It feels very comfortable working with the internet. Disabled women in development, DIWODE has organized a number of community outreaches, but out of a lot of strain. It was not until we got associated with WOUGNET and the Smile Project that we found relief. We must say, we have found a soft landing. DIWODE is happy with the ICT training that its staff acquired from WOUGNET. It’s worth noting that our community is 99% persons with disabilities most of whom had no opportunities for such training. With the data, airtime, and ICT skills, we were able to organize a successful medical screening of persons with disabilities. Before we started working with WOUGNET, we had not thought of making this event an annual event due to the high costs of organizing it, especially in the areas of internet, airtime for mobilization, online meetings, and many others. This was made easy by WOUGNET.
We are therefore happy to share our success story.
Online mobilization of funds.
• Disabled women in development were able to mobilize funds online to support the medical screening event both at the national and international levels. We kept updating our previous funders on the progress of the event while seeking partnerships in the current event.
Mobility.
• The biggest challenge that our communities faced before DIWODE started associating with WOUGNET is mobility. We used to prepare for the function as early as Feb 2022 for a function in October which was not the case this year. Our meetings were online and we managed to reach out to many opinion leaders including our MPs, councillors and many others with regard to the event.
• With the monthly airtime and Mbz that we receive from WOUGNET, DIWODE managed to deliver letters to various partners in a very short time. This saved the organization from expenses that it used to meet.
Visibility
• DIWODE is now able to promote itself through various social media platforms and is able to make all its programs visible to the public.
Success story.
Our medical screening event was a big success. DIWODE reached out to its beneficiaries so easily through frequent bulk SMS and direct calls. Many received medical support from our partners.
Let’s share a few photos below.
Figure 1: Women with disabilities arriving
Figure 2: While in the tents
Figure 3: Medical tents
Figure 4: Group photo
We thank WOUGNET for the monthly support that you offer to us. We are making a lot of progress every other day.