ZENZ SUPPORTS YOUNG WOMEN IN KAMPALA 

In Kampala thousands of young women are forced into prostitution to earn money for food, rent and other basic expenses. Several of them comes from the countryside to Uganda's capital with promises of good job opportunities. Owners of bars, restaurants, hotels and the like promise them that they can work for them and make good money. Instead it turns out that they have to go to bed with the customers, and the women ends up selling their bodies as prostitutes to be able to support themselves and their family. Many of the women becomes pregnant with men, they never see again.

ZENZ supports the effort of PlanBørnefonden to get the young women in Kampala out of this terrible situation. By giving them a free hairdressing education, they get the opportunity to make money without selling their bodies to get food on the table. Our collaboration with PlanBørnefonden makes it possible to provide hope and new opportunities for the vulnerable young women.
 

“At ZENZ we are constantly working to make the world an even better place to live for everyone. We do not only work for a healthier and cleaner environment and climate. Our goal is also to promote equality between men and women. We can do that by supporting PlanBørnefonden's entrepreneurial project for young women in Uganda. Through the project we can help them out of prostitution so they can get an education and a job, which can help them to a more secure future,” explains the owners of ZENZ, Anne Sophie Skjødt Willumsen and Jørgen Skjødt, who passionately tells about their work.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE 

Ever since our foundation, ZENZ has supported important initiatives of our welfare. Equality between men and women is one of them. By supporting PlanBørnefonden the women in Kampala get the opportunity to learn a craft, meanwhile their children are taken care of in a safe place during the day. PlanBørnefonden has established kindergardens, where the children are taken care of, while their mothers are trained as tailors or hairdressers. The mothers are also taught to take care of the children's well-being, nutrition and health.

“We are convinced that when we help and support others, we can spread our vision of creating a better world for all of us. ZENZ believes that if you can make a difference, you should make a difference,” concludes Anne Sophie Skjødt Willumsen and Jørgen Skjødt.

Our partners are carefully selected. They must be able to document that they behave responsibly locally as well as globally. ZENZ is constantly working to be role models for our colleagues in the industry by leading the way, and we believe that we can make a difference together. It is our hope that through the collaboration with PlanBørnefonden, it is possible to make a difference for those who really need it.
 

"It is absolutely crucial that companies as ZENZ show social responsibility and joins us in the fight to promote World Goal 5: gender equality," says Dorthe Petersen, director of the PlanBørnefonden.

AN EDUCATION IS THE WAY OUT OF PROSTITUTION

Once the young girls have completed their internship, they will get help to get an apprenticeship as a hairdresser or tailor. PlanBørnefonden follows the girls throughout the process, and also advises the girls on how they can start a business together. Among other things they also contribute with sewing machines, start-up capital and guidance.

"The rights and opportunities of the young women are secured by giving them new skills and employment, which help them moving on from an impossible situation. Companies like ZENZ and their customers help to make this possible,” explains Dorthe Petersen.

Through the project with PlanBørnefonden three out of four of the women in Kampala gets a job after graduation, just as one in four of the young women has opened their own salon or business. The women participating in the project not only gets the opportunity to have a well paid job, they also get help processing the past, so that they can face a sustainable future.

“The women are helped to process trauma and to rebuild their self-confidence and self-worth. We support them with a psychosocial treatment and they will get in touch with role models, who are former sex workers,” concludes Dorthe Petersen.

FACTS

• 400 young women are taught in an education that guarantees them an income.
• 200-300 children from 0-8 years gets a safe place to be, while their mothers will be at work.
• Three out of four women who have already received an education through the project have subsequently got a job.
• One in four of the women has opened their own salon or business.