Help Rural Women Start Income Generating Projects

The majority of women in the rural areas are disadvantaged educationally and economically. They rely on agriculture as their only source of income. They work very hard spending long hours in the hot sun tending their crops. Unfortunately, for the past six years this area has experienced prolonged droughts. Despite working hard these women end up with no crops. Since agriculture is their only source of income, they have no food to eat and they have no way of meeting their basic day to day needs. Without any income they cannot afford to send their kids to school. It is very sad to see most of the families who were once self sufficient but are now drifting into poverty. This situation has been exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic which has rapidly become a woman's disease. Women living with AIDS are struggling to support their children and they cant even afford the cost of receiving treatment. These women do not want to rely on outside help in pepertuity - they are willing to work hard to lift themselves out of poverty. All they need is help to get back on their feet.

Our goal in introducing this project is to alleviate hunger and poverty by promoting self-sufficiency and to improve womens health as well. We strongly believe that improving the socio-economic status of women in the developing world is key to ending global poverty and to improve womens health. Restoring dignity and hope to disadvantaged women not only empowers them to live up to their full potential but it also strengthens the entire community. Families are healthier and more children attend school.

An Individual Story
Tendai is one of the women who will benefit from the Mushroom Project. She lives with her daughter and two grand daughters. Tendai is struggling to make ends meet. Without outside help Tendai and her family can easily drift into poverty. Fortunately, Tendai is one of the benefeciaries of the shipments of much needed items we send to Zimbabwe every year. Tendai has been receiving food and clothing from the foundation for the past 6 years.  She spends hard days in the hot sun tending crops that she is growing to provide a meager amount of food for herself and her children.  After the long day of tending crops, her day is not done.  Instead of resting to recover from the hard work in the sun, she spends her evening hours making clay pots to earn the money to buy the necessities for her family.  Sadly, despite working hard she usually ends up with hardly any crops due to drought.

Tendai represents what life is like for the majority of women in these rural areas. 

Though we help people with food and clothing during times of crisis, the Tekeshe Foundation firmly believes in lifting people out of poverty and building a culture of economic indepence. We are guided by the old the old saying, "When you give a man a fish he will eat for a day. When you give him a fishing rod and teach him how to fish he wil eat for a life time."

Our goal in introducing this project is to empower women like Tendai to become self-sufficient.   Sadly we had to put this project on hold until we raise enough funds to dig a borehole and to purchase a refrigerator.

We kindly ask you to help Tendai and many other women who are in the same predicament.