19-year-old Hope grew up in a poor family and at one point had to drop out of school because her parents could not afford to pay her school fees. At 16, she ran away from home and moved in with her boyfriend. She started going out and partying a lot, started taking drugs and having sex for money. At the time, it was Hope's only opportunity to earn money, so she could pay rent, get food and clothes on her body. Hope, who was otherwise on the pill, forgot it for a period of time and became pregnant.

A NEW FUTURE WITH HER OWN MOBILE SALON

Hope didn't get any support from her boyfriend, so she moved back in with her parents. Today she is a single mom of a one-year-old girl and still lives at home. But there are indications that she faces a better future:

On the radio, she heard about a project that the Plan International is behind with support from ZENZ. The project trains women in various crafts so that they have the opportunity to earn money to support themselves. In addition to learning hairdressing skills, Hope is very involved in other activities offered by Plan International Denmark. She participates, e.g. in debates and various sports activities, and she has learned a lot about her rights and how her body works.

Today she owns a mobile hairdressing salon, so she has enough money to support herself and her child.

In an open-air hairdressing salon, a bride-to-be gets her make-up fixed. Many young women work in the salon, who have received help to get hairdressing training. They all come from poor backgrounds in the slums of Uganda's capital, Kampala, and for many of them, getting an education means they are not forced into prostitution to earn money.

A PROJECT FOR CHANGE

Many more girls and women will benefit from the project in Kampala that ZENZ and Plan International Denmark supports. The collaboration ensures that more women can get entrepreneurial training and learn the necessary skills to earn money, for example by working in a hairdressing and beauty salon. The free education gives vulnerable women a way out of poverty. The women who take part in the project not only receive money to feed themselves and their families. They are being educated about children's well-being, nutrition and health. The women also receives help to process their harsh past. 

ZENZ work with a promise to always to better with respect for people and the planet these includes supporting partner's promote and work for good health, gender equality and quality education. Our collaboration with Plan International Denmark makes it possible to make a difference for those who really need it.


With the project in Kampala, ZENZ supports the UN's Development Goals for Sustainability #3, #4 and #5. Read more here.

Read more about our project with Plan International Denmark to support the girls in Uganda here.