We're kickstarting our social enterprise!
PHASE ONE: Victims —-> Survivors
Our staff in Tanzania worked with leaders in ten communities to identify the ten most traumatized survivors in each and created a two-year counseling program for them. All the women flourished and showed improved depression and anxiety scores on culturally appropriate testing. Their counselor, who also has a degree in community development, began teaching the 99 survivors about the principles of business.
PHASE TWO: Survivors —-> Entrepreneurs
The women learned how to make tie-dye and batik style fabrics. They are paid per piece and sales go directly to program costs while providing economic security for these resilient women. The survivors now proudly call themselvesentrepreneurs and chose to name their enterprise VUMWE (voom-wee) Designs because in their Pare language, the wordVUMWE meansUNITY.
In 2019, Empower Tanzania became a member of the Fair Trade Federation and began growing this new social enterprise through sales, market research, and business and product development.
PHASE THREE: Entrepreneurs —–> Thriving Business Women
Empower Tanzania is seeking to raise $30,000 in 2021 as start-up capital to launch Vumwe Designs and help it become competitive in the international marketplace. Funds raised will be used to hire and train staff in Tanzania and support a three-year business development period. We believe that the program will become self-sufficient and the women in the Vumwe Designs collective will be trained and ready to take over the enterprise.
We need you! Please consider helping us reach our $30,000 goal this year. Here’s how you can help:
Donate HERE.
Tell your friends! Share this blog post and our social media posts!
Invite us to speak about women’s empowerment through entrepreneurialism at your community group.
Reach out to learn more: information@empowertz.org.