Business training + loans for women & youth

Dearest Donors,

We thank you for bearing with us through a very tough and unpredictable year. We send our thoughts and prayers to everyone reading this message, wishing you a safe remainder of 2020 and lovely holiday season. 

COVID-19 was a tough hit for Uganda. It had a severe impact on the economy, where food prices soared as trade slowed and public markets, the primary supply for local groceries and trade, were banned.

Now, Hope Center Gulu begins to make a comeback. Of Uplift’s 700 constituents of the microfinance loan program, 200 defaulted on their loan. This is the first time we have ever had any constituent default on a loan, and when we look at the current economic landscape in Uganda, we know these women tell the truth when they say they defaulted because of coronavirus related impact. 

We will provide these 200 women with an additional loan to get them on their feet again, under the agreement that they will pay back both the cost of the new loan and the previous one they had defaulted on.

Furthermore, thanks to a generous donation from an English donor, we are able to reach an additional 350 women with loans this year. These women are currently in our Uplift microfinance training program, and once the training is over, they can use their loans to start and grow small businesses that benefit them, their family, and their community.

This year has set us back on our fundraising goals, but we still hope to become self-sustainable in the next five years. To help us on that journey, please donate to Uplift, to provide even more women with even more loans, so they can help their communities, but also so they can help continue our own programs through the interest rates they pay on the loans. 

Wishing you a joyful winter season,

Team HCU