We are celebrating not one, not two, but three Epicentres across three different countries all reaching the momentous milestone of Self-Reliance!
Bougue in Burkina Faso, Chokwe in Mozambique and Wurib in Ethiopia are now communities who have demonstrated the transformative power of The Hunger Project’s unique Epicentre Strategy, joining 28 other self-reliant Epicentre communities across Africa.
Our Epicentre Strategy is effective, affordable, replicable and built to last, enabling sustainable and holistic change. Self-Reliance is defined as when community members are confident and have the capacity and skills to act as agents of their own development – Bougue, Chokwe and Wurib have demonstrated this against The Hunger Project’s rigorous monitoring and evaluation scoring system.
Show me the numbers!
Bougue Epicentre – Population 27,370
Self-Reliance was achieved in partnership with the Victorian Investor Consortium.
On top of these remarkable results, Bougue has been able to develop a centre for entrepreneurship with more than 77% of the rural households owning non-farm related businesses. This is important because it diversifies their individual income streams as well as the local economy, stimulating jobs and expanding the skillsets of the community.
Chokwe Epicentre – Population 16, 366
Self-Reliance at Chokwe was achieved in partnership with The Beeren Foundation & Investor Consortium.
Chokwe achieved additional positive health-related results: more than 77% of the population know their HIV status, and the prevalence of diarrheal disease in children under 5 is down to 11%. This means women, men and children are living healthier lives.
Wurib Epicentre – Population 22,979
Self-Reliance at Wurib was achieved in partnership with The Beeren Foundation & Investor Consortium.
More than 85% of the community in Wurib said they feel they have the power to positively bring about change in their community. On top of these results, the community has ensured that women are represented and are holding leadership roles. This has resulted in Wurib scoring 75 out of 100 onThe Hunger Project’s Women’s Empowerment Index.
Spotlight on: Bruce Beeren
The positive results in Chokwe and Wurib were achieved in partnership with long-time investor Bruce Beeren, of the Bruce Beeren Foundation. Bruce, who is a member of The Hunger Project Australia’s National Board, has been investing in the end of hunger since 2004, and his unwavering partnership with the communities has led to the results we see today.
“I’ve been investing in The Hunger Project for the past 15 years, so it’s an historic occasion to see the Wurib and Chokwe communities in particular achieve Self-Reliance. Together with a group of people mobilised through my own networks, I have partnered with and invested in both these communities (as well as others) since 2008 and 2013 respectively. In the face of devastating floods, severe droughts and other obstacles, it has taken commitment, resilience and persistence from everyone involved to reach this milestone,” Bruce said.