Stories

There is a pivotal point in a young person's life where receiving an encouraging word or a gift equipping you to pursue a dream changes the trajectory of their life. For Celine, it was a simple sewing machine from the Gift Guide that empowered her to start her own business.

One day, Moriam was playing with her friends when her father called her to come and meet a new family that was visiting. Obediently, Moriam complied. Little did she know that the man she met that day would become her husband at the unimaginable age of just 14 years old.

You've probably heard the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child," before. After all, it's well known that community support is crucial for raising a child! But what happens when those helping hands never arrive and, in their place, a new mother is shamed by her community?

Richard is just 24 years old, but already he’s married with three children and solely responsible to support his growing family. Like many young men in Bwikhonje Village, Uganda, though Richard struggled to make a go of it.

When a woman is equipped with skills, encouraged by her community, and empowered with confidence, she is capable of making lasting change.

How do we achieve SDG 1 Zero Hunger so families don't have to migrate for work? By providing sustainable livelihoods for the whole community.

When you brew your morning coffee is there a face, a person, a family that comes to mind? There is a good chance that the beans you used were grown on a small farm tended by a family that has cultivated coffee for a few generations. There’s also a good chance that the family experiences the daily struggles of poverty.

Rebecca’s family was one of the poorest families in her community. She was often hungry because her parents’ farm didn’t produce enough food for the family to eat every day. Without an income, they couldn’t buy simple necessities like salt, soap, laundry detergent or Rebecca’s school uniform and classroom supplies. Eventually, Rebecca dropped out of school. And it broke her father's heart.

At one point, Hasina and her husband, Azharul, couldn’t stop sinking deeper and deeper into debt.

When selling home-grown vegetables is your bread and butter, it’s no small thing to run out of the fertilizer that makes them grow big and juicy. Or for a pest to devour your spinach and cabbage crops. Or to have hang-ups getting freshly cut produce to market on time.