Big Changes for Kurandza!
This year Kurandza is going to be showing up a little differently from what you're used to. In the past we have been able to impact our community using funding primarily from selling handmade products that our women in Mozambique make! This form of funding has been an amazing way to raise seed funding for our organization, and we have seen that by shifting models we can make even more of an impact!
Our product-based model enabled our women to earn a fair wage, providing for their families, and it also helped us start our social programs on the ground in Mozambique. Our social programs have been so successful that we want to focus even more on them this year!
We have been running our nutrition program since the hunger crisis hit a year ago. It has saved hundreds of children in the community. The community leaders are thrilled with this program and the difference it's making in our village. We plan on increasing our impact with this program by training more program leaders, performing more cooking demonstrations, and providing more nutritious food supplements for malnourished kids in the community.
Two of the girls who are benefitting from our nutrition program.
We have also started a pre-school scholarship program and have sent our first student to school. 3-year old Lindsey Brianna is now attending a private school in the province capital, where she's been given the chance at an education!
Lindsey wasn't even 6 months old here, and now she's 3 years old and starting pre-school!
Our third goal this year is to raise funding to create more small, local businesses like the convenience store that was built in 2015 after a generous Kurandza donor contributed $2,000 to start this small business!
With $1,000, we can help a woman start a meat business or a small produce stand. With $2,000 or more, we can help someone build a hair salon, bar, or convenience store. So much is possible with so little money when it's in US dollars. Starting these businesses helps provide income for a family for their entire life-- and it also helps develop the community and spurs local commerce.
This is the inside of the convenience store we built during the day of it's inauguration!
So what's happening to the women of Kurandza? Percina M. continues to run all of our programs in Mozambique while I'm in the US (we get to run things together when I'm in town!). Gina is her counterpart, and Percina C. is the head nutrition facilitator. The other ladies continue to facilitate the nutrition programs and are using their earnings from Kurandza to start their own local businesses.
Kurandza group photo! :)
We want our loyal customers to know that we appreciate your support! We will still be selling limited product until we run out of inventory. Purchase now before we run out! We may do special orders in the future, but for now, we are focusing more on our social programs and less on our products.
If you would still like to support us in a way that can create the most impact, I'd love to invite you to join our monthly giving program!
If you would like to fund an entire small business, you can email me to discuss details!
Thank you for all of your support and for creating an impact in the lives of hundreds of women and children in Mozambique!
XO,
Elisabetta