As we begin this new year, I am excited by the remarkable year we had in 2021 and how our efforts last year have set the stage for an equally exciting 2022 to help many more women and girls.
I know we can all agree that the last two years have been more challenging than in many years past. So much darkness challenging us to remain positive and focused on what we can do to contribute to the world and others. Too often, the headlines are full of bad news, and the goodness of people and organizations goes unreported.
At the same time, I am humbled and amazed by the resilience of the women of Uganda, honored and inspired by the generosity and compassion of our supporters here.
At the end of 2021, we raised more than twice as much money in our Black Tie No-Show Dinner event as the year before! Despite all the chaos happening in our lives, our supporters remained hopeful and compassionate and gave to help others in record numbers. I am deeply grateful to all those who donated and a remarkable team of 59 volunteers who sent Black Tie invitations to their friends and colleagues to make this incredible windfall possible. The $129,510 generated will fund enrolling 1200 more women into our program this year! Unprecedented in our history!
If you’re following our work, you know that enrolling 1200 more women means giving them microloans to start small businesses, business skills training, mentoring, and adult literacy training, in short, a comprehensive jump-start on a new life! It is a huge gift to many deserving women and their families, changing their lives forever.
Last year, we enrolled 800 new borrowers into our program. At the end of their first six months in the program, we asked them how TGC’s help had impacted their lives. Here are some of the comments we received.
- Now we are comfortably eating two meals a day. That wasn’t the case before.
- It changed my life because I can save, and in case of any emergencies, I can solve them now, and it has removed stress from me.
- My children will now study like other children too.
- I can buy clothes and shoes for my children.
and
- I am now proud of myself for getting a loan to develop a business. I was afraid to do that before TGC.
- This program has removed the embarrassment I faced begging little money from relatives & friends to survive.
- My husband now respects me, and now I have children eating good food.
- I was able to move out of an abusive marriage. I am happy I made this decision.
These comments are why we do this work at The Greater Contribution. They tell us the stories of the women we support, the difficult lives they lead, and why they need our support.
Join us in transforming lives like those describe above. Donate at: https://secure.donationpay.org/greatercontribution/.
