Change her life
Help a woman entrepreneur in Malawi enroll in a revolutionary program that will provide the education and training she needs to start and run a successful business - and break the cycle of poverty.
Entrepreneurship Equals Success
99% of women entrepreneurs in Opportunity
International’s program have:
Increased their Business value by 40%
Started Two Profitable Businesses
Obtained Safe, Stable Housing
She can build a business now and a future free from poverty.
That’s the power of your investment of about $1 a day.
Will you help?
You are "Timu Mai"
Cecilia Sitima
Age: 24
Business 1: Sell farm produce and small dry fish.
Business 2: Four goats + molding bricks.
Eliza Fabiano
Age: 39
Business 1: Goats
Business 2: Groceries, later changed to seling rice.
Lonney Chimbiya
Age: 42
Business 1: Pigs, and has added other livestock.
Business 2: Doughnuts
The Power of Your Investment
The women in Opportunity International’s entrepreneurship program are among the most impoverished in Malawi. They live on less than 50 cents per day – far below the global poverty line.
Imagine what your gift — about $1 per day — can do right now.
Your Gift Transforms Lives.
Meet Lonney Chimbaya
Her future is transformed thanks to caring friends like you.
- Lonney is a visionary. She always wanted to have a better life with her children, but she struggled to find the opportunity.
- Accepted into the Opportunity International program
- Began trainings in business management and financial literacy with her cohort
- Chose pig farming as her first business, due to the high yield pigs can bring in during a short period of time.
- Made strides in the first few months, diversifying her livestock with a goat, two rabbits, and chickens.
- Began selling doughnuts to her community as a secondary business
- Lonney‘s success has allowed her to improve her home with a toilet and a place to dry her plates. She’s also been able to re-enroll her son in school.
FAQ
What is Timu Mai
Timu Mai means “Team Woman,” which is translated from Chichewa, one of Malawi’s local languages. It is the name for Opportunity International’s monthly giving program which supports women entrepreneurs in Malawi starting businesses that help them break out of poverty, support themselves, and change their lives forever.
How will I know if my support is making a difference?
When you sponsor a family in Malawi, you’ll receive a different story each month of a mother and her family who are enrolled in Opportunity International’s family sponsorship program. You can follow their journey out of poverty and walk alongside them as they build a promising future together and transform their communities.
Why Malawi?
Opportunity International has identified Malawi as a high-need area prime for change. According to the World Bank, it is one of the lowest-income countries in the world. 70% of the population live on less than $2.15 a day, which is the global poverty line. And 80% of Malawians lack access to enough nutritious food for normal growth. These barriers make it even more difficult for mothers and their children to break free from poverty. Yet the women enrolled in Opportunity International’s program are resilient, willing to learn, and ready to build a new future for themselves and their children. They’re hoping friends like you will support them in this life-changing opportunity.
What businesses do they start?
The entrepreneurship program is focused on improving women’s lives now and for the future. It starts by enrolling a woman in the two-year business education program. Through your support, she receives a 6-month stipend for food and basic necessities while learning the foundations of running a business and deciding which businesses she wants to build. She will choose two businesses to launch: one that she can start immediately that will help provide a small income (for example: soap making, selling local produce, and selling second-hand clothing) while her second business is a longer term agricultural business. Once her longer term business is fully operational, it will provide the stable income she needs to care for her children and invest in their future.
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