Economic Empowerment – women’s self-help groups (South Africa)
Hopes and Dreams (registered in Australia in 2008) is dedicated to delivering self-sustaining, poverty breaking solutions in Africa and India where they focus on two areas:

• bringing clean and safe water to communities, and

• assisting the poor with providing Economic Empowerment opportunities.

All of their solutions are self-sustaining and 100% of funds received go towards the projects. To date they report they have successfully implemented 469 projects (5 in Zambia, 407 in South Africa & 57 in India) and have impacted over 53,800 lives.

Following the successful expenditure of  their first UCF small grant, and the acquittal they provided to us (a requirement of every grant), Hopes and Dreams applied for another $2,000 grant to duplicate their success.

The funds will facilitate micro loans to entrepreneurial women to create 13 Self Help Trust Groups (5 women per group). This grant will allow for adequate selection, training, follow up and management of loans for 66 women. The average cost to facilitate a loan is $30 per person. The impact is approx 580 lives.

The UCF board of directors was happy to approve the application and look forward to receiving another successful acquittal!