Namaste's COVID-19 Basic Income Supplement Program

We have a global grant open with the RC Antigua in Guatemala and this NGO administers the grant for us.  The US $70,000 grant provides financial literacy and business training to 140 low income women. They are provided with customized micro loans (not part of our grant though) to help develop their businesses, with a goal to doubling their income over the period of one year, allowing them to move away from poverty and improve health and education for their families. 

With Rotary's long-standing partnership, Namaste Direct has equipped thousands of Guatemalan women who run small businesses with the skills and resources to increase their profits and pull themselves out of poverty. COVID-19, however, has managed to reverse much of their progress in a mere three months. Since March, all of their clients have experienced a decrease in sales, and 86% of them now live in households with at least one other person who has lost a job due to the pandemic. This virus has exacerbated their already precarious living situations.

Desiree's message would be about this programme and how COVID has affected the clients in the grant.