Project Title: WORTH: Investing in the Economic Security of Swaziland's Female Caretakers

Location: E-Swatini

Grant Amount: $45,000 (over two years)

Grantee Website: youngheroes.org.sz/

Areas of Impact: Economic Sustainability, Education & Literacy, Gender Equality

Mission of Young Heroes Foundation
Young Heroes supports families of AIDS orphans in Swaziland. It empowers Swaziland’s most vulnerable youth and their caretakers so they may achieve their full potential through life-support grants; healthcare; HIV education, prevention, and care programs; educational support; and gender and economic empowerment programs.

Summary
This project alleviates poverty by helping female caregivers (often grandmothers) of orphans and vulnerable children to become financially literate, and by creating the opportunity for them to become micro entrepreneurs.

Why We Love This
We love this project’s focus on the female caretakers of AIDS orphans. It provides rural Swazi women with access to microloans in order to grow their microenterprises. The structure of the loans will allow the women’s groups to self-govern and grow their pool of funds.