Support the Grandmothers of AIDS Orphans in Uganda

60-year-old Evas lives with her two grandchildren Boaz (age 9) and Ritah (age 6). Evas’ two young grandchildren were orphaned when both her son and his wife died in a motorcycle accident.

Can you imagine being a child and not only losing one parent but both at the same time? Can you imagine losing your son and needing to provide for two beautiful beings in a blink of an eye?

After taking in her grandchildren, Evas needed more money to support herself and her grandchildren. Evas came up with an idea for a business. She pitched it to her Granny Group and was one of the lucky women chosen to benefit from the microfinance funds in her group.

Evas borrowed $162. She used the money to buy coffee from neighbors at a reduced cost, dried it and later sold it at an increased cost and received a profit of $54. Evas used the business training you provide for her to come up with a plan. Instead of using her profits right away, she began to save it.

Evas waited until she had saved over $200, which she used to buy a heifer. It later gave birth to a young bull. Soon, she plans to sell the young bull so she can buy another cow, which would allow her to sell twice as much milk and double the amount of manure for her crop gardens so she could grow more food. Evas was able to repay the loan on time with profits made from her banana plantation and coffee sales. And her herd is growling! she says her dream was to have many cows someday, reducing her burden of buying manure and fertilizers for her crop gardens.

Because of you, Evas is now a happy grandmother. Evas and her grandchildren are able to prosper in the face of a devastating, and life-changing situation.  

Links:

• Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Website

In South Western Uganda, it is Rainy Season for Two Thirds of the year. For families that don't have proper homes, they spend almost 70% of the year in fear that their house will collapse with them inside. Maria is the grandmother to her adopted, once orphaned grandchildren. While she has ample amounts of love for her children, she supports them on limited resources. Her family lives in a dilapidated, grass thatched house, without a kitchen or pit latrine. Every time it rained, the water leaked through the house and would flood. Because they have a dirt floor, when the house would flood, Maria and her grandchildren would be living in mud. Because of the unstable roof, every time it rained, Maria feared that the roof would collapse, which could hurt, even kill, her and her grandchildren. To protect themselves during rainstorms, Maria and her grandchildren would seek refuge under neighbor's veranda's. However, her neighbors thought she was dirty and too poor, so they would chase her and her grandchildren away, into the storm. Click the video link below to learn how you helped the Nyaka Grandmother's Group build Maria's family a safe home! Through supporting Nyaka's Grandmother Program, you better the lives of Maria and her grandchildren!

Links:

• See how you build Maria's family a safe space!
• Nyaka School Website-Click to change lives!

Nyaka grandmothers give everything they have so their grandchildren can have a better life. Grandmothers like Alice work hard in the fields under the hot sun through the pain of arthritis and old age to make sure their grandchildren have enough to eat. Even though she worked hard, Alice couldn't grow enough crops to support all her 10 grandchildren. When Alice and other like grandmothers came together in their Nyaka Granny Group, your support helped her dramatically change her family’s life. Through your peer learning model, Alice learned new farming techniques and shared skills she had with the other grandmothers in her group. Because you empowered Alice, she now sells enough crops to afford school fees for all10 grandchildren. Click the link to watch a video about Grandmother Alice. As you watch her story, know that this is one of the 10,000 happy endings you have helped write. Thank you for empowering women like Alice to pull their families out of poverty.

Links:

• See how you changed Alice's life!

Nyaka grandmothers give everything they have so their grandchildren can have a better life.

Grandmothers like Honest work hard in the fields under the hot sun through the pain of arthritis and old age to make sure their grandchildren have enough to eat.

Before joining Nyaka, Honest had a small shop, but could not grow enough or buy enough supplies to sell. Because her small business was not growing, Honest could not afford basic needs or school fees for her grandchildren.

When Honest and other grandmothers created a Nyaka Granny Group in their region, your support helped her dramatically change her family’s life. Because of your support, Honest received a micro-loan that allowed her to grow her business.

Because you empowered Honest through business training, people now come from all over the region to shop at her store! You have allowed her the opportunity to send her grandchildren to school!

As you watch her story with the link below, know that this is one of the 7,000+ happy endings you have helped write. Thank you for supporting women like Honest so she can better other children’ worlds.

Click here to watch the video!

Links:

• Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Website

Because of your kindness, Mukaka (Granny) Lols is able to send her five orphaned grandchildren to school! Nine years ago, Lols’ five grandchildren lost their parents to AIDS. They were left to fend for themselves. Lols was determined to make sure her grandchildren were cared for, even if that meant she’d now be a full-time caretaker in her 70’s. Though Lols loved her grandchildren, she struggled to provide food and school fees for the kids. Her grandchildren were physically chased away from school because they were too poor to pay. Lols had been able to make and sell crafts to make money in the past. Yet, recently, Lols’ eyesight was damaged, which prevented her from working. Lols was devastated that she couldn’t financially provide for her grandchildren. She felt like she had failed them. However, thanks to your support, everything changed for Lols’s family! Five years ago, Nyaka’s Grandmother Program started a Granny Group in Lols’ area. To ensure that the grandmothers can financially provide for their grandchildren, Nyaka encourages each group to have an income generating project. Lols’ group’s project was creating crafts. At first, Lols was devestastated. She thought she wouldn’t be able to contribute to the crafts, because of her poor eyesight. Your generosity changed her life. Because of you, Nyaka was able to buy Lols glasses! With the new glasses you provided Lols, she could now create enough crafts to send her children to school! With the tailoring classes and sewing machine she received through the Granny Group, Lols is now one of the top tailors in the region. Hospitals hire Lols to create their uniforms. She also sells her crafts at the largest markets in the region. Because of the economic opportunity you provide Lols, you have ensured a better future for her grandchildren! Thank you for empowering Lols! If you want to continue supporting her and other grandmothers, check out their crafts for sale at Nyaka’s Etsy shop!