In a good year, Aliyi used to be able to feed his family for 8 out of 12 months. 2016 did not start out as a good year. El Nino wiped out all of his crops, and he was left with no way to feed his family.
But something great happened for Aliyi—with support from the European Union, CARE gave him a donation of seeds that would cost less than a penny on the international market, plus some training about how to make his land more productive in the increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns Ethiopia has. With some seeds, the training, and a lot of hard work, Aliyi was able to grow enough to food to feed his family for 12 months. Not only that, he paid off his debts, sent his son to university, and his daughters to middle school.
That’s why you want to invest with CARE. Between us and the communities we serve, an investment goes a long way. Don’t believe it? Take a look at the evidence:
What have we accomplished?
- Produced more food: The Pathways program gives communities a $31 return on every dollar we invest with them focusing on women farmers, markets, nutrition, and gender equality. Not only that, but the program has helped women grow half a million more tons of food and earn more than $7 million more in three years.
- Helped families plan for climate change: Niger was able to get a $4 return for every $1 invested in getting governments and communities to plan for climate emergencies.
- Increase incomes: Malawi’s Enhancing Community Resilience project demonstrated a $29 return on every $1 invested, as communities could figure out how to save and plan for their futures, even in the face of disastrous floods. That more than 3 times higher than peer DFID-funded programs in Malawi. They also doubled the average household income.
- Build stronger businesses: The HALOW program in Bangladesh gave companies a $63 return for every $1 invested in improving their workers’ health and food security.
- Improve business benefits for everyone: In Sri Lanka, a Different Cup of Tea—using community forums to help businesses meet their employees’ needs—got a $42 return on every $1. These benefits were shared between the community, the company, and the government.
How do we get there?
- Focus on equality: CARE puts women at the center of our work. In Pathways, we focused on getting women farmers the same access to resources and information that men have, and worked with men and women together to make joint decisions that were better for the whole household.
- Get communities a seat at the table: The work in Sri Lanka and Niger focused on creating spaces for communities to come together with other actors—both the government and the private sector—to get involved in decisions that affect their lives. Once communities can contribute to the ultimate change, everyone is better off.
- Scale through partners: Feed the Future in Ethiopia says that CARE’s GRAD program is the best return on investment they have, because it works to convince the government to bring CARE’s models to scale. That makes it a more sustainable change.
- Build evidence for change: we can convince governments and companies to adopt our models because CARE focuses on creating evidence of what works, and how to consistently innovate to achieve impact.
Want to Learn More?
Check out evaluations for Pathways, Niger, Enhancing Community Resilience, and Different Cup of Tea.
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