WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS
Together, we can create sustainable change
All of us at WeSeeHope are so grateful for your support this year. Whether you made a donation, organised a fundraiser, took part in our HOPE10,000 virtual challenge, or learnt more about work, thank you.
2020 has been a difficult and uncertain year. For the 155 isolated communities we are working with in Southern and Eastern Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic has hugely exacerbated existing vulnerabilities. Increased financial insecurity in households has worsened social issues, especially for the children we exist to support, as cases of child marriage, child labour and early pregnancy have risen, and futures have been made even more uncertain.
Throughout the crisis, we have been working closely with our 17 in-country partners in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe to:
- Encourage and strengthen community-led responses to COVID-19
- Communities have set up “Tippy Tap” hand washing stations from locally sourced materials, and made face masks, hand sanitiser and soap.
- Build economic resilience through savings and loans groups in our Village Investors Programme (VIP)
- 97% of the 455 VIP groups that were in training in March have continued to function, ensuring members still have access to loans to diversify their businesses and can continue to save.
- Improve food security with agriculture projects
- We have worked with communities to improve production from the food gardens set up through our programmes and to diversify their crops to local and fast-growing produce.
- Promote child protection, provide emotional support, and address rights abuses in communities
- We engaged community volunteers from our programmes in providing door-to-door services to vulnerable children during lockdowns, especially focusing on those most at risk.
As we move into the New Year, the VIP is a key focus for WeSeeHope as we strive to build back economic security in vulnerable communities. We know that if parents and guardians can continue to save and loan, restart and grow their businesses, and learn new skills, they will be able to better provide for, support and protect their children throughout this crisis. You can hear a little more about this from our Africa Director, Oswald, in the video below.
This year, we would really appreciate it if you would please consider setting up a regular gift. Committed donations provide us with stability, help us plan for the future and create long-term, sustainable change for children in communities where it is needed now more than ever.
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and sending you best wishes for the New Year,
The WeSeeHope Team
£30 is enough for a parent or guardian to be trained in business and financial skills and be part of a VIP savings and loans group. Over a year, a gift of £30 a month could economically empower 12 parents and guardians, who in turn would support up to 36 vulnerable children.
By helping members to earn and save a more sustainable income, the VIP improves financial security in families. As the social and economic implications of the pandemic continue to develop, this will be fundamental in helping them to recover.
If you would like to find out about other ways to donate, or if you are already an existing regular donor and would like to increase your gift, please do get in touch on +44 (0)208 288 1196 or at Hello@WeSeeHope.org.uk.
LATEST NEWS
Find out more about our work across Southern and Eastern Africa in some of our newest blogs…
As the pandemic threatens to become a child rights crisis, find out more about how we are working with our in-country partners to improve financial security in families and empower children to stand up for their rights >
When women and girls have equal opportunities and their rights are respected, the cycle of poverty is broken and sustainable development is achieved. Discover how we are supporting gender equality through our work and throughout the pandemic >
According to the UN, digital finance is “providing relief for millions around the world, supporting businesses and protecting jobs and livelihoods.” Learn more about how VIP groups in Kenya have taken up mobile banking to make their money management safer during COVID-19 >
IMPACT THROUGH DATA
Over 20 years, we are proud to have:
- Partnered with 108 in-country organisations across Southern and Eastern Africa
- Worked with 2,059 communities through our programmes
- Empowered and trained 84,300 parents, guardians and community volunteers
- Supported 659,606 vulnerable children
Since launching the VIP in 2014, we have taken a more data-driven approach to measure our effectiveness. In 2019, together with our long-term corporate supporter, Qlik – a leading data analytics software developer – we created a bespoke data dashboard for the programme. This enables us to analyse economic and social data collected from every VIP group formed.
The dashboard is a highly valuable tool as we are able to breakdown, analyse and learn from the information, further improving the impact of our work. As we come to the end of our 20th birthday year, we are really excited to be developing a second dashboard for our six other programmes that will help us further measure the scale and depth of our work.
We look forward to sharing more with you in 2021!
