Buyantanshi Women Empowerment program

Dream Factory women’s empowerment programs aim at solving problems for local women. Through these programs, we seek to empower women to become role models in their communities and share the skills and knowledge they learn. In this way, they can help their communities as a whole. These programs are essential in ensuring that we improve the living standard of vulnerable women in Zambia. We have run this program since 2012, and by 2018 we have educated more than 160 women, where they and their children/family (800+ people) has benefitted.

Our programs include educational and business skills, life and health education, income generating projects and microloans. We believe in micro loans that give opportunities, not micro debt that destroys. We therefore aim to run our projects in such a way that no one ends up in debt.

We exist to

• bring hope to those who lost hope
• help women who have dreams but cannot fulfill them
• teach them capacity building, interact with them and encourage them
• create small businesses and new jobs in a country where the unemployment rate is sky high, and make them able to sustain their family with food, clothes, school and so on.
• stir the women by giving them some examples of strong women, and show them through this program that "It is possible to change your destiny and succeed"

Buyantanshi means "going forward". Our current Buyantanshi project is in the Nkwazi compound of Ndola. 20 women were selected for this program each year, starting in 2013. The selection process involved meetings and interviews and we chose those that were most committed to personal growth and chasing their dreams. By 2016 we have started our 4th annual programme, this year with 15 new women.

The women benefit from weekly educational programs in entrepreneurship, business management skills and life skills. They have all been empowered to start or improve their own businesses with the help of micro loans. Along with our educational programs, we conduct home/business visits weekly in order to coach and mentor each lady. This also gives us special insights to the challenges each individual faces.

This program brings life and freedom to women, their families and the whole local community.

Our field officer talks to the women

Watch video with danish subtitles HERE - se video med danske tekster HER

The program is done in groups of 20 women at the time, and the program takes them through four phases:

• Phase 1: Selecting the 15/20 women and developing their individual business plans
• Phase 2: Training workshop and handing out of micro loans
• Phase 3: The actual business plan is carried out, and the process is followed up in workshops
• Phase 4: Evaluation and preparing for a new group of 15/20 women

For $100 we can help one women and her family. We collect money and can start a new group with 15-20 women, and change their lives! If you are interested in supporting us to start a new group of women, check out options to support us here.