Women around the world want the power to choose how many children to have – and when. Evidence shows that where women are empowered, there’s a natural fall in birth rate. Yet many women – both in high-income countries and in the Global South – lack the contraception, knowledge and freedom to take control of their fertility.
To help tackle this issue, Empower to Plan uses the power of crowdfunding to enable selected grassroots NGOs to deliver family planning projects on the ground. These projects empower women through healthcare and family planning, bringing additional economic and environmental benefits. Here are just a few of the organisations that you have helped to deliver practical and impactful action within their local communities.
KOMB GREEN Solutions
KOMB GREEN Solutions is an environmental youth group that was founded in 2017. Located in Korogocho, one of Kenya’s large informal settlements, its purpose is to transform the lives of local people through meaningful conservation work, as well as awareness-raising and education around family planning. Empower to Plan support enabled KOMB GREEN to continue river clean-ups during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, while properly protected with sanitary and PPE equipment. They also constructed public handwashing sinks and distributed condoms. In 2021, our follow-up crowdfunding campaign supported their construction of flood defences, urban kitchen gardens and the continued regeneration of their local community park. For a detailed update on the group’s activities and achievements, read the report, From Flood Protection to Family Planning: Komb Green Solutions.
GhettoH clean Youth Group
Ghettoh Clean Youth Group is a community-based group that was set up to achieve good health and sanitation practises in Kibra, Kenya, while providing livelihood opportunities for young people who may otherwise resort to crime. In 2019, Population Matters Director Robin Maynard and Florence Blondel, Campaigns and Project Officer, visited Kibra. Here they met members of the community who expressed their desire to have smaller families through accessing contraceptives, family planning services and education, as well as a clean environment free from congestion and poor sanitation. smaller families through accessing contraceptives, family planning services and education, as well as a clean environment free from congestion and poor sanitation. Through Empower to Plan support, they were able to provide crucial sanitary and hygiene services during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, while distributing over 6,000 condoms at handwashing stations in the slum. They also began family planning sessions in the local community to raise awareness about the importance of choosing smaller families. Learn more about the Kibra context and the impact of our E2P crowdfunding campaign here: The Kibra Youths Protecting their Communities and Environment.
Dandelion Africa
Using peer-to-peer training, Dandelion Africa is making a vital difference in remote parts of rural Kenya. The support received from crowdfunding enabled Dandelion Africa to deliver its Boys for Change initiative. Through Boys for Change, Dandelion Africa educates young men and boys about the importance of empowering the women in their lives to plan their families. Dandelion Africa were able to provide training for twenty young men in the Mogotio region of Kenya, including education about sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, FGM and family planning. Each of these young men will now go on to mentor three boys and they will all implement community action plans in their villages. Your support ensured that men and boys understand the importance of empowering the women in their communities to plan their families, and break the poverty cycle. We recently awarded Wendo Aszed, Founder of Dandelion Africa, our Women’s Champion for World Population Day 2021. Check out the details here!
WACENA
Empower to Plan funding enabled the Women and Children’s Empowerment Network in Africa (WACENA) to secure 5,000 tree saplings for distribution to schoolgirls and women in rural villages of Uganda. WACENA aims to create community forests, planted, nurtured and championed by women and girls, because, as the community-led group says, “a large and growing body of evidence shows that empowered women and girls acting as agents of change in their communities can and do bring about better health and development outcomes for all.” We supported weekly workshops in 20 schools, reaching 2,500 students with life-saving topics such as safe abortion, contraception, menstrual care and gender-based violence prevention.
support an Empower to Plan project
Empower to Plan uses crowdfunding to help grassroots NGOs deliver solutions to their communities. 100% of donations are used to help fund empowering projects. Find out more about the current projects being crowdfunded through Empower to Plan.
