Microfinance Peace Fund for Women

Representative:

Frederick Edmos Enachu

I want to participate

Description of the project and the work to be done

The Microfinance Peace Fund for Women seeks to contribute to the long-term post-conflict reconstruction of northern Uganda. For over 20 years, the insurgency of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, produced great suffering in the country. Decades of civil war impacted northern Uganda negatively and has caused much suffering and poverty. It has changed the structures of many families, with women, children and youth becoming heads of households.

Purewish Foundation Uganda (PWFU) is a grassroots organization based in Lira, Uganda. It is launching its Microfinance Peace Fund for Women to support poor women in northern Uganda in starting businesses. These women will be issued collateral-free, low interest-bearing loans of US$50-US$250. PWFU will assist them in starting their businesses, building their assets and gaining important business skills so that they can generate income on a long-term basis, permanently improving their household living standards, and achieving financial independence for themselves and their families. PWFU will organize borrower meetings, conduct site visits, provide ongoing business education and introduce women to dealing with the local bank. The loan repayment period will be 6 months and the targeted businesses are selling cereals, milling corn and rice, vegetables and selling cloths. The borrowers' priorities for the use of their profits are: better nutrition, healthcare and paying school fees for their children.

Long-Term Impact
Empowering women living in desperate poverty in Uganda, northern region promotes in-country development from the bottom up. Women become involved in grass roots movements and advocate for far-reaching social and economic changes in their own country. The borrowers' priorities for the use of their profits are: better nutrition, healthcare and paying school fees for their children. PWFU provides outreach in all of these areas by empowering women with options to provide better care for their families.

Project Objectives