Help Rural Women Start Income Generating Projects

Thank you so much for all your support. Improving the socio-economic status of rural women is at the heart of our organization. Women in the rural areas of Zimbabwe bear almost all responsibility for meeting the basic needs of the family yet they are disadvantaged economically and educationally and they lack the resources and information they need to fulfill this responsibility.

The Homestead Project is committed to lifting disadvantaged rural women out of poverty by providing them the opportunity to build lives of self-reliance and dignity. It aims to address the basic human needs such as, food, water and shelter while helping poor women start income generating projects. The whole idea behind this project is that a homestead should have decent shelter, clean water, sanitation facilities, a vegetable garden, some chickens and some goats. A homestead should supply enough vegetables, meat, milk and eggs to take care of the basic food needs of a family while the rest is sold in order to generate income for the family. This holistic approach ensures that disadvantaged rural women have enough food to eat and they dont have to rely on outside help in perpetuity. This approach also looks out for the long term economic prospects of the family.

In addition, through the Homestead Project we will work in colaboration with Jekesa Pfungwa (http://jpv-zw.org) to teach women how to make mud stoves. The women will use their acquired skills to earn an income building mud stoves. The Jekesa Pfungwa organization has been in operation in Zimbabwe since 1947. It focuses on the socio-economic empowerment of rural women and girls. Through this partnership women from Jekesa Pfungwa will go to Rimbi village to teach women how to build mud stoves. In the attached pictures you can see women from a Jekesa Pfungwa Homestead demoing a mud stove they built. One advantage of using these stoves is that they dont require much firewood and they are eco-friendly.

We are pleased to announce that we formally launched the Homestead Project in March 2018. To date we have built two mud huts for two needy women and their families. We selected two households headed by disadvantaged women. Both of these women and their faimilies were living in deplorable conditions and were in dire need of a decent place to live. The huts were so run down that the thatched roofs were leaking. Here is what the women had to say about their new huts:

In her Own Words By Tendai
"I cant find the words to adequately express my heartfelt gratitude to you for proving me a decent place to live. I live with
three grandchildren. Our mud hut was leaking and I didnt have the money to fix the roof. When I woke up one morning, I was surprised to see two men unloading bricks and cement next to my hut. I was overjoyed when they told me that they were going to build me a new hut. I never thought I would live to see the day when my grandchildren and I would have a nice hut. I feel like now we are human beings; my grandchildren will grow up in a nice place. We really like the hut; it is spacious! I am very grateful for what you have done for me and my grandchildren. May God show you the same kindness."

In her Own Words By Gutseni
"I live with my elderly mother and my daughter who is blind. I was pleasantly surprised one moring when I saw two men unloading bricks and cement next to my hut. I asked them what was going on and and they told me that they were going to build me a new hut. I couldnt believe my ears! Thank you very much for what you have done for me and my family. We dont have to worry anymore about the roof leaking. We really like the hut. May God bless you."

Thanks again for the difference you are making in the lives of disadvantaged women.

May you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Best wishes,

Thelma

Thank you so much for all your support. This project is at the heart of our organization and is our strategy for
restoring dignity and hope to disadvantaged rural women and to empower them to live up to their full potential. Empowering women strengthens the entire community. According to studies done on sustainable development, women invest 90% of their income back into their families, compared to the 35% invested by men. In addition, women tend to prioritize issues like health care, food and education. Studies have also proved that increasing the incomes of poor women results in an almost immediate improvement in their children’s diet, and an increased likelihood that they will send their children to school. An educated child  has better opportunities to rise out of poverty.

The focus of this project is to empower women to start income generating projects that will help them earn money and enable them to take care of their families. We are pleased to announce that we have launched two more income generating projects, a goat rearing project and a pig rearing project.These projects are managed by the nurse in charge at Rimbi clinic and the Tekeshe Foundation caregivers.

Goat Rearing Project Update

We donated $250.00 to the project. Nine women participate in this project. With this money they were able to purchase 16 goats @ $15 a goat. The women work collectively to take care of the goats. They have already built a pen for the goats.

In Her Own Words By One Of The Beneficiaries
"Thank you very much for the money you gave us. We decided to start a goat rearing project. We are excited about this project. We believe that with God's help and hard work the project will be successful . Thanks again for helpng us!"

Pig Rearing Project update

We also donated $250.00 to this project. Eight women in Manzvire village participate in this project. To start with we gave them $125. They used the money to purchase 6 pigs @ $20 a pig. The women are very organized. They built a small pig pen to keep the pigs. They take turns taking care of the pigs. The plan is to build a bigger pen as the project grows. The women will use the rest of the money to purchase more pigs. In these pictures you can see the women overcome with joy performing an African dance as they find out that they were receiving more money towards the project. It was a pleasant surprise!

In their Own Words By One Of The Beneficiaries
"Thank you very much for helping us. We are excited about the project! We prpmise to work hard so that the project is successful. We will not disappoint you."

Sewing Project Update
The project is a big success. The women who participate in the project are very busy. They were given a contract to supply uniforms for a company from Tanganda and they also make school uniforms for Matezwa Primary school. In addition they  receive orders to make clothes for people from the village.

Thanks again for your support. You are playing a major role transforming the lives of disadvantaged rural women!

Best wishes,

Thelma