Brentwood based Just Hope International announces the launch of the Women Entrepreneurship Development Program in Bauya, Kongbora Chiefdom, Sierra Leone.
Based on Just Hope’s mission to make an “impact that lasts,” the program’s objectives include spreading the culture of entrepreneurship in Kongbora Chiefdom and identifying and training female entrepreneurs while helping them gain the necessary business skills to launch a successful business to supplement their farm income.
By promoting business ownership and economic empowerment, the program will also create jobs for youth and women. The program participants will serve as mentors to their young interns, teaching them business skills as well as family values. The program is centered on a “whole family” approach, helping to strengthen family finance.
“Our goal is to expand the entrepreneur base in Kongbora, invigorating the local economy through micro enterprises. We are focused on developing the knowledge and skills among participants, particularly women, who carry a heavy family, economic and social burden,” said Ben Turner, President of Just Hope International.
The Kongbora Women Entrepreneurship Development Program (KWEP) is established through private donations. The program will initially support 25 women who are currently earning an average of 70,000 Le (approx. $10) per month in supplemental income while supporting a family of eight. All of the women farm small plots of land, growing staple goods such as maize, groundnuts and rice. However, living harvest to harvest leaves an extended period of hunger with heavy human casualties.
According to participants, these entrepreneurs will generate an average of 25 percent return on their 760,000 capital by engaging in trades, such as peanut butter production, cookie production, street cafés, sundry shops, goat farming, chicken farming, new and used clothing shops and cosmetic shops. The multiplier impact on the Kongbora economy will be significant.
The program will launch on July 24, 2018. For more information about Just Hope International and or how you can partner with the organization, visit justhopeinternational.
ABOUT JUST HOPE INTERNATIONAL
Just Hope International empowers people in some of the world’s most difficult living conditions to transform their future for generations by producing income for their families. Through this model of economic empowerment, Just Hope International engages directly with people who are doing their part to improve their circumstances and connect them with training, tools, and opportunities. Just Hope International has an office in Bauya with three full-time local staff.
Just Hope International was founded in May 2007 to provide technical and humanitarian assistance. Based on the principle of giving a hand up, not a hand out, need-specific interventions ensure sustainable generational economic impact. Just Hope International is a not-for-profit organization under U. S. I.R.S. 501(c) 3. It is a non-governmental organization (NGO).
ABOUT KONGBORA CHIEFDOM, SIERRA LEONE
Kongbora Chiefdom is one the 14 chiefdoms in the southern Moyamba district. The town of Bauya is the administrative headquarter of the Chiefdom. Essentially, it is a rural chiefdom. The estimated population is 11,000 and approximately 51 percent are women. Approximately 60 percent of the population are under the age of 25. The median ages are as follows: Male – 19; and Female – 20 (World Bank). The habitants are predominately Mende. The literacy rate: Male 58 percent; and Female 37 percent (UN). The economy is largely agricultural. The estimated annual income is $200 per household with an estimated eight members (World Bank). More than 85 percent of the population are below the country’s poverty line.
