Build an Income - Our VSLA programme
A quality education must be complemented by income generation opportunities if young people are to escape poverty.
What are the issues that VSLAs tackle?
More than 70 per cent of Africa's poor people live in rural areas and depend for their food and livelihood on a precarious relationship with the land. In the rural areas of Kenya and Uganda employment opportunities are few and far between. A quality education must be complemented by income generation opportunities if these young people are to escape poverty, to help set them up with a job or give them the resources necessary to start their own enterprise.
Our Approach
Our aim is to create sustainable models for increasing the incomes of the poor, allowing them adequate nutrition and better access to education and healthcare. We give young people (including parents and the carers of orphans) the chance to save, to work their way out of poverty and to increase the prosperity of their community. We achieve this in a number of ways by:
- Tackling people's ability to save and to access credit through the setting up of savings and loans groups
- Increasing people's knowledge of and access to good markets, linking suppliers to producers;
- Supporting individual producers to work together to jointly purchase materials and equipment, bulk sell produce and gain peer support; and
- Raising awareness of policies, opportunities and support available to entrepreneurs and those seeking work.
Build an Income consists of two income generating projects: Village Savings and Loans Associations (microfinance-style groups) and the Buliisa Orphans Project. Both are based in rural Uganda and both are proven methods for increasing incomes and empowering communities.
Supporting a Group
If you're interested in learning more about how you can get involved with supporting a group then please call Gavin at 01892 501064 or email gavin.salmon@build-africa.org.uk to learn more.
You can also choose to donate specifically to Build an Income by clicking the donate button at the top right hand corner of the website, choosing either a single or regular gift, and choosing 'Build an Income' from the drop down menu.
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