Mitrataa Foundation - Projects

This is our largest and most ambitious program so far! The UN recently stated on Women's Day that studies continue to show that investing in education and empowerment of women has proven benefits for many aspects of the societies of developing countries. You can read more about this here. These types of projects also work directly towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

We have spent a number of months in late 2007 early 2008 working with CWISH, one of our partners in Nepal, on reviewing needs studies and reports. They have also carried out a number of small pilot programs which have proved hugely successful, so now we are ready to get to work!

The project involves providing groups of Nepali women with basic literacy, numeracy and business skills training. We are going to help them establish a savings plan and also provide them with some seed money. We are then going to mentor them as they set up, in small groups of around 20 each, their own small businesses. This will be a truly life-changing opportunity for these women, who will predominantly come from urban poor communities and living in often unimaginable situations.

In addition to this, we wanted to make this project sustainable and also find an incentive for the women to repay the seed money loaned to them whilst invoking in them a sense of pride and honour. We don't want these women to feel like they are just receiving handouts from a foreign donor and we also want to give them a role in helping others. Therefore, we are introducing the "Pay it Forward" concept into the program. This means that as the loans for the first groups are repaid, these funds will then be utilized to fund the next group and so on. Therefore, once the initial amount of seed money is established, it should only require minimal top ups to maintain and even expand the program!

Current Status

The project was officially launched during Thulo April 2008. There are already 280 women participating in the project and our aim is to reach 500 women in 2009. Due to the pay it forward nature of the project this number will continue to grow!
We are currently seeking donors to sponsor the groups of women - you can read more about how to become involved below.

How YOU Can Help

Click here to open the project overview.
We are seeking donors to raise the funds to establish the program as well as setting up the loans for the women to start their businesses. The cost to sponsor 1 group of 20 women is $1,000.00 (AUD). This covers all of the expenses of educating the women as well as the ongoing monitoring and business mentoring. This amount also includes the initial seed money to get establish the business.
So if you and a group of 9 friends joined forces to "adopt a group of women", it would only cost $100.00 each to make the most enormous impact on others' lives or you could hold a fundraising event to raise the money. This could be a great project for a group of workmates, a social club, a business group such as a Chamber of Commerce, the list is endless. All it takes is a commitment right now to make a difference. You will receive reports on the progress of your sponsored group at each stage of the program including photos - so you can see for yourself the changes taking place!
You can make a donation using PayPal right now by clicking the "Make a Donation" button below.
Alternatively, you can contact us at adam@mitrataa.org or bec@mitrataa.org to find out about other payment options or if you would like more information.