Womens Groups News
CGA has continued and expanded the scope of its work with local womens groups in recent months. Women continue to be a marginalized group within Kenya, having trouble accessing loans from formal institutions. We are working with groups to assist them in generating their own loans via a merry-go-round system (you can read more about this under the microfinance portion of our website) and in initiating microenterprises.
We work with more than 20 womens groups in and around Kiminini, some of our most frequently visited include Mbai, Tears of Joy, Masaba, Inuka, and Nakwangwa groups. In addition to sometimes providing financial loans, we provide administrative support, business trainings, agriculture trainings, health and hygiene education and any other assistance the women ask for.
In recent months we have made great progress in expanding our outreach to the groups. We have started working with Inuka Womens Groups and they now have a fully functioning merry-go-round system in place where multiple members are able to take loans out at each biweekly meeting. Some of their current projects include grains storing and selling, bakeries and poultry projects. Tears of Joy and Mbai Womens Groups have also been very successful in putting recently received group loans to use. Last April, each of these groups received $250 loans which they used to purchase grains during the harvest season when prices are low, stored them, and sold them for a profit during the dry season when prices are high. With their profits, each of the women then started their own initiatives such as purchasing chickens or sheep to further grow their incomes. Some members have recently been able to purchase cows with the extra income they have earned through their poultry projects, allowing them to increase their incomes even further.
We and the members of the groups would like to thank all of our generous supporters who have contributed their time, skills and money to these projects. It is through their contributions that our progress has been made possible. For information on how you can help out, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We work with more than 20 womens groups in and around Kiminini, some of our most frequently visited include Mbai, Tears of Joy, Masaba, Inuka, and Nakwangwa groups. In addition to sometimes providing financial loans, we provide administrative support, business trainings, agriculture trainings, health and hygiene education and any other assistance the women ask for.
In recent months we have made great progress in expanding our outreach to the groups. We have started working with Inuka Womens Groups and they now have a fully functioning merry-go-round system in place where multiple members are able to take loans out at each biweekly meeting. Some of their current projects include grains storing and selling, bakeries and poultry projects. Tears of Joy and Mbai Womens Groups have also been very successful in putting recently received group loans to use. Last April, each of these groups received $250 loans which they used to purchase grains during the harvest season when prices are low, stored them, and sold them for a profit during the dry season when prices are high. With their profits, each of the women then started their own initiatives such as purchasing chickens or sheep to further grow their incomes. Some members have recently been able to purchase cows with the extra income they have earned through their poultry projects, allowing them to increase their incomes even further.
We and the members of the groups would like to thank all of our generous supporters who have contributed their time, skills and money to these projects. It is through their contributions that our progress has been made possible. For information on how you can help out, please don't hesitate to contact us.
