As the United States sees an increase in the number of women running for office following the 2016 election, a rural area of northern Uganda seems to be experiencing a similar uptick for different reasons.
One of the driving forces behind this movement in Uganda is volunteer-based nonprofit The Greater Contribution.
The Greater Contribution seeks to empower women by providing micro loans—which range from $50-$350—as well as the tools and skills necessary to thrive. It currently has 35 volunteers from all over the United States and Canada. In Uganda, the organization has an employee and a few volunteers.
“Whenever there is a natural disaster—an earthquake, a tsunami—people need emergency aid immediately, but that doesn’t get them out of poverty,” Founder and president Karon Wright said in an interview with The Malibu Times. “Our program really focuses on helping people get out of poverty permanently.”
The goal, she emphasized, was to make sure women would have income to grow their businesses and “eventually pull themselves out of poverty.”
In addition to the loans, the organization provides business training, mentoring and literacy training.
Elaine Himelfarb, a Malibu resident and a The Greater Contribution board member, then explained that getting a micro loan was a complex process.
“There’s a lot of levels in order to do everything possible to support the women,” Himelfarb explained.
Wright serves as the executive director in the United States while a project manager on the ground in Gulu helps oversee the day-to-day operation. Peer counselors work with individual women, who also have a support group; these support groups are made up of five to 15 women from the the same village or “similar geographic area.”
Himelfarb—the first board member to travel to Uganda—and her 17-year-old daughter, Maria, visited rural villages in Uganda and experienced firsthand the effect of their work with The Greater Contribution in November.
“It’s not easy travel,” Himelfarb began, describing the tiresome journey.
The duo, along with Wright (who has been on the trip 10 times) and a documentary film crew under filmmaker James Carey, flew into Entebbe International Airport before making their way to Gulu, one of the largest cities with an estimated population of 40,000, for their two-week trip. The car ride alone took a few hours.
“Where we do the micro loans is not even in Gulu,” Himelfarb said. “It’s … most often in the villages outside of Gulu, which is very difficult to get to because the roads were so bad.”
Maria then described flooded roads after rain, which would make travel near impossible.
Yet, this isn’t uncommon for villagers. People in the impoverished region live without running water and electricity—a car usually out of the question.
Despite a variety of factors, from age to family situation, women clearly showed interest in the program: According to Elaine, there are currently 600 active loans. The average age among the group is around 40 years old.
The process to securing a loan starts with a vetting process, involving locals and local officials. A lot of it, according to Wright, is based on word of mouth.
With this program, literacy isn’t a prerequisite; people remain on hand with the program to help women with applications despite the barrier.
The women typically applied the loans to businesses revolving around daily necessities, from small restaurants (some “with three tables,” Maria described) to second-hand clothing stores.
The loan repayment involved the established support groups, which typically had a leader. In order to get a loan, the group becomes responsible for each other. This ultimately resulted in groups where the women knew each other on a personal level. Often, women who were successful were able to give advice to their peers.
“These women are tough,” Wright said.
Himelfarb specifically described seeing kids—especially daughters—watch their mothers being interviewed by documentary crew.
“They looked really proud,” she said.
Beyond creating a business and generating an income, women are also encouraged to run for local office. Five women were running for office at the time of their trip, according to Himelfarb.
Nearly 90 percent of the money for the micro loans comes from individual gifts. The program itself has a 98 percent rate of return; the interest rate—1.25 percent—is purposely low to focus not just on payment, but also education. Women can apply for a total of four loans with the program.
“One of the things Maria said on the last night that really struck me was that … people all want the same thing; they want to be treated with dignity and respect, whether or not it’s homeless here in Malibu or impoverished women in Uganda,” Himelfarb said. “I just felt like we all want the same thing, for ourselves and for our families.”
Maria followed up: “I think more people my age should be aware of what’s happening and do these things because not only is it helping the people around you, [but also] it helps yourself cause [sic] I feel like I came out a different person … and I want to continue doing this.”
“Our plan is always to support as many women as possible,” Wright said, when asked about the future of The Greater Contribution.
