While the world faces a global hunger crisis and significant challenges in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is powerful to hear testimonies of how Tearfund projects are continuing to transform lives and bring hope where it is needed most.
One project in Rwanda, run by our partner African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE), has been at the heart of local communities, helping some of the poorest people to not only survive in these difficult times, but also to shape a brighter future for themselves and the next generation.
Thanks to funding from the Scottish Government, people living in the Southern Province – many of them women – have been given opportunities to learn new farming techniques to adapt to climate change and increase the amount of food they are producing. They’ve also been invited to join self-help groups, enabling them to access the means to revive or start up their own businesses, and ultimately provide food and income for their families.
Welcome funding boost
And now, building on this strong foundation, additional funding has been received from the Scottish Government to learn from this project and take the approach even further, as our partner continues its work in some of the poorest communities in the country.
Emmanuel Murangira, who leads Tearfund’s work in Rwanda, tells us more.
‘Over recent years, Scottish Government funding has helped our partner AEE to work with people in their own communities so that they can come together and learn new agricultural techniques, and also strengthen their financial capabilities, pooling resources to access savings and loans in order to start their own ventures and generate much-needed income.
‘We are grateful to the government of Scotland for this support, which has been crucial in these challenging times, not only in giving people the income they need in order to put food on the table and survive, but also because of the enormous impact on wellbeing this has had.
