15 March 2011
The Walmart Foundation, an arm of giant retailer Walmart, is providing more than $2.5 million in grants to projects aimed at improving the lives of women in Latin America.
Projects funded in six countries will help empower more than 9,000 women, building their capacity to rise out of poverty, support their families and improve their communities, Walmart Latinoamerica said in a statement.
The initiative is part of Walmart’s broader efforts to improve economic opportunities for women worldwide. Groups receiving funding from the foundation for Latin American programs include:
- Pro Mujer: $300,000; for Pro Mujer to expand its footprint into two new regions within Argentina, reaching more than 3,900 women with services, including microfinance; business and empowerment training; preventative health education and high-quality, low-cost primary healthcare.
- TechnoServe: More than $485,000; for TechnoServe to provide 750 Nicaraguan women with financial skills, support and networks to become business leaders.
- CHF International: Nearly $500,000; to help CHF increase the incomes of 200 women in four Honduran municipalities by improving their business and legal skills and increasing their engagement in sustainable production value chains.
- Save the Children: More than $400,000; for Save the Children to work with 3,000 women in San Pedro Masahuat, El Salvador, a municipality heavily-damaged by Hurricane Ida in 2009, to improve production value chains related to poultry and local sweets.
- Aid to Artisans: Nearly $490,000; for Aid to Artisans to help more than 800 Wayuu women in northern Colombia increase their incomes from handicraft sales by providing business training, product design support, new market development and buyer linkages.
- Heifer International: More than $340,000; to help Heifer International provide 700 women in the Peruvian highlands with training in agricultural production, animal health management, soil management and market analysis, helping them to sell their final products.
The Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From Feb. 1, 2009 through Jan. 31, 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $512 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally, including $467 million donated in the United States.
For more information on the Walmart Foundation, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.