Helping Women Graduate from Poverty

BOMA’s crowd-funding campaign launched on May 3 and raised $15,000 in less than ten days. Motivated by that success, a BOMA believer has offered a match: If we can raise another $10,000 by May 29, this generous donor will give $15,000. That’s $40,000 total … enough money to provide a start-up grant and basic business-skills training to 480 mothers who support more than 2,400 children. Watch our animated video below and join the “We Believe in Mothers” campaign here: http://bit.ly/SupportBOMA

The BOMA Project is a U.S. nonprofit and registered Kenyan NGO with a proven track record, measurable results and a transformative approach to alleviating poverty and building resiliency in the arid lands of rural Africa. Our Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) replaces aid with sustainable income and helps women to “graduate” from extreme poverty by giving them the tools they need to start small businesses in their communities. With this new and diversified source of income, they can feed their families, pay for school fees and medical care, accumulate savings for long-term stability, survive drought and adapt to a changing climate.

To date, The BOMA Project has launched 1,380 micro-enterprises across Northern Kenya, impacting the lives of 4,668 adults who use the income and savings to support 23,340 children. Total impact: More than 28,000 women and children lifted out of extreme poverty. 

Click here to learn more about how the Rural Entrepreneur Access Project works.

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What’s New at BOMA

Recent Posts

• One Click to a Meaningful Mother's Day Gift by BOMA Project: BOMA’s “We Believe in Mothers” crowd-funding campaign is off to a supersonic start. Thanks to 94 BOMA believers, we raised almost $11,500 in the first five days. That’s 76% of our $15,000 goal. Now the push is on for 100% at the same fast pace. Everyone who donates on or before 6 p.m. EST this Sunday, May 12—Mother’s Day—will receive a special “We Believe in Mothers” card via e-mail to print out or forward. We won’t be offering the card after Sunday, so now’s your chance to give a gift…to your own mom and to mothers in Northern Kenya. Please watch our ....
• Women in Africa Lean In by BOMA Project: Great blog post from our partners at Aid for Africa about the tremendous potential of women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa ... including a mention of BOMA! You can find the blog here: http://bit.ly/ZOuXDS ....
• BOMA 2012 Annual Report by BOMA Project: 2012 was a watershed year for The BOMA Project. We refined our cornerstone program, the Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP), as an innovative two-year poverty graduation program. We launched 420 new micro-enterprises across Northern Kenya, including 40 in Samburu District, a new region of expansion. We fully integrated micro-savings into the REAP model, with a ten-part training curriculum for participants and 94% of new business groups choosing to join. We completed a comprehensive impact evaluation survey, established BOMA as a registered Kenya NGO, and transitioned from part-time mentors to a team of 17 full-time Mentors. We hired a field officer, won our ....
• BOMA in the Congressional Record by BOMA Project: U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) entered a statement into the Congressional Record on March 21 that included a great mention of BOMA as a Vermont nonprofit with a "far-reaching contribution" that's "doing innovative work to improve the lives of people overseas." We're grateful to Senator Leahy for this recognition, which also included  a copy of a recent Associated Press article by Vermont journalist Wilson Ring. Click on the link to read the full statement from the Congressional Record. ....
• Vote for Maria: Help BOMA raise $10,000 by BOMA Project: Vote for Maria: Help BOMA Win $10,000! Maria Grazia Khoyan, a Village Mentor for The BOMA Project in Kenya, is a finalist for a $10,000 award from Students Rebuild and Half the Sky. Voting is underway online through Friday, March 8 at http://bit.ly/voteformaria. Maria is a young, educated mother from the village of Archer’s Post who joined BOMA as a full-time mentor in January 2012. Since then, she has helped to launch 40 small businesses in her village, changing the lives of 120 women. Maria has also become an effective advocate for education, successfully encouraging the women she works with to send their ....
• The Solar Generation by BOMA Project: “Mama Rungu, I am worried about you,” Neiboticho Wambille told me. “I have some sour milk for you; you must drink some." “Acho olang, Neiboticho, I am fine. Just very hot.” I was sitting with Neiboticho and her business partners under the shade of a small acacia. They proudly told me about the substantial monthly deposits in their savings box. It was a remarkable achievement since they only started saving after the training program in October. I had come to visit with Neibotochio because I wanted to ask her about what she had said at that meeting. Kura had told me about Neiboticho – he was so inspired ....