We had the most inspiring experience when we were in Nepal last November. We went along to a lesson with a group of women who are all illiterate domestic workers in Kathmandu. They are involved in a pilot program by CWISH which is providing them with basic literacy and numeracy skills as well as helping them to set up a micro business together. The women commit to a savings program during the course and then CWISH matches whatever they have saved to help them set up their business. The women were so energetic and enthusiastic – it was infectious and we had such a laugh with them as they performed a short play for us on women’s rights. We wanted to help CWISH launch this project on a bigger scale and to take it one step further – to “pay it forward”. This was inspired by the movie with Helen Hunt called “Pay It forward”. Bec’s brother, Simon, suggested this movie to us a few years ago and we went straight out and bought it on DVD. The lesson from the movie has been tucked away in the back of our minds ever since as we knew it would play a part in the Mitrataa Foundation at some stage. Rather than repaying the money provided by us to the Foundation as in a typical microloan scenario, they will pay it into an account for the next group of women, ensuring that the program is self-sustaining and helping them to build a network of support for their businesses.
We are very excited to announce that we have just agreed with CWISH to launch this program with an objective of providing basic business, literacy and numeracy skills to 500 women in the next 12 months and setting up 28 micro businesses with them. This is going to require a lot of fundraising so watch this space for more information. If you are interested in helping us to raise the money for this exciting new project, please contact us at adam@mitrataa.org or bec@mitrataa.org.
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