Double your donation for the next 7 days in our annual matched giving challenge!


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Dear John,

The 2020 Big Give Christmas Challenge is now open!

From now until next Tuesday (8th Dec) all donations made via the Big Give website will be doubled.

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This year’s project

Regular supporters of the Big Give Christmas Challenge may remember that in 2017 we funded a project with Siiqqee Women’s Development Association that successfully established three women-led cooperatives in some of the poorest communities in Ethiopia. This year, after an incredibly challenging and uncertain time due to COVID-19, these three cooperatives need urgent support so they can continue to act as a lifeline for hundreds of women and their families.

Why are cooperatives so important?

Gender inequality and discrimination is widespread in Ethiopia. In a country where only 1 in 4 girls receive a secondary school education, women are largely dependent on their spouse’s income. This leaves women in a precarious position as job insecurity and fluctuations in the economy mean money is often scarce (further exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis this year). On top of this, negative social norms around women and their low status in society drive high rates of physical and sexual violence.

When a woman is financially independent, she can make choices and decisions about her life, her whole household benefits, and her risk of violence is dramatically reduced.

One member's experience: Zeuditu

"I was a very poor woman. I didn’t have an education. I was unemployed. It was very, very hard. After Siiqqee came, my situation changed. I was empowered to the point that I could go to the market and do business.

Siiqqee is very, very important because women are not allowed to go out of the kitchen. They’re often oppressed by husbands. They don’t know about savings. What we have learnt is to know about our rights, claim our rights and believe in ourselves."
Three ways we want to support women-led cooperatives at this crucial time

1. Ensure cooperatives’ income-generating activities are sustainable: From dairy production to vegetable growing and beekeeping, these cooperatives are resourceful in generating income, but women need the materials and investment to rely on these long term.

2. Provide business management training: After receiving training on saving and literacy skills, members began to save together. Additional training helps members learn how to reinvest and scale their business activities.

3. Build confidence and business acumen: The cooperatives need stronger links with wholesalers and regional traders outside their towns to drive costs down. The project will provide leadership training to build members' confidence and networking skills so they can negotiate the best prices for their fledgling businesses.
This Christmas, help secure an independent income for women and their families long into the future. And thanks to the Big Give Christmas Challenge your donation will go twice as far!

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Thank you for standing with these strong and determined women.

Best wishes,

Hannah Little
Fundraising & Marketing Officer
Womankind Worldwide

Pictured above: Cooperative members proudly walking across land they acquired through their saving and business activities near Nekemte, Western Ethiopia. The group now hope to use the land to fatten animals and grow crops in order to generate further income for the group.

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