Empowering impoverished global communities, a group of University of Wisconsin students traveled to an island in Uganda’s Lake Victoria last summer to help its residents, while they also continue to plan trips that will improve many of the foundations on which healthy communities are built.

The Empowerment through Development and Gender Equality project, which became a student organization last spring, aims to improve educational opportunities, better the lives of women and young girls, and spread knowledge about farming and family planning on the island of Lingira, said Marissa Mommaerts, UW graduate student and co-founder of the EDGE project.

Through partnering with WE International, a Madison organization that raises awareness about injustice and poverty, they were able to connect with Shepherd’s Heart International Ministry, a missionary organization based in Uganda.

“WE International introduced the EDGE project to global partners and now provides them with coaching to help them achieve what they want to do,” said David Lippiatt, founder and director of WE International.

Members of the EDGE project traveled to Lingira last summer and worked with the local community to implement a farming association, a global studies program in schools, a women’s craft co-op and a girls’ soccer team, Mommaerts said.

The group also built a grain mill that they donated to the only secondary school on the island. Its presence lowers food cost and subsidizes school fees.

Mommaerts added the creation of the girls’ soccer team, which was the first organized activity in the area, was especially important, because it not only encouraged young girls’ self-esteem but also prompted a visit to the island from a member of the Ugandan Parliament.

“Since Lingira does not receive government resources, the visit was a really big deal,” Mommaerts said. “The Parliament member was able to see firsthand how bad the living conditions are on the island.”

The people on the island live in mud huts with no running water and no electricity, said Amanda Taylor, a Shepherd’s Heart International Ministry missionary. Given that their main source of income is fishing, many families are forced to live off $1 per day.

There is also little to no access to health care and education, as well as high amounts of malnutrition and domestic violence, Mommaerts said.

While those who travel to Lingira play a vital role, there is also a very critical campus component, because the trips take a lot of planning and designing ahead of time, said Farha Tahir, UW graduate student and co-founder of EDGE project.

“We have received incredible support from students, faculty and staff, and even members of the Madison community,” Mommaerts said.

To fund the trip, the group raised $14,000 through Globalgiving.com, a benefit concert and other various fundraisers on campus. Since students pay for their own travel expenses, all of the money was used to fund the various projects.

More trips are planned for the next year, including a winter trip to monitor the projects started and to do research for future projects, as well as a summer trip to work with the local government on reforestation efforts, Mommaerts said.