in the private schools and they still have to have uniforms! R4W sews uniforms because families cannot afford them if the child does not have a sponsor. You can insure a year's education for a child with a $500 donation.

Evelyn is raising funds to purchase solar panels for homes. Because there is nearly no electricity, children cannot read and study in the evenings. A panel, wiring and batteries for one home costs $200. The rule is that if a home is given a solar panel, they must invite children from 5 neighboring homes to use the light. An added benefit is that children are helping each other with their studies.

No contribution is too small - every dollar makes a difference! All funds will go directly to Ride 4 a Woman, a nonprofit organization. Ron and I are covering all fees and transmittal costs so R4W receives every dollar you donate.

To learn more, R4W website is www.ride4awoman.org. To see photos and updates on what's happening at R4W, go to my website https://grizzlygulchgallery.com/african-quilters/