Hello from all of us at Amani

Three months go by quickly in this work. Between 1st July and 30th September we ran six projects , across Maracha, Arua, Arua City, Mpigi and Wakiso, and our teams were rarely in the office. They were in classrooms, village compounds, farms and building sites.

This issue is our way of sitting down and telling you what happened. Some of it went well. Some of it is still unfinished, and we have tried to say so honestly. September also marked the end of the BRIDGE project, so you will find a lot about Tara Sub-County in these pages.

Amani was started in 2012 in Maracha on a simple belief: everyone deserves an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. Everything below comes from that. Near the end you will also find an invitation to join our Pad a Girl run on 21st November.

Life skills in 20 schools: Dream Achievers

Dream Achievers is our two-year programme with 20 primary schools across Maracha, Arua and Arua City. It aims to reach 600 vulnerable learners, 500 girls and 100 boys, and the goal is simple: keep them in school, help them finish, and build their confidence along the way. The life skills sessions were implemented as part of the Girls Opportunity Alliance.

Between 13th July and 30th September we held three life skills sessions, each with its own theme:

• Session 7: Knowing my Rights and Responsibilities
• Session 8: Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy
• Session 9: My Opportunities, My Plans

The sessions above aimed to improve the school learning environment and promote equitable, safe, and quality education for both girls and boys by equipping learners with essential life skills, information child rights and responsibilities, self-confidence, and knowledge to prevent child marriage, gender-based violence, and other forms of abuse. The sessions also sought to strengthen learners’ decision-making, communication, and problem-solving skills while encouraging positive behavior and healthy relationships.

Learner clubs and their small businesses

This work was done under Empowered Voices, supported through the Girls First Fund. Members of the Cohort 2 Dream Achievers clubs set up 20 social enterprises, one for each of the 20 school clubs, and this quarter we went back to see how they were doing. Follow-up sessions in every school showed that all 20 enterprises are still running.

Turnout at the follow-up sessions was lower than we hoped. We reached 326 of the 500 learners targeted (182 girls, 144 boys, 8 with disabilities), which is 65.2%. We will work with the schools to bring more club members into the next round.

Keeping Me In School: fees support

Five girls at risk of child marriage or teenage pregnancy had their second-term 2026 school fees paid by Amani this quarter with the support of individual sponsors under our Keep Me in School campaign. The total was UGX 4,120,000.

With 26% of children aged 6-12 years out of school, and 45% of primary school children dropping out before completing their education. You can also sponsor a child to stay in school by reaching out through info@amaniinitiative.org.

BRIDGE project: the final stretch in Tara

BRIDGE (Building Resilience, Inclusion, Development, Growth and Empowerment) ran for two years, from October 2024 to September 2026, with support from the FEMI Foundation. It helped 35 vulnerable women in Tara Sub-County, Maracha District, to move out of extreme poverty. The women came from Wanguru, Vurra, Anyivu, Yidu and Pajama parishes. Among them were 13 women living with or caring for children with disabilities, 13 widows, 4 child mothers and 5 women living with HIV.

Here is what the last three months looked like.

Walking the households

In September our team visited all 35 households for the household SWOT review, reaching 96 people (69 women, 27 men, 5 with disabilities) across Anyivu, Wanguru, Pajama, Yidu and Vurra parishes. At every home we asked the same things. What did you plan last time? Did it happen? If not, what got in the way? Families then talked through how to improve the businesses they had started, with our facilitators guiding rather than dictating.

The activity strengthened households by reviewing progress on prior action points, reinforcing completion of ongoing initiatives, and supporting mindset change toward sustainable economic growth.

Discussions assessed business ideas, identified challenges, and jointly developed practical solutions. New action points were agreed upon to improve and expand household enterprises, with active participation from members present, including persons with disabilities.

It was also exciting to learn that the endline results demonstrate significant improvements in women’s empowerment and wellbeing. Decision-making and empowerment increased from 54% at baseline to 91%, while access to social support rose from 38% to 87%. Psychosocial wellbeing improved from 35% to 90%, reflecting greater hope, confidence, reduced stress, and stronger belief in their ability to achieve personal and economic goals. These gains were reinforced through household visioning, goal-setting, and regular follow-up. By the end of Year 2, all 35 women had achieved at least two of their three set goals, demonstrating meaningful progress towards greater independence, resilience, and sustainable livelihoods.

Learning from a model farmer

On 19th September, 22 beneficiaries (18 women, 4 men) gathered in Anangaku Village for a mentorship session led by a model farmer. He took them through land preparation, planting, weeding, pruning, staking, thinning, pest control, post-harvest handling, and how to work out whether a crop is actually making money. The session ended with open questions about the problems people face in their own gardens.

Turnout was 62.9% of those invited. Farm work, funerals, illness and clan events all competed for people’s time that week. That is real village life, and we plan around it.

Exposure visit to Wole Mixed Farm

On 22nd September, 35 people travelled to Wole Mixed Farm in Okokoro Town Council: 29 beneficiaries, 3 community facilitators and 3 Amani staff. That was 85.4% of the 41 we had invited. Between them they saw piggery, poultry, goats, rabbits, fish farming and vegetable growing, learned how to make local pesticides, and went through the cost-benefit numbers for each enterprise.

One practical result: Siyava Seeds, an input dealer, pledged to supply participants with hybrid seeds.

The end line survey

From 1st to 30th September we went back to all 35 women for the end line survey, one household at a time, through conversation and observation. We asked how their homes and incomes have changed, whether they are using what they learned, what services they can now reach, and what plans they have to keep going now that the project is over. The headline results are just below, and the full findings will be in our BRIDGE impact report.

What two years of BRIDGE changed: endline results

The end line survey numbers tell a clear story. Overall resilience among the women in the project rose from 37.7% to 89.4%. Every single woman improved, by anywhere between 19 and 77 percentage points, and none of them remain in the Low resilience band. Thirty-one women are now highly resilient and four are moderately resilient.

Every area we measured passed the 75% high resilience mark. The biggest jump was in food security, from 35% to 93%. Decision-making started highest, at 54%, and still climbed to 91%.

One more number we are proud of: all 35 women now run an income-generating activity, including nine who had none at baseline.

What we delivered over the two years

All seven planned activities were carried out. Here is how the two years looked in practice:

• The project launched with 88 participants.
• Eight household goal-setting visits were held with each of the 35 households, using a household journaling exercise that engaged more than 180 household members. Every household managed to achieve at least 2 of its 3 set goals, and cohesion among household members grew as well.
• UGX 35 million in start-up capital. Each household received UGX 1,000,000, 70% in December 2025 and 30% in February 2026, backed by 35 business plans. Women invested in livestock, produce trading, tailoring, grinding services, retail and farming, supported by mentorship visits.
• Women saving together. The Tara Ojataa Women’s VSLA, registered with the Sub-County, saved at least UGX 8,281,000 (2,238 euros) over the two years and put aside UGX 812,000 in social funds. All the money saved was lent out among members to meet their personal needs, including investing in their income-generating projects.
• Skills that earn. Eleven training sessions covered budgeting, record keeping, pricing, branding, mobile money, digital safety and positive parenting. Hands-on training covered bread, mandazi, doughnuts, liquid soap, smearing oil and briquettes, plus a piggery session with a local veterinary officer.
• A group business that works. OjataaCare Liquid Soap started as a group enterprise and has sold over 900 litres, earning more than UGX 830,000 (224 euros) in profit. The members make the soap themselves and make the sales themselves.
• Learning from working farms. Visits to RAMIC Agro-Investment Farm in Arua (38 participants) and Wole Mixed Farm in Maracha, plus a crop husbandry session with a local model farmer, built farming and marketing skills. The Arua visit created three new supplier links: Agrigate, Hendrik and Earth Feeds.
• Inclusion support reached women with disabilities and the children of beneficiaries. It included assistive devices such as white canes, Micro Cellular Rubber (MCR) shoes and tricycles, and the construction of a house and latrine.

Success story: OjataaCare Liquid Soap

Case study: Milda’s home

Milda lives in Adiria Village, Anyivu Parish, Tara Sub-County. She is visually impaired and one of the 35 women in BRIDGE. When our team visited to assess her needs, they found she had no bed and was sleeping in discomfort. Her old grass-thatched house was worn down, her bathing shelter was little more than dried stalks and a sack, and she had nowhere lockable to keep her documents and few belongings, which matters a great deal when you cannot easily see if something has gone missing.

Before the construction

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

Between July and September the project responded in three ways:

• It gave her a bed, so she can rest properly.
• It gave her a lockable sideboard for her items and documents.
• It renovated her main sleeping house and built a two-stance pit latrine with a bathing shelter, replacing structures that were falling apart. The latrine is complete and already in use.

After the construction

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER

None of this is dramatic. It is the basics of a safe, private and dignified home, which is exactly the point. Compare the photos above and you will see why we do it.

Homes, latrines and clean water for five households

The five women in this part of BRIDGE have each started an income-generating activity, joined a savings group and received regular mentorship from our team. But their incomes are still too low to cover the deeper needs: a decent home, a proper latrine and clean water. Through €6,500 raised in the Cool Classic Challenge Rally, brought to us by our partner FEMI Foundation, we started fixing that in Tara Sub-County, and the work ran through August and September.

Where the work stands

• Materials are on site at all five households: sand, cement, bricks, doors and windows, so building is moving everywhere.
• Four households now have a plastered two-room house and a two-stance latrine with a bathing shelter. Only painting, floor finishing and fitting the doors and windows remain. The doors and windows are already bought and waiting on site.
• One household is having her current house repaired. The plastering, doors and windows are done, and her latrine and bathing shelter are under construction.

The women behind the progress

• Agnes (48, Adiria Village) cares for four children and her elderly mother. Their old house was falling apart and she could not repair or rebuild it alone. It has been replaced by a plastered two-room house, with a new latrine and bathing shelter.
• Molly (36, Olua Village) is raising five children without their father, three of them with disabilities. Her family went from one inadequate room and no working latrine to a plastered two-room house with a new latrine and bathing shelter.
• Kumcheta (45) joined the programme in place of Abiru Lucy. She was living in an unfinished, poorly ventilated house. Repairs are under way: the plastering, windows and doors are done, and her latrine and bathing shelter are being built.
• Grace (49, Roma Village) is the only provider for seven dependants, including grandchildren. Her collapsing house is being replaced by a plastered two-room house, with a new latrine and bathing shelter.
• Suzan (59, Kijigbe Village) looks after eight children and grandchildren. Her plastered two-room house, latrine and bathing shelter are in place.

Training school leaders in Mpigi and Wakiso

Many schools struggle with money management more than anything else: fees that are not properly recorded, budgets that are guesswork. Through the Edify partnership we ran the Business Accounting, Finance and Fees Collection Policy training for school leaders and bursars, covering accounting, budgeting, record keeping and accountability.

The remaining schools are scheduled for the coming months. Operational and logistical challenges held us back, and we would rather do it properly than rush.

A girl we could not find

We want to share one visit that did not go the way we wanted. On 24th September a team from Amani, a school representative and the girl’s close friend went to Adongoro Cell in Maracha Town Council to look for a pupil who had dropped out of school after becoming pregnant. We hoped to counsel her and help her return to school.

Neighbours told us she had left home after discovering her pregnancy, and nobody knew where she had gone. Her parents were away on farm work in Koboko, so we could not speak to them either.

We include this because it shows what we are up against. Behind many of our statistics are girls who disappear when they most need someone. We are not giving up on her.

New work starting

• Empowered Voices 3.0 (Capital for Good, through the Girls First Fund) began on 1st August 2026 and runs to 31st July 2027, covering Kijomoro, Oleba and Oluffe Sub-Counties in Maracha, Vurra Sub-County in Arua, and Arua City. Our first task was following up the cohort one Dream Achievers’ clubs.
• Women Voice and Leadership (CARE) will work in Oluvu, Tara and Maracha Town Council. We held the consortium kick-off meeting and a partner engagement meeting this quarter.

Collaboration: working alongside others

No single organisation can change West Nile on its own. A good part of our quarter was spent sitting in rooms with partners, comparing notes, checking each other’s work and planning together. Here are five moments worth sharing.

1. Peace partners review meeting in Arua

We joined women leaders, peace activists, peace advocates and market vendors from Arua City and Arua District for a review meeting convened by Feminature Uganda and the Women’s Situation Room. The meeting was held at a cafeteria in Arua and brought together members of the Peace Partners network to reflect on community-based conflict resolution and peacebuilding work across the region.

Our main focus was the Terms of Reference for the four committees formed to select community leaders. We went through their roles and responsibilities and began drafting a work plan to help get them fully working. It was encouraging to see market vendors sitting alongside women leaders and peace advocates, all pulling towards the same goal: safer, more peaceful communities built from within.

2. Women’s Voice and Leadership: Year 3 kick-off

On 18th September 2026 we had the honour of convening the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) West Nile Consortium for its Year 3 kick-off meeting in Arua. We do this as Consortium Lead for West Nile.

Six organisations were in the room: Amani Initiative, COTA, the Mentoring and Empowerment Programme for Young Women (MEMPROW), Feminature Uganda, Women Effort for Inclusive Development (WEID) and Palma Memorial Health Centre (PMHC), together with CARE International in Uganda. Together we agreed on governance, financial compliance, and our Year 3 joint activities and targets.

We are deeply grateful to CARE for choosing to place leadership in the hands of local organisations. Leading this consortium is a responsibility we take seriously, and it shows what becomes possible when women-led organisations are trusted to drive change in their own communities.

3. QuAMPlus: validators visit our office

After the online desk review of our QuAMPlus assessment and certification submission, a team of validators came to our office in Maracha for a physical assessment across all 12 pillars.

QuAMPlus, hosted by CARE International in Uganda, introduces a national passporting system: a structured, standard way for organisations to present verified, corruption-resistant data. That makes it easier for donors and partners to find organisations that meet agreed standards of accountability and performance.

The validators verified our systems, controls and processes, reviewed how we generate tamper-proof certification data, and gave us recommendations to strengthen our capacity and credibility. QuAMPlus certification will strengthen the trust we have with government and partners, and it keeps us true to two values we hold close: accountability and integrity.

4. Excel and financial management training

We recently held an onsite Excel and Financial Management training led by Fred Mwololo (MBA, BA Economics, CPA-K), Regional Programs Finance Manager at FEMI Foundation. It covered accounting concepts, financial reporting, advanced formulas and dashboard creation.

This hands-on session reflects FEMI Foundation’s continued investment in our capacity and sustainability. Stronger systems mean stronger impact for the communities we serve across West Nile.

5. Visiting our consortium partners: TACT tools

We have visited COTA, WEID, PMHC, MEMPROW and Feminature to review and update our TACT tools. The visits also helped us see each partner’s strengths and weaknesses, which will shape the peer learning sessions on our next visits, and they gave us a chance to look at the capacity building plans under CARE.

What got in the way

We would like to be straight about the difficulties this quarter:

• Mobilising stakeholders costs money, and the budgets are tight.
• Prices keep moving. Fuel and construction materials cost more than we planned for, which affects both travel and building.
• Some harmful cultural norms are still very much alive and slow our work down.
• There are important priorities we do not yet have funding for.

Going forward, we will leverage unrestricted funds to cover unfunded priorities, add a mobilisation budget line for the local leaders who help us, redirect budget lines hit by inflation, and keep tracking beneficiaries’ businesses so that the gains last.

Run with us: Pad a Girl Maracha

In West Nile, including Maracha, many girls miss school or drop out because of their periods. Toilets and washrooms at school are poor, sanitary products cost too much for many families, and the stigma around menstruation is still strong. When a girl misses a few days every month, she falls behind, and many never catch up.

That is why we are joining the run on 21st November. Come run, walk, or cheer. Bring a friend, a colleague, or your family. Every kit and every step helps keep a girl in school with dignity.

Who we are

Our philosophy: Amani Initiative stands for the basic belief that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to reach their full potential.

Our values

• Community: We believe in solutions built with, not for, the people we serve.
• Integrity: We act with honesty, fairness, and respect in all we do.
• Accountability: We are transparent and responsible stewards of the trust and resources given to us.
• Teamwork: We collaborate, learn, and grow together for greater impact.