Rural Upper Egypt, steeped in history, is home to many of Egypt's poorest communities, with women facing especially high unemployment rates. Over 70% lack jobs! HANDS' mentoring program empowers female artisans in Minya, Sohag, Luxor, and Aswan, helping them turn home-based crafts into thriving micro and small businesses. Help us provide training in design, marketing, distribution, and quality control, and connect these women with mentors in the U.S. and with local and international markets.
Poverty severely limits economic and social progress for many in Egypt, especially women in Upper Egypt. These women face high unemployment, low literacy, and limited access to resources. Often working in the informal sector, they are underpaid and vulnerable to abuse. Their children frequently drop out of school to work, continuing the cycle of poverty. This program targets these systemic challenges by supporting women craft-makers in rural communities.
Making and selling handicrafts is a culturally acceptable income generating activity for women in rural Egypt. This project empowers them by providing training in marketing, product development, and small business management, as well as access to mentoring, professional networks and local and international markets. By increasing their incomes and business skills, the program aims to enhance women's economic independence, decision making power and resilience of their families and communities.
When these women grow their small businesses, it allows them to provide for their families, keep children in school, and break the generational cycle of poverty. Their increased incomes benefit the local community, through increased purchasing power and the creation of new jobs. Over the years, we have empowered almost 200 women. In this round, we aim to train 40 women from poorest communities in Upper Egypt during a year long program. They will in turn lift up their families and communities.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
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