Innovative partnership aims at breaking the cycle of poverty and the stigma and barriers women face in Nandi County, Kenya

SAN CARLOS, Calif., March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Village Enterprise is pleased to announce a first-of-its-kind partnership with Days for Girls International and The Starbucks Foundation aimed at complementing Village Enterprise Graduation Out of Extreme Poverty program with women’s health education and access to menstrual products in Nandi County, Kenya.

Supported by The Starbucks Foundation’s Tea and Coffee Origin Grants Program focused on empowering 250,000 women and girls in origin communities by 2025, the project will equip more than 2,160 women and their families with business and financial literacy training needed to launch 720 new businesses and form 72 new savings groups in surrounding Kenyan tea communities. Village Enterprise will collaborate with Days for Girls to ensure that women and girls have access to the menstrual health solutions that they need to stay in school, support their families, and have the dignity that they deserve.

“This innovative partnership will equip women and girls in the communities we work not only with the resources they need to start small sustainable businesses but also with much needed menstrual care and health education that will empower and support them in achieving their full potential,” said Village Enterprise CEO Dianne Calvi.

Both organizations will work together in Nandi County, Kenya, to train and start businesses that will produce Days for Girls Kits (DfG). DfG Kits are discreet, sustainable, washable menstrual pads that last for more than three years. Days for Girls will also provide health education to ensure that women and girls know the facts about menstruation and health, which is critical in breaking down stigmas and barriers that women face.

“We are thrilled to partner with Village Enterprise and The Starbucks Foundation in reaching more women, girls, and communities,” said Celeste Mergens, Days for Girls Founder and CEO.  “Days for Girls’ goal is to reach every girl. everywhere. period., and this partnership gets us closer to that day. We are so thankful for the vital commitment and support of this community of people who believe that every girl matters!”

About Village Enterprise – Village Enterprise has started over 48,000 businesses, trained over 185,000 new small business owners, and positively impacted the lives of over 1,042,000 people in rural Africa. Village Enterprise’s poverty “graduation” program targets the extreme poor who live on $1.90 or less per day and provides business and financial literacy training, seed funding, mentoring, and access to business savings groups to people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Village Enterprise is one of the only nonprofits in the world that has received top ratings across all five of these rigorous charity evaluators: Charity Navigator (4 stars), Guidestar (Platinum), ImpactMatters (5 star), The Life You Can Save (recommended), and Great Nonprofits (highest rating). Village Enterprise is also featured in the 10th-anniversary edition of The Life You Can Save, by Peter Singer, as a recommended and one of the top impactful and highly cost-effective charities. Village Enterprise currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.