Mifumi Story
MIFUMI is the largest women’s rights agency operating at grassroots level in Uganda, enabling the provision of focused, community based and complete range of support services for survivors of violence and abuse.
MIFUMI has been in existence since 1997 as a locally grown charity in Uganda, originally founded to support health and education of Mifumi village in eastern Uganda, from where the charity derives its name. The work grew organically to tackle the endemic culture of domestic violence, which at the time was not viewed as a serious matter, leading MIFUMI to becoming a pioneering campaigning organization and the only one globally addressing the harmful reality of bride price and polygamy as cultural drivers of violence against women and children.
WE ENVISION
a world where women are free and safe to:
Mifumi
What we do
MIFUMI is a growing community of grassroots women activists and human rights defenders committed to ending gender-based violence. Among our key values are a woman-centered approach to ending abuse, protecting and ensuring women and children’s safety and empowering survivors to resist violence and demand their rights.
MIFUMI’s priorities are constructed on the principle that genuine and sustainable development and community growth depends on an integrated intervention capability. Successful community initiatives must take account of the individual beneficiary needs as well as the wider contextual environment within which the issues of interest are occurring.
What is MIFUMI
Since its establishment in 1994, MIFUMI has directly changed the lives of more than 50,000 women together with their children through comprehensive services in education, health-care, micro-enterprises and domestic violence advocacy. Being based directly in the countryside is one of MIFUMI’s greatest strengths, making it easier to reach grassroots people.
Domestic Violence
Violence against women and girls is a world-wide problem which undermines the health, well-being and development of survivors. It is a violation of women’s human rights, stunts individual and societal development and seriously scars future generations. According to the World Health Organisation, 35% of women across the world have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
Bride Price
The payment of Bride Price by men for their wives as demanded by custom from several tribes in Uganda leads men to treat their wives as mere possessions from whom maximum obedience is extracted. This gives rise to conditions of inequality between men and women which is prohibited by the Constitution of Uganda, which provides that all persons are equal before the law. Bride Price has close links to poverty.
Our response to Covid-19
MIFUMI joined the District task force in the fight against the Corona Virus known as COVID-19.
MIFUMI is relaying the Government of Uganda guidelines by encouraging people to stay at home, practice social distancing and wash hands frequently.
To this message MIFUMI is adding its voice as a caution to people not to resort to violence against women and children during the lock down. The stress brought about by the lock downs should not be used as an excuse for Domestic Violence.
We are encouraging people not to exploit those less powerful than them especially women and children, and to desist from domestic violence.
MIFUMI is asking people to report any cases of violence and abuse immediately to the Police or local authorities or call the MIFUMI helpline on 0800 200 250.
Let us not allow women and children to become the hidden and silent victims of the Corona Virus.
During this stressful time of a worldwide crisis,
let us live in peace in our homes and be pleasant to each other and to our neighbours.
Keep updated...
Latest Story
Bride Price: Joyce Nekesa
Joyce Nekesa got married at 17 years of age. They were neighbours, he noticed her just like she had noticed him. They decided to get married. He got some cows and paid to my father. After paying the cows, we had five children together. After having the five children, he started neglecting her and he was always in the company of other women… read Joyce’s full story
Latest Blog
Mifumi Primary School
Pens, books, sharpeners and even toothbrushes were unwrapped and given out to help out children study hard and stay healthy before exams.
Latest Video
Bride Price Video
MIFUMI believes that this is possible with the establishment of a dynamic movement of Women Rights Champions comprising various stakeholders who will positively influence Gender Equality, Women Empowerment, Prevention and Response to Violence against women and children in the identified communities.
Break the cycle of abuse
We define domestic abuse as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer.
If you need to speak to someone please call the MIFUMI helpline on 0800 200 250.
