Guest post by Keith Gayhart – A few years ago, I learned that a dear friend of mine, Karon Wright, was leading a nonprofit organization supporting women in Uganda. As I learned more about The Greater Contribution, I was impressed with what it was doing for women living in extremely challenging circumstances with few opportunities for improving their lives. Clearly, this organization was not simply providing immediate assistance to women and their families; it was making a lasting difference that would reverberate across generations. 

It’s been a humbling lesson for me. I am a long-distance runner, and I have had the excellent fortune to compete in tough racing events worldwide…Greenland, Antarctica, Namibia, the Canary Islands, Siberia, the Canadian Sub Arctic, Mongolia and the Atacama Desert. People often express amazement over my athletic accomplishments, but it is obvious to me that what my friend Karon and TGC are doing is far more amazing…and done in a spirit of love and goodwill. 

I am incredibly proud to represent The Greater Contribution in this year’s “Racing the Planet’s 20-Year Ultramarathon” in Jordan November 5-11. It lifts my heart to know that as I carry my backpack across 155 miles of desert sand, I’ll be contributing, in my small way, to helping hard-working women give their families a better future.

If you would like to help power me forward in my quest to empower women in Uganda, you can join me by donating here: The Greater Contribution | DonationPay

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Thousand Oaks, CA – When prices rise, the impact is worldwide, especially to women in rural Uganda who support their families with only a few dollars a day.

The Greater Contribution is making a move to change that with their “Move 2 Empower” fundraiser July 11-22 where funds raised online will provide immediate relief to the most impoverished Ugandan women beyond our borders, not with a hand out, but with a hand up, by believing in them.

For the past two decades the non-profit has provided more than 22,000 micro loans (with a 95% repayment rate) to women in remote villages of Uganda, along with literacy and business skills training, mentoring and peer counseling, so they can start their own businesses and lift their families out of poverty. Now their ability to provide basic necessities to their families is threatened from the recent Covid resurgences, soaring prices, and economic downturn resulting in a lack of consumer demand.

Anyone can join The Greater Contribution’s “Move 2 Empower” the women of Uganda by moving compassion into action with a donation, while urging friends, family and associates to do the same at www.greatercontribution.org. Supporters can also move within their communities by hosting fun fundraising activities where friends sponsor them for walking a committed distance or dancing for a designated amount of time.

“Proceeds will focus on immediate food insecurity relief,” says TGC President Karon Wright who founded the non-profit in 2006. “We will be providing seeds so our borrowers can grow vegetables within weeks and produce additional drought tolerant crops for the long term, so mothers don’t have to choose between only one meal a day, or removing children from school. Loan extensions will also offer much needed support.”

Realities for village women in Uganda served by TGC program:

*Casava flour, a staple of Ugandan diets, has risen 11% from last year.

*Basic food and non-alcoholic drinks increased 11% this year.

*The cost for soap increased from 2,000 Ugandan shillings to 6,000, and cooking oil has risen from 2,500 to 10,500.

*Recent fuel hikes have had a devastating impact on food prep, the supply chain, and getting goods to market.

“Movement and action create positive change in the world,” says Wright. “Together we can ‘Move 2 Empower’ the women of Uganda to persevere through yet another roadblock on their road to breaking the cycle of poverty forever.”

The Greater Contribution empowers impoverished women and girls in Uganda with compassion and respect. We provide financial support through micro loans, education, and development programs to reduce poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, and gender inequality. This assistance supports them in becoming equal partners in their families and respected members of their communities, opening doors to a more equitable and prosperous future.

Click here to donate.

Contact: Lisa Carey Public Relations
Phone: 818.889.1085
Emai: lisa@lisacareypr.com

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Thousand Oaks, CA — When it comes to empowering women living in poverty, The Greater Contribution
makes a huge impact by starting small.

The organization’s monthly micro loans of $50+ to women in rural Uganda, Africa offer support along
with literacy and business skills training, mentoring and peer counseling, so that women can start their
own businesses and lift their families out of poverty.

The Greater Contribution’s formula for success makes dollars and sense. More than 22,000 micro loans
issued to date with a 95% repayment rate. Typical incomes for women in Uganda prior to enrollment =
.35cents per day; after completing the program = $17.73 per day (Increase of 405%).

“In the African culture where women are the breadwinners, our program creates sustainable incomes that
foster pride with our participants and their communities,” says TGC President Karon Wright, who started
the non-profit in 2006 with a group of local women who wanted to make a greater contribution to the
world by helping those most in need. “Best of all, by the end of the two-year program our borrowers are
often employing other women and men.”

The Greater Contribution is a 95% volunteer-based organization known for being frugal with low
overhead so that the majority of all donations go directly to empowering Ugandan women. The
touchstone of the non-profit organization is its ability to forge relationships, both with donors and
benefactors.

The organization works with local partners in East Africa to focus energies in the most remote villages of
Uganda where the need is greatest. Enrollment in the two-year program includes training and support
beyond the monetary funding. Mentors/volunteers meet in groups every two weeks to make loan
payments and support each other, and loans are repaid in full every three months, then repeatedly loaned
out again and again. Outreach also includes working with local organizations to distribute thousands of
free sanitary pads to girls to help improve their menstrual health and enable them to remain in school.

Almost three billion people worldwide live on the equivalent of less than $2 a day. And of those living in
extreme poverty, 75% are women and girls. The Greater Contribution serves the most impoverished
women beyond our borders in Uganda, not with a hand out, but with a hand up, by believing in them.

Click here to donate.

Contact: Lisa Carey Public Relations
Phone: 818.889.1085
Emai: lisa@lisacareypr.com

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Matching Gift Challenge!

We are truly blessed to be able to begin this year’s event with an extremely generous matching gift challenge. TGC longtime donors and supporters Andra Ellingston and Fred Simmons are pledging to match every contribution received during our fundraiser up to $30,000. This means that your donation is effectively doubled: double the impact, double the number of women served, double the number of poverty stricken families saved.

Persistence With Assistance

Our theme for this year’s annual Black Tie No-Show Dinner is “Persistence with Assistance”. Our borrowers in Uganda have tough times encoded into their DNA. These women know only living on the edge…the edge of poverty, the edge of starvation and the edge of life itself. Yes, even in the toughest of times they persevere and yes, persist. They never give up on their children, their family or themselves. And it’s with the assistance provide by you through The Greater Contribution that they are able to move away from the razor’s edge into a life of promise and possibilities.

How it Works

For those unfamiliar with our Black Tie No Show Dinner, the concept is simple. Why go to the expense and labor of putting on a big shindig in a fancy ballroom, encompassing months of planning with you spending lots of money on a gown or tux and a babysitter… when you could just stay at home in your jammies, and instead donate the money you save to the most worthwhile charity we know of, The Greater Contribution.

Please donate today and double the impact and the empowerment!

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Uganda continues dealing with economic and social hardships caused by the coronavirus. We will regularly update the situation in Uganda and how the circumstances there are pushing many families even closer than before to the economic brink.

October 2021

The economy is open once again, and our borrowers are able to conduct their small businesses.  However, some restrictions and some fall out from the countrywide shutdowns remain and challenge their jobs.  One of the effects is that inflation is growing, making it difficult for our borrowers to sell their wares and to buy daily necessities for their families.  Thus, they are caught between a tightening of the income and increasing costs. 

In addition, schools are still not fully open. The government had previously announced that all schools would re-open in November.  That target date has now been moved to January as the government ensures that all teachers are vaccinated against COVID-19 before fully re-opening schools. Their priority is to vaccinate the teachers and staff of medical schools first. Thus,  elementary and secondary school-age children will have tragically lost two years of education by next year’s re-opening date.  In addition, because children are now deprived of the lunch they would normally receive at school, food insecurity at home has increased. 

The COVID vaccine continues to make its way to Uganda, albeit in small quantities.  The BBC reports that “The government plan is to vaccinate 4.8 million of its priority group, including health workers and teachers, by December this year. The full re-opening of the economy is pegged on vaccinations.”  In a country of 44 million people, much more needs to be done. We are fortunate to have obtained the vaccine for all our staff members, who are especially at risk, as they regularly interact with large numbers of borrowers. 

While daily life continues to be fragile and at risk in a country where 90% of the population lives in dire poverty, there is some light on the horizon with the re-opening of the economy.  With the aid of our incredible supporters, The Greater Contribution has continued to operate all our microloan and affiliated programs. By the end of the year, we will have brought another 800 disadvantaged women into the program, continuing our work toward a better life for all Ugandans. 

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In celebration of The Greater Contribution’s 15th Anniversary, we held a virtual event March 13 with a special message from President and Co-Founder Karon Wright. Florence Kyomugisha, PhD, Chair, Gender and Women’s Studies, California State University, Northridge gave the keynote, and Doña Oxford played original, TGC-inspired music. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to help women in Uganda for so many years, and we look forward to the years to come! Please watch the video of the event below to find out more.

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