Our Projects
At Uganda Women Concern Ministry (UWCM), our mission is to empower women and uplift vulnerable communities in Uganda’s Elgon region. Through faith-based initiatives and community-driven programs, we strive to create lasting change.
Prayer & Porridge
Our Prayer & Porridge programs, operating in communities like Lwangoli and Sakiya, provide a nurturing environment for vulnerable children. Every Saturday, children gather for Bible stories, singing, drama, and games. They also receive a nutritious meal, typically porridge accompanied by a banana, egg, or nuts. These sessions are led by dedicated volunteers from local churches and are overseen by UWCM. Currently, the Lwangoli project supports 158 children, with a waiting list of at least another 158, highlighting the program’s impact and the community’s need.
Women’s Savings Groups
Our Women’s Savings Groups initiative empowers women through community-based microfinance. By forming savings and loan groups, women can pool resources, access small loans, and invest in income-generating activities. This program fosters financial independence, enhances decision-making power within households, and strengthens community bonds. For instance, members of the Simu Women Farmers Association have utilized these groups to support their families and care for additional children, demonstrating the transformative power of collective savings.
Clean Water for Rural Families
The Challenge
In many of the communities we serve, families rely on open sources such as Simu River for their daily water needs. These sources are unsafe and expose households to waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, and cholera.
Traditionally, families boil water to make it safe, but this requires firewood, which is costly, time-consuming, and environmentally unsustainable.
As a result, many families go without safe drinking water. Children are the most vulnerable, often falling sick and missing school.
Our Response
Through this project we are working to bring simple, practical, and sustainable solutions to families in hard-to-reach rural areas.
With the generous support of WaterMatters (donors) and the partnership of Uganda Concern UK (connector), Uganda Women Concern Ministry (UWCM) has distributed 16 water filters to families, many through the Yikolela Women’s Group.
These water filters:
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Provide safe drinking water directly at household level
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Reduce the need for firewood, saving families money and protecting the environment
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Are easy to use, maintain, and clean through a process called backwashing
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Empower families—especially children and mothers—to take charge of their own health
Training & Follow-Up
When distributing the filters, our team ensures families are fully trained on:
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How to assemble and use the filter
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How to perform backwashing (cleaning the filter after use)
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The importance of hygiene and safe water storage
We also carry out follow-up visits to check on households, listen to their experiences, and provide refresher training. In some cases, we even train children so they can manage the filter when parents are away working in the gardens.
Impact Stories
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A grandmother shared her joy at finally being able to give her grandchildren safe water at home without the burden of collecting firewood for boiling.
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During a visit, our staff found children alone at home with no clean water left. They immediately cleaned the family’s filter, collected fresh water, and trained the eldest child to manage the process in the parents’ absence.
Each story highlights how a simple filter is making a life-changing difference.
Looking Ahead
This is just the beginning. With continued support, we aim to:
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Distribute more filters to vulnerable families in rural areas
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Train more households on filter use and maintenance
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Reduce the burden of waterborne disease in our communities
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Protect the environment by cutting down the need for firewood
Acknowledgement
We are deeply grateful to WaterMatters for their generous donation of filters, and to Uganda Concern UK for making this connection possible. Together, we are bringing the gift of clean, safe water to families who need it most.
