Support for a Development Project in Uganda
MAPLE Microdevelopment began with the goal of eradicating poverty through learning and entrepreneurship. They help build the skills and resources needed to assist people living in developing economies.
Originally founded by a group of students and faculty on campus at The University of Oregon in 2006 as a way to source real data for academic research, they eventually grew to serve the communities in Uganda and Chile through economic and business development opportunities. Maple realizes the importance of designing projects to fit within the community to ensure they are sustainable.
I very recently got involved with this organization shortly after graduation as a way to play a part in economic development in emerging countries. This is due to the realization of the privileged opportunity I have been given.
The latest project:
Fistula, an injury of the mother during childbirth, greatly affects the lives of women in Uganda. While we have the luxury of modern medicine to assist the child birthing process to dramatically reduce the risks, developing nations lack such means of maternal health care.
Statistically speaking, Uganda has the third highest rate of fistula in the world. Many of the afflicted women are socially and economically ostracized.
TERREWODE recognizes this and attempts to systemically empower women to meaningfully participate in development activities to improve their livelihoods, families, and communities. They are attempting to bring assistance for women impacted by fistula to the forefront by creating programs in local villages. This allows them to generate income to hopefully break the cycles of poverty and prove themselves socioeconomically.
When the fistula survivors and founder of TERREWODE, Alice Emasu, received a bar of goat milk soap from Oregon, they began discussing opportunities. With the help of these women, they have the capabilities and potential to produce the soap locally, benefiting not only themselves but the local economy as well.
MAPLE has partnered with TERREWODE and hopes to be able to assist these women by developing sustainable business plans. The women have already started making test batches of soap for the pilot and lined up Vacasa for a buyer. The international vacation rental company intends to purchase the soap for their homes in the Italian market for an important pilot phase.
We have developed a crowdfunding site through which anyone can donate to support this pilot phase of this amazing project. The site will be up through October 23.
50% of the $3,000 target amount will go to TERREWODE and 50% will go to MAPLE, in both cases to help cover the costs of making this pilot successful.
I encourage us to take consideration of our privileged positions and help these women with this venture to earn income, support themselves, their families, and their Ugandan communities.
