Page 12 - TWR Annual Report 2021

Together

WOMEN

RISE

when… women have equal

economic opportunities.

When women have more income, they reinvest it in the health, nutrition, and education of their children, which
benefits their families and communities. Together Women Rise funds grants that help women obtain access to banks,
microcredit, and other financial services, and enable them to start and sustain strong businesses.

In 2021, Together Women Rise completed a three-year, $75,000 Sustained Grant to Women’s Microfinance Initiative
(WMI) in Uganda. WMI provides loans and business/financial skills training to rural women who then establish
successful, growing businesses. Women are trained how to operate the loan program themselves, which makes the
entire community invested in their success and in creating systems change.

Namono’s Story

Namono owns a secondhand clothing business. She is a strong, motivated
entrepreneur who even sees a rainy day as an opportunity. When a group meeting
gets caught in a rainstorm, she is there with jackets to sell. After becoming a
widow, Namono struggled to support herself and her five children on the small
coffee plantation left by her husband. The clothing business helped increase
her income and support her family. A loan from WMI gave her the boost
needed to expand her business. Now, all her children can go to school,
and she can afford things like milk for tea that were out of reach before her
business grew.

Nurturing Opportunities for Women in Sierra Leone

In 2021, Together Women Rise supported OneVillage Partners (OVP) in
addressing the systemic and persistent challenges to women’s financial
literacy and empowerment in Sierra Leone. OVP’s NOW program uses
a picture-based curriculum to equip women with life skills and community
development tools to take control of their financial position in the household,
open a business, and engage in civic life. In addition to practical skills, participants
learn communication skills to interact with spouses and male family members to shift
behaviors about gender roles in the home and in the community.

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