Hero Women Rising

Job training, education, and job creation for women

Location: Democratic Republic of Congo

Sponsor: Carol Head

Hero Women Rising Website

Hero Women Rising:  Grantee in 2020, 2021, 2022-23 and 2024

Hero Women Rising is all about lifting up women and giving them equal access to opportunities to improve their lives and better their communities. To accomplish this goal, its mission is to use education and technology to amplify the voices of women and adolescent girls, teach them to advocate for their rights, build their economic capacities, and support the development of other grassroots women’s organizations. Programs bring women together to both master new skills and gain appreciation for working collectively to make positive change in their communities. 

The operating arm of Hero Women Rising in Democratic Republic of Congo is called Synergy of Congolese Women’s Associations (SAFECO). Founded in 2012, it takes a holistic approach and carries out a number of programs to enable and empower women by connecting them to the tools they need to create a sustainable income. These include computer training and internet access, a mentoring program, university scholarships, and job training. SAFECO ultimately wants to instill in women the confidence to set a new course for their country.

For more information, see: http://www.herowomenrising.org/

GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

2020: $30,000 will support their Three Pillars program:

  1. Street Business School (SBS): 40 women living in extreme poverty will participate in this six-month entrepreneurial training program.
  2. Sewing Livelihood: Two programs will teach 41 women to either sew clothes using a local fabric (Kitenge) or create handbags using designs by Paula Horsfall, the London-based program founder and lead trainer for Sewing Hope.
  3. Maman Shujaa (Hero Women) Media Center (MC): Funds will cover the addition of 10 new computers in a community center and computer training for 60 women.

2021: $30,000 will continue to support their Three Pillars program:

  1. Street Business School (SBS): 100 women living in extreme poverty will participate in this six-month entrepreneurial training program.
  2. Sewing Livelihood: Two programs will teach 15 women to either sew clothes using a local fabric (Kitenge) or create handbags for international retail markets. 
  3. Media Center (MC): The center will teach basic computer and internet skills with free computer access six days/week, supporting a wide variety of members’ goals from advocacy to enterprise. 

2022-23: $30,000 will continue to support the Three Pillars program to educate, train, and mentor 165 women in the grant year. In addition, a grant of $2,883 in unrestricted funding has been awarded to support this mission.

  1. Street Business School (SBS): A 6-month entrepreneurial training program for women in extreme poverty. 
  2. Sewing Livelihood: A program teaching women to sew clothes using a local fabric (Kitenge) that are sold locally and in overseas markets through HWR connections. 
  3. Media Center (MC): The center provides free computer access six days/week and teaches basic computer and internet skills, supporting a variety of members’ goals.

2024: $40,000 will be used to continue the expansion of the proven Three Pillars Program (Street Business School, Sewing Livelihood program, and Media Center for computer and internet skills) for 165 women. As with previous participants, the skills learned will increase self-reliance and enhance earning capacity over the long-term.

GOAL

The women will benefit directly through the ongoing entrepreneurship training, the Sewing Livelihood initiatives and the Media Centre programs. Increased income that results from employment will benefit families and the community.