African Women Rising

African Women Rising (AWR) was founded in 2006 to empower women affected by war with the tools to rise out of extreme poverty.

Our vision is to build social, economic, and political equality for women and girls in Africa. As we help build resilience and the ability to withstand shocks and stresses, especially in the context of a rapidly changing climate, we move closer toward equity for all.

Rooted in the conviction that women should be active stakeholders in defining their own development strategies, AWR built a comprehensive graduation approach model in partnership with the local community in Northern Uganda. Our programming builds on initiatives that the women themselves have started to help climb out of poverty: access to capital, adult functional literacy, regenerative agriculture training, and girls' education. Since our founding, our direct service delivery has helped more than 26,600 households rise out of poverty.

African Women Rising currently works in 79 villages across the Northern Ugandan districts of Gulu, Lamwo and Omoro, as well as Lamwo’s Palabek Refugee Settlement, which is primarily populated by refugees from South Sudan. Together, these areas are home to tens of thousands of families who are overcoming a past of war and displacement by actively building a peaceful and prosperous future.