Buzz Women – which is already active in India, Gambia, Georgia and the Netherlands, amongst other countries – intends to spread her wings in East Africa. Over 500,000 women worldwide have already received special skills training. Will it also be possible to apply this approach in Kenya and Uganda?
Their concept is simple: Women with no access to education can attend ‘schools on wheels’. Trained local educators equipped with the necessary materials travel to villages on special busses every day. The women receive on-site training on topics such as self-awareness, financial management, entrepreneurship, climate awareness as well as health.
Women take ownership
What is empowering is the ownership that lies with the women. After their initial training sessions, they elect their own leader, known as an anchor woman. She will regularly bring her group – the beehive – together in order to discuss activities. The anchor women will receive leadership training and on-going monthly coaching. Today, beehives are active in more than 10,000 local communities worldwide.
Under its own steam
In 2023, Buzz Women began feasibility studies and on-site testing of its model in Kenya and Uganda. Thus, enabling the organisation to adapt to the local context and respond to the specific needs in the two countries. The aim is to establish a local organisation that can continue under its own steam in a matter of years.
