Women's Empowerment Initiative Update

Women's Empowerment Initiative Update

Most women in Liberia have a lot of work on their plate, in addition to the work of managing their households. And to be clear, this is work, often unpaid and unacknowledged — gathering firewood, fetching water, cooking, hand washing clothes, and taking care of family members. Household work can be a huge burden that limits a woman’s ability to take on paid employment or broaden her skills through training and education.

One of SPI’s long-term partners in Liberia, REAP (Restoration of Education Advancement Programs), understands the vital importance of women’s work in their communities — both paid and unpaid. REAP’s Women’s Empowerment Program supports women who are taking charge of their own economic advancement through gardening and education, while also accomplishing their daily household work and familial responsibilities.

This program provides women and their children with a supportive space where they can learn, grow a livelihood, and improve the lives of their families. Specifically, the program strengthens the value chains for vegetables and other food these farmers grow in their gardens by providing agricultural training and childcare services.

In Liberia, much like many other developing countries around the world, large gender gaps impair women’s ability to provide for themselves and their families. Even though the number of hungry people has declined worldwide in the last decade, it remains unacceptably high in places like Liberia. REAP is working hard to change the narrative for Bentol City.

REAP founder Christine Norman shared, “Women frequently achieve lower productivity than male farmers [because they do not have access to the same resources]. From the beginning, our goal has been to identify locally available interventions that will improve and increase the productivity of all our program participants.”

REAP and Mayor Christine Norman (of Bentol, Liberia) have made significant progress in their efforts to keep women in the community engaged and involved as a way to eliminate hunger and disease. Your purchase from Sweet Blossom Gifts helps to support REAP’s program. We are proud to partner with REAP, and we hope you are, too!