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“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” -Mahatma Gandhi
Where would you like to go?

Our Adopt a Village alternative income programs target marginalized parents, especially women, providing them with resources to generate a sustainable source of income, increase their savings and even start their own businesses. Those resources include sewing machines, farming supplies, women’s lending circles, animals for breeding and milking, financial literacy workshops, micro-credit loans, business training sessions and women’s support groups. With these gifts, parents are given the education, tools and skills to sustain their incomes and break the cycle of poverty once and for all.

the issues.

Today, more than half the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day. In the developing world, this kind of crippling poverty forces many parents to send their children into the workforce to provide for the family instead of going to school. They can’t afford proper meals, adequate living conditions or even health care if their children get sick. And with little to no source of income, many families are forced to borrow money from lenders they can never hope to repay—pushing them further and further into debt.

For mothers, the grip of poverty is even worse. Across the developing world, women’s education and literacy rates pale in comparison to those of men. And with household responsibilities keeping them at home, many mothers have neither the mobility nor the means to earn a living.

  • More than 40 percent of Africans cannot afford sufficient food on a day-to-day basis.
  • 1.4 billion people in the developing world live in extreme poverty.
  • Recent increases in the price of food are expected to push an estimated 100 million people into absolute poverty.
  • More than half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.

Yomandu, Sierra Leone

Changing Lives: Meet Mrs. Ambrose

Living in a mud hut in the Yomandu village in Sierra Leone, Mrs. Ambrose and her three orphaned grandchildren barely had enough money for one meal per day. With no source of regular income, Mrs. Ambrose was about to take her oldest grandchild out of school so that she could help to gather firewood each morning.

The Yomandu village in Sierra Leone witnessed terrible destruction during the civil war. Almost all of the village’s infrastructure was burned and demolished—so much so that even today there exists a significant shortage of basic education, health and water facilities. This makes it extremely difficult for the residents of Yomandu to improve their living standards and break the cycle of poverty.

As part of Free The Children’s alternative income program, Mrs. Ambrose was provided with a mating pair of goats. By selling the kids of the goats, she now earns enough money to provide her family with three full meals every day. She has also replaced the grass roof of her hut with a metal sheet. But most importantly, the extra income provided by Free The Children’s program has ensured that Mrs. Ambrose’s grandchildren are able to receive the education they so richly deserve.

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get involved!

Help give families in need alternative sources of income by following these steps:
1 Start a Youth in Action group to take action for women and families in need. 2 Take the Vow of Silence for girls around the world who can’t speak for themselves. 3 Attend our youth conference to explore issues of women’s rights and poverty.
Your class can lift families out of poverty with alternative income. Here’s how:
1 Fundraise as a class to buy goats or sewing machines for families in need. 2 Download our curriculum on poverty. 3 Start a school awareness-raiser about poverty and women’s rights.
Give the gift of financial stability, from one family to another. Here’s how:
1 Raise your kids’ awareness on poverty with our issues library. 2 Tackle local hunger with the Halloween for Hunger campaign. 3 Make a family donation for alternative income projects.
Make “alternative income” your office’s rallying cry. Here’s how:
1 Book a speaker to give your staff the straight facts on poverty. 2 Sponsor an academy scholarship to help young people take action. 3 Pool your office for donations to our alternative income projects.
You’re on: AAV: Alternative Income page! Looking for a different pillar? Try our Education, Health, or Water pages. Still not finding what you want? Try here >