Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

The Hunger Project Ethiopia (THP-E) is working with farmers in Ethiopia to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies. THP-Es promotion of women empowerment especially through its microfinance program in building the community wellbeing, livelihoods, and environmental conservation. This is mainly because women are specifically targeted for microfinance strategies because they are, in general, poorer than men due to many reasons. Access to microfinance will increase women’s control over the household, thereby enhancing wellbeing and improving empowerment. The benefits of promoting women’s economic empowerment thus spread beyond the individual woman to her children, family, community and the nation subsequently. THP-E has identified some of the issues that are hindering the women in the community where the epicenters are established. Increased household income due to access to credit and engagement in IGA led women to engage in marketing starting from petty trade. The increase of income brings recognition of women’s role and status at household and community level. Such trend promotes active participation of women in decision-making and leadership in facilitating development. That is why THP-E requests for seed capital to be provided in terms of credit and encourage women get involved in income generating activities.

What is your project and how will it help?

The Hunger Project (THP), an International NGO, was established in the United States in 1977. It works in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, reaching twenty-four million people in nearly 20,000 villages in the most rural places imaginable. THP has been implementing integrated rural development programs in epicenters focusing on integrated set of programs which include health, nutrition, agriculture, water & sanitation, education, finance, livelihoods, and women’s empowerment. Particularly, THP-E is highly appreciated in the rural area, where it works 75% with women farmers, on Saving and Credit. The selection is also made looking into the focus it had on women subsistence farmers who do the majority of the farm labor, family cooking, and child health care and also for its well structured and defined development approach. The objective of this activity is to economically empower rural partners, primarily women, so that they become economic actors in the epicenter; to increase household income levels in the epicenter so that wealth and savings are created in the epicenter. and to create sustainable credit and savings facilities in the epicenter, through the establishment and government recognition of a saving & credit cooperative/rural bank. Prior to the establishment of the Saving and Credit Cooperatives THP-E conducts Vision-Commitment-Action and other trainings to change the attitudinal change of the population on poverty, on gender etc… Given the low income of the population especially women, THP-E applies group collateral system. Since the concept for saving is improving from time to time, the partners saving is increasing progressively and at the end of 2011, loan partners at all epicenters saved birr 527,564 where 70% of the total is women’s share. From birr 8,931,190 is disbursed to partners at all epicenter birr 5,980,620 (67%) is disbursed to women partners. There are 3,660 active loan partners in all epicenters where women counted for 72%. The cumulative repayment rate of all the SACCOs is 94 %. THP-E has established 6 Saving and Credit Cooperatives in 6 regions and all working effectively. The Cooperatives are managed by a Committee composed of community members, with majority of women. Most of Cooperatives are going to be self reliant and for that purpose need additional seed capital to promote further income generating activities, specially for women farmers whose social, economic and political life is changing significantly.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

Partnership is established at local and international level. At local level we are partnering with local government through agreements, local and international NGOs and donors thorugh MOUs etc… At the global level THP global Office raise fund for THP-E or directly we raise fund. so far at Global level Sweden-Radiojalpen and Australia THP are funding some projects.

Please detail the resources that you need.

The Saving and Credit Cooperatives established by THP-E are now at the self-reliance phase. At this stage they need further seed capital and income generating activities. THP-E requests some capital fund, trainings and income generating activities financing for farmers, especially women farmers.