By purchasing Dsenyo handbags and accessories you are supporting community development projects in Africa. In addition to our paying a fair wage and creating sustainable livelihoods for our producers Dsenyo goes beyond that and also gives 3% of SALES back to community development here and abroad.
Dsenyo currently helps fund the following youth-focused projects. In Malawi, a country where life expectancy is 47yrs and 54% of the population is under the age of 18, the youth are not only the hope and future of the country, they are also the current leaders. Dsenyo believes that supporting the health and education of youth in Malawi is an extremely important priority in creating a bright future for the country.
Ekwendeni Youth AIDS Center
The Ekwendeni Youth AIDS Centeris run by the Central Church of Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Ekwendeni, Northern Malawi. The center provides activities and HIV/AIDS eduction for local youth. Some of the clubs include drama, music, paper making, games, and life skills. The center leads HIV/AIDS stigma reduction campaigns in an effort to raise a better understanding of the disease, and builds teams of youth that provide home-based care for community members sick or dying of AIDS.
Dsenyo is funding the Youth AIDS Resource Center because Marissa, our founder, worked with this organization while living in Malawi. Marissa taught handmade egg tempera paint workshops with youth in the papermaking club. The CCAP is leading the most committed and effective development efforts in Northern Malawi and Dsenyo would like to support the youth through the church.
Girl's Education
Currently, we are raising money to send five of our producers daughters to high school. In Malawi, primary school (grades 1-8) is free but secondary school becomes quite expensive and unaffordable for most families. Education for girls is extremely important in developing countries like Malawi. When money is tight families often choose to send boys to school over girls in the family . Studies have shown that girls' education has numerous quality of life benefits such as: "the reduction of child and maternal mortality, improvement of child nutrition and health, lower fertility rates, enhancement of women’s domestic role and their political participation, improvement of the economic productivity and growth, and protection of girls from HIV/AIDS, abuse and exploitation (World Bank)." Funding girls' education is one of the best uses of aid money in terms of return on investment in social wellbeing.
Dsenyo Producers Grant Program
We are developing a grant program for our producers to access funding for community development projects of their choosing. Dsenyo believes that Malawians know best what they need and that they can find solutions to their own challenges with a little bit of support. Each producer group can apply for grants in the areas of education, sanitation, health and environment. They must be in agreement as a group that the proposed project will benefit the community as a whole. This is a new program that we are excited about getting off the ground in 2011!
USA Donations
Dsenyo is also happy to support USA-based non proifts and does so every year with in-kind donations. In the past we have been able to help schools, churches and community non-profits raise money to support their causes as well.
