It was clear that the Centre de Formation Rurale in Giheta, Burundi, had great potential when I visited in 2023. This area of Burundi, a small country in southeastern Africa, is blessed with fertile soil, warm weather, and two rainy seasons, making it perfect for pineapples, berries, mangoes, and farming in general. But in 2023, the cooperative didn’t have official certification and hadn’t been able to sell their products commercially for the past 15 years. Stopping them from

“Before Tubunganire Women’s Association, what would it have taken for a woman to have 400,000 Burundi Francs [about $65]?” Mwibutsa Ndagijimana, SIA African Advisory Board member from Burundi, asked the Tubunganire Executive Committee during our visit in Ryansoro. “Nothing.” “There’s no way she could have,” were the responses from Gereni, Clautilde, Agnes, and Concilia. “Before, it was painful to have some small need and not be able to get it yourself,” said Agnes. She explai

When I visited the Adolescent Psychosocial Support and Resource Centre (APSARC) in Nakasongola, Uganda, in July, I knew I would see a vocational training centre and meet some of the students, aged 15 to 25, who had attended the classes. As with all visits to SIA Grant Partner Organizations, it’s never as straightforward as the short description suggests. It’s more than the classroom The room is a simple cement-block building, with three sewing machines along one wall and samp

When I was scheduling my visit with Reach Girls last month, the fact that it was Independence Day in Malawi wasn’t an issue. “That’s...