Josephine lives in the Northeast Province of Rwanda. She is 73 years old and as an elder woman she has little opportunity to earn an income. She owns her modest home and it is surrounded by a brick wall. This project will provide the means to build a brick hen house, 20 hens, and the 4 months feed for the hens until income comes from the sale of eggs.
Rwanda, a landlocked East African country with a landmass roughly the size of Maryland has 13.4 million inhabitants, making it the fifth most densely populated country in the world. Approximately half of the population lives in poverty, with most growing their own food to survive. Elder women have fewer income opportunities than younger women and men.
With this charitable investment, Josephine should be able to earn approximately $10-12 a week along with having eggs to eat. She will regularly reinvest part of her income to purchase new chicks as needed so that egg production remains consistent.
If this project is successful, we should be able to replicate the effort with other Rwandan elder women.
