Imagine what life would be like if you could not read: you cannot text a friend, or e-mail a far-off relative, or write a letter to your Grandma. You cannot use Google to search for anything, or even make a phone call. Imagine.

We are so excited to report that the first 10 single moms are ready to start their reading program in the newly finished "Wild Rose Learning Centre" at Grace Orphanage. We will add basic business teaching to the reading program in month 5, and by month 9, we will work on a simple business plan for each woman. Our goal is to help each of these brave women with a micro loan at the end of the program to start their own business and take care of their families. 

Four of the 10 women have already been funded and we are asking for 6 donors to step forward with $70 per month for 12 months, or an $840 one-time gift. Please join us to help these women change not only their lives, but the lives of their children for generations to come. 

t has always been the dream of the IWOF Board to impact the greater Uvira community. We want some of the blessings given to Grace Orphanage to spill over the walls and impact the community around Grace Orphanage. We have identified a great need: women, mostly widows and single moms in the area, who cannot read or write. They cannot find jobs other than menial physical labor and they do not know how to start their own businesses. They are literally without hope to escape the grip of poverty.

With this in mind, the thought is what if we can establish a literacy centre where women can learn to read and write? To remove the pressure from these women to supply for the family, we will provide a meal and take care of her children. For one hour she can focus on learning to read and write, and the second hour will be spent on basic business skills and networking with other women in the group. (We will partner with Alternativ, a non-profit that teaches business skills to women.) Our goal is that after 9 months each woman will be reading at a grade 5 level, sufficient to identify health warnings, read basic news stories, count, get involved in community issues, and understand basic business skills. We can then look at helping fund her first start-up business in Co-op with other women in the program and provide continued mentoring. For most, if not all of these women, this program would likely represent their best opportunity to provide for her family and finally escape the grip of poverty! All of this for only $70 per month!

International Widows & Orphans Fund (IWOF) is a 100% volunteer run Canadian registered charity located in Nanaimo, BC, and financially supports Grace Orphanage. We want to help these children!

Please join us to give a generation of women hope, not only for a better life, but also to help their children escape the grip of poverty. Through a generous donor, we have raised the funds to build the facility that will house the Reading Centre. Estimated cost to add solar, fresh water and sanitation is $10,000.  Operating funds to pay the teachers, a healthy meal and child care is $70 per month per woman for 12 months.