Page 39 - Jan-March 2025

| CHARITY FEATURE

By: Denis Rubalema & Evelyne Habasa
Images: Courtesy of Ride 4 a Woman
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Ride 4 a Woman

IDE 4 A WOMAN is a charitable organization learned to sew and weave, and they were the ones
Rset up to empower women socially and who started teaching many more women around
economically in the local community of Bwindi, the community through the “train the trainer”
Uganda. The organization supports women methodology. More than 100 women were trained
struggling with poverty, HIV and domestic in total, and every day 60 of them work at Ride 4
violence and single mothers, carrying out many a Woman center, making the handmade products
projects with a huge impact into their lives. that are sold in the shop of the organization.
Ride 4 a Woman was set up in 2009 by Evelyne Ride 4 a Woman has 300 members, all of them are
Habasa and her husband Denis Rubalema. Evelyne women from the 11 villages in Bwindi who benefit
grew up in the local community where the from it. The organization leads many different
organization is established and was inspired by projects to empower women and improve
her mother since she was very young. Her mother people’s lives in the local community. Here you can
sacrificed a lot to put her eight children through find a summary of each of them:
school as she had no money to afford the basics. 1. Employing women
She owned one dress, a pretty red one, and she
washed it every night so she could wear it again 60 women go every day to Ride 4 a Woman center
the next day. Her red dress was “the talk of the where they make all the handmade products
village”. Her frugality and very hard work managed that the organization sells in its shop. Apart from
to put all her children through good schools. This working, in Ride 4 a Woman they find a space of
is the struggle most women go through every day safety and support, a meal is provided to them
in this community and what motivated Evelyne to and earn a salary that is given to them every two
start Ride 4 a Woman. weeks. These women are the main focus and the
The organization started by renting bicycles to reason of existence of the organization.
tourists who like riding. The money collected went 2. Microfinance program
directly to support local women. This is why the
name “Ride 4 a Woman” came about: riding to Ride 4 a Woman provides low interest loans to
support the women. support women of the community, allowing them
to make their personal and professional projects
In 2012, the 16 pioneer women of the organization a reality. Since the project started in 2017, the

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