MPA has experienced a time of growth, refinement, and expansion in 2018 which reflects our commitment to offering a hand-up to people living in extreme poverty. This report details MPA’s accomplishments by partners and project areas. We would like to take a moment to celebrate some of the new ground covered, only made possible with your support and generosity.
Microfinance Education Outreach —
Insummer 2018, MPA sponsored and extended educational workshops for CPS Partner groups in Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya and Democratic Republic of the Congo. For some of these, we coordinated partner-to-partner training utilizing BUWEA’s Selva Majaliwa as one of the trainers. Overall, MPA conducted consultation visits with 21 microfinance groups and reached more than 600 individual members.
Clean Water Microfinancing —
In 2018 MPA placed 218 water filters within three partner organizations: BUWEA, CPS Partners, and Jamii Bora. Thanks to donors like you, MPA raised enough funds in 2018 to move quickly in 2019 to place more than 2,183 more with these partners as well as our partners in Uganda. The programs vary from partner to partner but revolve around the central idea that clean water can be accessed either through a microfinancing loan or with a pay-it-forward microfinancing group concept. Either way, the early anecdotal reports from members now enjoying clean water are encouraging.
Safe Woman Microfinancing —
Perhaps one of the most inspiring initiatives of 2018 is the evolution of the Safe Woman project. Responding to a life-threatening maternal health issue in the Masaka area, MPA has supported a piglet income project for post-fistula women, an alternative project for women who are not in a situation to raise pigs, and an ultrasound training project to avoid obstetric fistula injuries in the first place. In 2018, the project added a microfinancing component at the village health center level—promoting group income projects at the clinics to support sustainability for both the clinics and the women coming for antenatal services.
All three of these new initiatives have the potential to be scaled up and/or duplicated and implemented with other MPA partners. All three came from listening to our partners and their dreams for the future. All three were made possible by the generosity of our donors.