Free entrepreneurship skills training and mentoring to ensure impoverished women widowed by AIDS in Malawi have a sustainable means of generating income, providing for their children, leading to significantly improved prospects and lifting themselves out of poverty.

Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls

    Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, faces high HIV rates (9% of adults) & 600,000 women are widowed. Widows often inherit nothing, experience "land grabbing" and face homelessness and hunger. Mistreatment, abuse, and harmful traditions like "widow cleansing" further exacerbate their plight. Their children are forced to drop out of school, with girls often being forced to marry before 18 years. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty, leaving future generations struggling to cope.

    Provide widows with a free six-week entrepreneurship course to empower them with skills for employment or starting their own businesses. Upon graduation, we offer interest-free microloans and extensive post-graduation mentoring. The course covers essential topics like business planning, differentiation, pricing, customer service, cash flow, and more. We also offer job training in various fields such as tailoring or carpentry at the Jacaranda Technical and Vocational College.

    Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls