1,000 Microloans for Rural Women in East Africa

Dear Supporters,

As U.S. international aid has slowed, we have worked diligently to provide our programs with some additional support tools needed to run successful and sustainable operation. Our loan hub in rural western Kibaale, Uganda, BCDC, asked for our help with a pilot program they are calling “Clean Cooking, Brighter Homes” to provide 100 rural households with affordable financing to make the switch to gas cylinders and reduce reliance on firewood and charcoal as traditional cooking materials.

Our 18 years of experience working in villages in East Africa has taught us that access to potable water, affordable power, and clean cooking options are as essential to women's empowerment and improving household living conditions as loans and training. Firewood and charcoal pose significant negative effects on personal and environmental health. Kibaale has seen wide-spread deforestation and indoor air pollution that has caused breathing and associated health problems.

WMI’s mission is always to help remove the barriers and complications our poor, rural women face daily. The nearest gas supplier is located 60 km (40 miles) away; this is an impossible distance for the average rural household in Kibaale. The pilot will bring the tanks right to our villages, where we have constructed a safe storage shed with proper air circulation.

WMI always engages in fair and transparent loan practices. We will provide the cylinders on credit and borrowers will pay back in small, affordable installments. Instead of the usual $50 per tank, the cost to WMI borrowers is $43. The tanks come with a grill and regulator for cooking. WMI also supported the construction of a storage shed (open sided for proper air circulation). The gas cylinders will be stored safely in lockable cages fixed inside the shed. Non-borrowers will be able to purchase tanks on a lay-away basis.

Finally, our mission is to educate. To help prevent house fires from indoor cooking,WMI is providing program participants with comprehensive training on how to safely and efficiently use and store the gas cylinders.

We especially appreciate your loyal support in this challenging landscape. Your trust and confidence in WMI's grass-roots approach to women's economic empowerment has translated into improved living conditions for thousands of rural families in East Africa.

Thank you!