In Mangala IDP Camp, many women carry the full weight of their households. They cook, care for children, fetch water and look after the sick, while also trying to find a way to bring in money. Many have skills: they can cook, trade, tailor or brew tea. What they do not have is capital.
No bank will lend to a displaced woman with no collateral. Without money to buy stock, even the smallest business is impossible. So women depend on irregular aid and casual work that barely covers a day’s food. When money runs out, children, especially girls, are often the first to be pulled out of school.
Through the Integrated Resilience Empowerment Project (IREP), EcoRise South Sudan set out to change this. We provided start-up capital to ten IDP women’s groups. Each group received SSP 5,000,000 and USD 400, a total of SSP 50,000,000 and USD 4,000 placed directly into the hands of women.
We chose to work through groups for a reason. Groups share risk, so one member’s bad week does not destroy the business. Members hold each other accountable for how money is used. And the benefit spreads across many households instead of a few individuals.
The women in this photo are the representatives of those ten groups. They are now turning that capital into small businesses. The path is simple but powerful: capital becomes a business, a business becomes daily income, and income becomes food on the table, medicine when a child is sick and school fees that keep children learning.
Most importantly, a woman who earns her own money gains a stronger voice in decisions at home and in her community. That is economic independence, and that is what IREP is about.
#EcoRiseSouthSudan #IREP #SouthSudan #WomenEmpowerment #IDPs #Mangala #Livelihoods
With support from @Cohere and @Quadrature Climate Foundation
