Many organizations focus on reducing family size by promoting contraceptives, but they often overlook why parents make these choices. A better approach is encouraging people to join care groups, where they can learn about family planning benefits and see positive examples firsthand. These groups also provide essential resources like childcare, kitchen garden supplies, school fees, and materials—ensuring every child gets a fair start in life.
A New Way to Address Family Planning and Climate Change
Large organizations often rely on centralized systems to tackle family planning and climate issues, but these approaches don’t always work effectively. The Fair Start Movement (FSM) and Rejoice Africa Foundation Uganda (RAFUG) use a decentralized system, which leads to more transparent and impactful results for families directly affected by these issues.
How Can We Fund These Efforts?
Wealthy nations can adopt this community-driven approach and work with less wealthy countries to share resources, promote birth equity, and support smaller, more sustainable families.
How Care Groups Work
Rejoice Africa Foundation has set up 20 care groups, each with 20 women led by a community leader. These leaders oversee projects like:
- Kitchen gardens
- Child savings programs
- Family planning education
- Agroforestry initiatives
Real Stories from Care Group Members
Immaculate’s Leadership in Rwampara
Immaculate, a care group leader from Bugashe, Rwampara district, has helped women start kitchen gardens, practice sustainable cooking, and engage in family planning discussions. A donor contributed $640 for child savings accounts, enabling RAFUG to create 62 accounts and grants for kitchen gardens. However, financial support from wealthy individuals remains limited.
The Challenges of Family Planning: Ruth’s Story
Komugisha Ruth, a care group member, became pregnant while using the contraceptive Implanon. Struggling to provide for her child, Joan, she now questions parent-centered family planning and wants to delay having another child until she can better support her family.
Jemima’s Journey from Child Bride to Activist
Kabugho Jemima grew up in a poor family of 10 in Western Uganda. Forced into marriage at 16, she later worked as a maid for priests, one of whom sponsored her education in nursing. Now an activist, she fights for women’s rights, reproductive health, and climate-friendly farming. Jemima co-founded the Rejoice Africa Foundation, urging accountability through a reward-based system to combat climate change.
The Impact of Care Groups
Sixty women across three care groups have successfully built kitchen gardens, growing their own vegetables—even on small plots or using sack farming. Some members now earn $10 per week selling their harvests. This financial independence has helped women like Paskazia, who once engaged in risky survival strategies but now supports her family through farming.
Joy, a mother of three, advises younger women to delay having children until they are better prepared. She shares her struggles during drought and poverty, encouraging others to plan for their children’s future.
Why Care Groups Matter for Reparations
The Care Group model is more than a support system—it’s a path to long-term change. It helps women:
- Build Community: Women with shared experiences support one another.
- Gain Education: They learn about reproductive health, nutrition, and financial planning.
- Develop Skills: Training in income-generating activities promotes financial independence.
- Advocate for Change: Women collectively push for justice and support.
- Ensure Sustainability: Community-led initiatives create lasting impact.
A Call to Action for the Wealthy
If more wealthy individuals followed the example of Jessica Blome and invested in Care Groups as part of reparations, donations would be more transparent and accountable. Most importantly, future generations would have a fairer and more sustainable start in life.
Click here to Donate to Fair Start Movement Campaign