Grassroots Uganda is a special marketing web site organization that is dedicated to selling the handicrafts, especially bead jewelry and hand bags made by five grassroots women’s organizations in Uganda. Click here to purchase bead and handicraft products. The web site also publicizes the child sponsorship program of these same five women’s groups. Click here to find out more about our child sponsorship program. The web site was developed and is maintained free of charge so that almost all monies remitted benefit the women and their families directly. The five women’s groups each have their own officers and operate independently, but each receives support, direction and business training from both Grassroots and the oldest women’s group called Pit-tek Women’s Association (PITWA), which is located in Jinja, Uganda.
To view the products we have for sale, click here.
PITWA was founded in 1995 by Acholi women living in Jinja, but who were originally from Northern Uganda (the North) where a war with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been going on since 1986. The war’s devastating effect on women, children and families from the North inspired the Jinja women to unite to help both the people suffering in the North, and also those from the North who sought safety as internal refugees in the slums of Jinja and other nearby villages. Click here to learn more about the five women’s groups and their villages. Both Grassroots and PITWA believe in empowering the women with all necessary skills so each woman can survive and be independent, and provide for her family’s necessities and education for her children. For the first time in many of the women’s lives, they have the chance to be successful in a small business and receive 100% of the profits from their efforts.
PITWA holds weekly meetings for its members to discuss current and future projects for both themselves and the community. PITWA volunteers and members are currently involved in many varied projects such as:
Pit-tek is a Luo word adopted by the members which means “upbringing is difficult”. But through their ingenuity and perseverance, and with your help, PITWA members hope to overcome their difficulties and achieve a brighter future for themselves and their children.
