Proceeds from Bamako Boom Boom are being donated to the Hand in Hand Charity who are doing solid work propping up people and communities in some of the poorest parts of the world.
A little about the work that the hand in Hand charity do:
The Hand in Hand Charity is pioneering a new form of aid to developing countries; they offer low interest loans and business support to people in some of the poorest parts of the world and who want to start their own businesses – undercutting local loan sharks and encouraging people to take the initiative in helping themselves. Crucially, support is only given to women (experience has shown that men cannot be trusted not to gamble and drink the money away), and so while all members of communities benefit from the aid (men are often involved in the businesses too), it also helps to equalize the status of women within the Developing World.
Hand in Hand operates a support system for the women who step forward to take up the challenge – offering training in literacy, maths and other business related skills. They have countless wonderful success stories. Successes and failures accounted for, they estimate, on average, it costs £50 to create one job for a person – once that £50 investment is made that person should have a source of income for the rest of their lives.
With traditional forms of giving aid (e.g. giving money or food directly), beneficiaries become, over time, more and more dependant on that stream of Aid. When the Aid stops or is diverted somewhere else, the very people it was meant to help are often in a worse position than they might have ever been without the aid in the first place – having completely the inverse effect intended. Hand in Hand operates with the aim of making the people it helps completely self sufficient.
You can donate directly to Hand in Hand by clicking here. Please give whatever you can. Alternatively, you can of course buy a copy of Bamako Boom Boom, the proceeds of which are being donated to Hand in Hand.
