1. Joshua & Fastina's Fish Farm in Malawi
Manyamula Village is hours away from Lake Malawi, so the only fish that arrives there is dried. Joshua and Fastina saw the opportunity to sell fresh fish. They used a SIA Small Business Fund grant of $150 to stock their newly-dug fish pond in Manyamula, Malawi last year. The business has been so successful that they have expanded to three fish ponds, started beekeeping, and sent their daughter to a private school. They have Shared the Gift by giving fish fingerlings to three families. Joshua and Fastina's fish farm helps Manyamula residents add protein and diversity to their diets!
2. Financial Services for Women in Rural Uganda
Most women in Uganda have a side-hustle: selling vegetables from their kitchen garden or farm, or buying cloth or kitchen items in bulk and re-selling them in their village. Sharon, a leader of Universal Love Alliance in Uganda, met with rural women last month as part of their outreach to widows. She laid the groundwork for starting a savings and credit group for these women who otherwise cannot access financial services for their micro-enterprises through the banks.
3. "The Answer is Local" 3-Minute Video
I loved this short video about the power of local networks to create positive change in the world. "Too often development is something done to communities, rather than with them or by them." This misses out on local resources and local solutions!