At The Harvest Fund, our mission is to change the lives of marginalized African women by increasing their incomes and helping them leave extreme poverty behind. Since our launch in late 2019, we have been dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of these hardworking women.
Alleviating poverty in Africa
In our first impact report, we shared the progress we have made with our women's farming cooperatives. However, we believe that measuring progress solely through income is not enough. That's why we track a variety of other indicators to ensure that our support is truly improving lives. For example, we know that the women work in informal jobs and don't receive regular wages, so we survey them on household goods which they barter for:
Grassroots economic growth
We are also proud to share that the percentage of children going to school has increased from 76% to 100%. We believe in the power of education to transform lives, and we emphasize the importance of sending their children to school during our interactions with the women. Our annual soft-skills training includes teaching them how to budget for school-related expenses, such as a hearty breakfast, pencils, uniforms, and shoes.
We also observe that nutrition diversity is critical in poverty alleviation. We find that with more money, women tend to invest in more diverse foods for their families instead of relying on corn/maize. In the last few years, we are happy to report that as a result of our nutrition training and budgeting courses, families consume a diverse array of plant and animal based protein. Diverse nutrition is vital for the development of their children and women's energy as they work in their fields.
We are results-oriented, focusing on tangible outcomes that make a real difference in the lives of the women we support. By investing in solar-powered energy to improve agriculture for poor rural female farmers, we are not just providing short-term solutions – we are creating lasting change that benefits both individuals and their communities.
Join us in our journey because, together, we can continue to make an incredible difference.