Ride 4 a Woman Empowers the Women of Bwindi, Uganda

By Nat Hab traveler Ann Lauer

In September 2021, my husband Ron and I traveled to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a mountainous region of Uganda bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Even though trekking for gorillas here attracts travelers from around the world, getting to Bwindi takes hours over pothole-filled dirt and mud roads. We were traveling with Natural Habitat Adventures, a partner of World Wildlife Fund, which was instrumental in setting up the original protocol for protecting gorillas. 

During our adventure, we visited Buhoma, a village on the outskirts of Bwindi. Because subsistence living in rural Uganda is inherently difficult, time to learn a new career and find new ways to earn money have posed enormous challenges for the village women. Annual wages are about $850 per wage earner, slightly more than $2 per day. Often, there are six or more children in a family. Most people living in houses have no electricity and do not have running water (there is no potable water in the area). Few have kitchens; most have a cooking shed where wood fires provide the sole heat source. Most transportation is by bicycle.

Tourists travel down the main road to the Gorilla Health And Community Conservation Center, so small shops offer items for sale. Our Expedition Leader took us to Ride 4 a Woman, a charitable organization that had recently received two sewing machines via a Nat Hab Philanthropy grant. The women here learn to pedal sew, weave baskets, dance, sing and drum, and many participate in a Microfinance Program. As we continued our tour with Nat Hab, we learned they were also building desperately needed schools and adding kitchens so the children did not have to walk home for lunch. 

Ride 4 a Woman (R4W) was founded by Evelyn Habasa Rubalema. She and her husband, Denis, are the organization’s directors, and both have degrees in marketing, finance and tourism. R4W supports over 300 women in 11 surrounding communities who are victims of domestic violence, poverty, homelessness and other hardships. They began by renting bicycles to tourists (thus the name) but have expanded into selling items they make. They rely solely on bicycle rentals, sales from items they make and donations. 

At the R4W community center, women learn to weave baskets and use treadle sewing machines to make quilts, clothing, various bags and other small items. They also use charcoal-powered irons. I had never seen a charcoal iron and worried that the fabric would burn when an iron was resting on a quilt top for a long time. Nope—the iron doesn’t get that hot. We were in Bwindi on a trek to see gorillas, and I had no idea I would find quilters!  

The women showed us an array of items for sale. When I saw the quilts, I mentioned that I designed quilt fabric and patterns. Evelyn immediately asked me to discuss color and design and return the next day after our gorilla trek. They had just begun making quilts, all of which were made using beautiful African fabrics, which tend to be bright and large prints made from large squares and rectangles. I decided overnight to teach them to make a half rectangle unit and how to put my Walk About quilt design together.

We had lots to overcome: broken rulers, cutting mats warped and worn out, and rotary blades and scissors nicked and dull. The women were excited to learn to make triangle shapes and designs using the placement of light and dark values. By the time I returned the second day, they had many blocks made for the Walk About quilt, and later that evening, Evelyn brought the finished quilt to our open-air lodge so that I could see it before we left the next morning.

As we moved on to Kenya for our East Africa safari with Nat Hab, Evelyn texted us photos of the larger Walk About quilts the women were making. I had left a dozen pairs of reading glasses with her, and she sent a photo of the women trying on the glasses to determine the proper magnification. Not one woman was wearing glasses when we were there.

When we returned home, I sent Brewer Quilting & Sewing Supplies a list of basic tools the women needed. They generously donated it, and I added 55 pairs of reading glasses. 

Because of the WhatsApp app, we can talk to Evelyn regularly. Some months are harder than others: during the rainy season, there are no travelers, and when trekkers have to hike a long distance to view the gorilla families, they do not have time to visit R4W and purchase the items they make and rely on for income. In early December 2021, we learned that R4W had depleted its funds due to virtually no tourism in 2020 and very limited tourism in 2021. Evelyn told the women that she could not pay them through the end of the year. The women were devastated, not knowing how they would have food for their families without working. Ron and I immediately wired funds and set up a GoFundMe campaign where we quickly raised enough money so that Evelyn could pay the women. She even gave each woman a small Christmas gift of maize flour, a little rice, cooking oil, a few onions, a bit of meat, sugar, salt and soap.

In September of 2023, Nat Hab arranged our trip to Madagascar and Botswana so that we could end the trip back at R4W. They furnished transportation so we could work with the women by dropping Ron and me off three afternoons at 1 pm after our gorilla trek and picking us up at 6 pm when the women returned home. For the last two days, I worked with the women from 9 am until 7 pm, and Nat Hab picked us up on the last day and transported us a considerable distance to the airport. I worked with four teams of two women to make four different quilt patterns. They had never read a pattern, seen diagrams, used a square ruler or used the designations on a straight ruler to cut strips. They were very excited to learn these new techniques, and by the end of the five days that I was working with them, the eight women had made more than nine quilts!

However, R4W does not just help these women; it helps the entire community. Evelyn has also started a Hope for a Girl Child program offering to counsel girls 12–20 so that they can make a plan for their future. They are receiving counseling on delaying marriage and on birth control, among other important subjects.  

Evelyn has also started a program to give families in the Bwindi area one goat. The goat can be bred at six months, and then the family donates one of the usual two kids back to R4W. After that, the goat(s) are the family’s property and provide them with financial security. One goat costs $80, and so far, R4W has been able to donate over 100 goats to families. Evelyn hopes to provide all 300 families with one goat.

In addition, Evelyn is raising funds to purchase solar panels for homes. Because there is nearly no electricity, it is difficult for children to read and study in the evenings. A panel, wiring and batteries for one home cost $200. The rule is that if a home is given a solar panel, they must invite children from five neighboring homes to use the light. An added benefit is that the children help each other with their studies, and some women weave baskets at night for additional income.

Evelyn plans to expand the water purification program at R4W as well. This program provides clean water for the women who would otherwise have to walk many miles and hand-carry it back to their homes.

Education is critical in reversing the current level of economic hardship in Uganda. During our 2023 visit, we were particularly moved while watching 18 elementary children come to R4W to pick up their new school uniforms. The women had sewn the uniforms, which were complicated with contrast collars, cuffs and bands on front pockets. The shorts had elastic backs, belt loops, pockets and zippers. Public school is “free,” but there are often 100 children in a class, and the teacher may not come every day. In addition, the children must wear uniforms, they often have to pay for books, and they always have to pay to take the tests to allow them to move on to higher grades.

Most families cannot afford these expenses. Ron and I began sponsoring two 8-year-old children in 2024. The girl is in 3rd grade and is the oldest of two children. The boy is still in 1st grade because he is the youngest of seven children, and his mother, a widow, makes an income from manual labor in the fields and cannot pay for him to take the tests. Private primary school for one child costs $500 a year (the annual income for a family is $850). The $500 includes boarding, if necessary, uniforms, books, shoes and a contribution to teacher salaries. After trying on their new uniforms, each child walked single file to Evelyn’s desk to curtsy and say thank you. It was an emotional moment to witness, and one to celebrate. 

Read more about Ride 4 a Women here, and learn how you can help!

No contribution is too small—every dollar makes a difference! All Ride 4 a Woman GoFundMe donations go directly to R4W. Ron and I are covering all GoFundMe fees and transmittal costs, so R4W receives every dollar you donate. I hope you are as excited about helping this organization as we are!