Share Trust
The power of women helping each other
Saving together, setting up small businesses and supporting each other is the formula of the self-help groups that Share Trust helps set up. Each week, groups of 10 to 25 women come together to make new plans. Trust and joint action thus lead to change from the bottom up.
Only a small part of international aid to Africa reaches local groups that decide for themselves what they want to develop. As a result, the local community often does not benefit sufficiently from the aid. Share Trust puts the wishes and ideas of local people centre stage. Women form a self-help group within their own community. They work together and thus collectively create the change they have in mind. For example, by setting up a business together. Or devising actions around themes such as health or human rights. Experienced group members in turn set up new groups, so that the network grows organically. This strenghtens the community from within.
Cost-effective intervention
According to The Economist, the self-help group approach is the second most cost-effective intervention in Africa after family planning. In Ethiopia, for instance, every dollar invested yielded a net return of as much as $58. Dioraphte’s contribution helps Share Trust expand its approach further in Uganda, with the ultimate goal that local communities can raise support and funding for their groups themselves.