Brighter futures

You’re bringing women together to transform their communities in Bangladesh

"For the first time in my life, I can proudly say that I am the breadwinner. I am providing for my family," says Mandari, from Bangladesh.

"We are eating more than one meal a day and I can afford to buy my sons the clothes they need and their school materials."

Mandari was able to provide for her family during the pandemic thanks to ActionAid-funded training

Mandari is a member of a Reflection Action Circle, which we established in her community.

These groups provide women like Mandari with an opportunity to come together, discuss the issues they face and access training and support to resolve them.

"During one of our meeting calls [during the pandemic, meetings were held over the phone], I heard about an ActionAid-supported government training scheme to learn how to grow grass for animal food. I attended the training scheme.

Mandari and her older son cutting down the fast-growing grass which is being used for animal feed

"ActionAid provided me with grass seeds which I sowed straight away. Just two months later, the quick growing grass was ready to be cut and sold as animal feed. I am very happy to tell you that my monthly income from selling my grass is now BDT 5000 [£42.22].

"I am now a role model for the other women in my village."

You're supporting women in Burundi to transform their communities with improved farming techniques

"Hello from Burundi. My name is Scholastique, and I am a 47-year-old mother of six children. My family relies on me growing crops for our food and selling my surplus at the markets.

"I was frustrated and saddened that despite my hard work, my harvests were poor.

Scholastique’s harvests have improved significantly since attending the ActionAid farming workshop

"I struggled to provide an income to cover expenses. My three older children left school early because I was unable to pay their school fees or purchase the materials they needed."

Scholastique is part of a women’s group in her community, created and supported by ActionAid.

We are helping group members to learn new and improved farming techniques to increase yields, as Scholastique explains:

"I learned that planting the same crops in the same soil year after year had left it lacking in vital nutrients. But by using the manure from my animals and rotating my crops each year, I could improve the quality of my soil and my yield.

"I am pleased to share with you that since the training organised by ActionAid, my harvests have improved so much.

"I am now in the business of selling maize flour and green bananas produced from my own fields.

Scholastique has learned that using manure from her animals improves her soil and crops

"I am happy that my hard work has paid dividends and I can now afford to buy nutritious food for my family - and my children are able to attend school."

You're supporting women in Ghana to gain confidence, change attitudes and earn incomes

"Greetings from Ghana! I am Doris and I’m 25 years old. I live with my husband and our two daughters.

"I was told that my role as a woman would only ever be to cook, clean, have children and support my husband on his farm. For a long time, I didn’t know that I could be anything else.

Learning how to make and sell soap means Doris can purchase the fabric for her daughter’s school uniforms

"I was one of eight women from my community who learned how to make soap, how to package it and the business skills to sell it.

"As a group we work together to make and sell the soap, adding the profits to our group’s savings scheme which members can borrow from.

Doris (far left) is one of 50 women from 16 communities that learned how to make liquid soap

"Ghana recorded its first cases of Covid-19 in March 2020 and the demand for soap increased overnight as everyone needed to wash their hands more than ever to stop the spread of the virus.

"With additional support from ActionAid, we secured bulk quantities of soap-making materials so we could increase our production to keep up with the demand. The group has earned an additional income of GH₵ 1700 [£214].

"Thanks to the profit I have made from making and selling soap, I have been able to buy fabric to sew new school uniforms for my daughters in preparation for the reopening of schools in Ghana.

"My husband and his family now respect me because I earn my own income and contribute to our family’s needs. I would like to say a big thank you for this great change you have brought to my life and family. Yebarika [thank you in Dagaare]."

You’re changing women’s lives in Haiti, by bringing water to the hearts of their communities

"Hello, my name is Denise. I am a single mother to three children and I’m 36 years old. Access to safe, clean drinking water is a problem for families like mine that live in rural communities across Haiti.

Denise had no choice but to drink dirty river water which made her and her three children very sick

"My only source of water was from a tiny creek. I had to wake at first light and join the line of people waiting to fill their buckets up.

"The creek dries up in the dry season, which left me with no option but to use the water from the river. I knew drinking this water was risky, rubbish would float past us, and we knew there was animal waste in there too, but this was my only option.

Six drinking wells have been installed around Juanarya, providing 40,000 people with access to safe, clean drinking water

"During a community meeting we expressed the urgent need to dig a well and install a water standpipe.

"With ActionAid’s support we achieved this, and we have water! It is so close to my house; I no longer have to rise early to walk to the creek, and best of all the water is safe for drinking.

"The community received training on how to maintain the standpipe and manage the clean water supply. Each family contributes 10 gourdes [£0.09] a month into a fund to purchase the water treatment products and pay for future maintenance.

"I am so happy and thankful to have a clean, safe water supply available and that my children are no longer at risk from drinking dirty water. I have been able to save some money and have bought some more goats."

You’re helping women in Kenya to find new opportunities and new directions

"Joining the women’s group opened my eyes to possibilities I never thought imaginable. I learned about my rights as a woman and that I can earn my own income," says Elizabeth, who is member of the Iloodokilani Women’s Group in Kenya.

"I was excited to join a visit to another ActionAid-supported women’s group in a different community, where we saw women reaping the benefits from keeping bees and the positive impact it had on their lives.

Elizabeth is one of 150 women who have received bee keeping training thanks to ActionAid

"We had never considered bees as a way to earn an income.

"We have proven that keeping bees provides women with the opportunity to become financially independent.

"Thanks to ActionAid, we have registered ourselves as a beekeeping cooperative comprising of 200 women from five different villages.

Learning new bee keeping skills means that Elizabeth (far right) is no longer struggling to provide for her children’s needs

"ActionAid is now helping us to build a processing room for our cooperative which will help us streamline our production and market our products further afield.

"I am in charge of my own income, which I use to clothe my children and pay for what they need for school – thank you!"

You’re supporting women in Mozambique to transform their communities

"There was no water supply in my village, so everyone had to fetch water from a village 5km away every day. I would wake at 4am to make the first round-trip so my children would have water when they woke up," says Matilde, from Sofala Province in Mozambique.

"My children would then help me collect more - we carried 20 litres of water on our heads and carried another 5 litres in our hands. This often made them late for school.

Matilde’s children still help collect water before school, but the new borehole means they no longer miss lessons

"Thanks to ActionAid’s support, a borehole was constructed in my village. It is only 200m away from my house, not 5km anymore.

"I am shocked when I look back at all the time me and my children spent collecting water.

"Once the new borehole was installed, ActionAid helped us establish a water management committee.

Matilde’s family is one of 625 families whose lives have been transformed thanks to the new borehole

"There are 15 members, and I was elected as the chair. I can only do this now because of the time saved collecting the water. We have received training on how to manage the borehole, maintain and repair it, and we’ve set up a community fund to cover the costs.

"Thank you for helping to change the lives of the 625 families in my village by installing the water borehole – it has positively impacted each and every one of us!"

You’re helping women in Nepal train for new roles and provide for their families

"Greetings from Nepal! My name is Raju, I am 25 years old. I live in a small village in the western hills of Nepal. 

"My husband works in India as a labourer. I was heavily pregnant with our third child when the coronavirus pandemic reached us in March 2020.

"The lockdown that followed meant that my husband was unable to return home to be with his family and newly born daughter. He would normally send me money, but this was problematic due to the lockdown.

Thanks to your support, Raju attended ActionAid’s kitchen garden training and received seeds to start her own garden

"As the weeks turned into months, our savings were starting to run out and I began to worry how much longer we could survive like this for.

"I joined the women’s group and learned about their kitchen garden programme – a scheme to help women like me who needed food for their family and a way to generate an income.

"I attended a three-day vegetable farming workshop where I learned how to prepare my own organic manure and how to tackle pests without the use of harsh chemicals.

Raju is selling her surplus vegetables, which is providing her family with a much-needed income

"Following the training, I received seeds to get me started. I have been growing vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, radish, coriander, cucumber, pumpkin, beans and potatoes, which have provided my family with nutritious meals.

"I started to sell my surplus vegetables and have earned NRs 28,000 [£175] in six months.

"Selling my vegetables, earning my own income, and providing for my family has really boosted my confidence."

You’re supporting girls in Sierra Leone to stay in school and follow their dreams

"I grew up understanding that my brothers would go to school and receive an education and I would marry and have children," said Martha, aged 12, from Sierra Leone.

"It was the accepted norm that girls didn’t go to school. If there were chores to be done before school, I had to do them even if it made me late for school.

With the school materials supplied by ActionAid, Martha is studying hard to pass her exams so she can become an accountant

"When money was tight, my brothers' school fees were paid before mine. They received their books first too.

"ActionAid has been holding workshops in my village helping people understand that us girls are as important as the boys.

"We were expected to leave school without finishing our education and marry.

"ActionAid also provided each child in my school with a school bag, pens, pencils and all the books we needed, so when money was tight, I no longer missed out on my lessons.

"I like going to school every day, it makes me happy.

Martha (third from left, with her family) is determined to complete her education

"My favourite subject is mathematics. I am motivated to study hard and pass all my exams as I want to be an accountant.

"Thank you for helping us to stay in school so we can follow our dreams."

You're helping women in The Gambia gain the skills and funding they need to launch their own businesses

"Hello, my name is Njibi. I am 48 years old, and I live in The Gambia with my husband, our children and grandson.

"To help our finances, I sell cooking ingredients such as pepper, salt, tomato paste, dry fish and garlic, but I struggled to earn D50.00 [£0.69] a day.

Njibi has learned new business skills so she can now support her family

"I was excited to attend the ActionAid business skills training where I learned how to identify the best products to sell, how to keep records, calculate the best-selling price, profit calculation and the importance of saving too.

Following the business training, Njibi received a grant allowing her to buy and sell higher profit cooking ingredients, such as rice

"After the training, each of the 30 women received a grant to help them progress their business plans. I decided to invest in products that I knew I could sell and generate a higher profit.

"I am now selling rice, millet, cooking oil and laundry soap and my daily profits have doubled to D100.00 [£1.38].

For the first time in Njibi’s life, she has been able to save for her family’s future needs

"So far, I’ve managed to save D1600.00 [£22.09] with the Credit Union in my community.

"None of this would have been possible without the partnership of ActionAid – thank you!"

You're helping women in Vietnam to develop their businesses and provide for their families

"I have been a street vendor for 28 years, selling my home-grown vegetables. It’s a tough job but it’s the only one I know how to do," says Kim from Vietnam.

"I earn between VND 50,000 to 80,000 [£1.50 - £2.46] a day. With such limited income, I’ve always struggled to keep the children in school and stay out of debt."

Thanks to her improved income, Kim is determined that her granddaughter will finish her education

Kim is part of a women’s Street Vendor Club, created and supported by ActionAid. We are supporting group members by providing access to a loan fund to help them improve their business potential, as Kim explains:

"I was thrilled when ActionAid invited me to join the Women’s Street Vendor Club.

"At the monthly meetings we share our business ideas and experiences with each other. We have also learned new business skills to help us improve our income.

"My income is now around VND 100,000 to 120,000 [£3 - £3.69] a day, and sometimes as much as VND 200,000 [£6.17].

"As a result, my whole family’s life has been improved. We have paid off our debt and I am managing to save a small amount each month – something I have never been able to do before.

Kim is an active member of the Women’s Street Vendor Club monthly meetings

"The most joyful thing for me is that I can pay for my granddaughter’s education and support her to obtain her high school diploma. I am so grateful for what I have received from ActionAid – thank you!"