What We Do
Our projects
Our organization is involved in numerous projects addressing issues related to poverty, primarily through supporting vulnerable children and marginalized women
Education
Our Education program offers;
- Educational assistance, including textbooks, school uniforms, post-secondary courses, and even literacy and financial training for care takers.
- Vocational studies in life skills training, mentorship and support.
- Recreational activities and support to develop self-confidence and social skills.
- Shelter/safe homes and security for protection of children from crime, violence and danger.
Our approach to child protection begins with preventing abuse of any form to our beneficiaries whenever possible; it’s based on numerous strongly held convictions.
- No violence against children is justifiable.
- All violence against children is preventable.
- It's everyone’s responsibility to protect children.
- We make our children Known, protected and loved.
We are committed to protecting the children in our programs and those from the community from all forms of abuse and exploitation, to intervene quickly and to seek restoration and healing for children affected by abuse.
Sponsorship
Becoming a sponsor is extending friendship and love to a desperately needy child in Uganda. Drought, famine, War and disease have left thousands of children orphaned or in extreme poverty in this part of the world/East Africa. Every day is a life and death struggle for many children who are not strong enough to with stand diseases because too much hunger has weakened their tiny bodies. Your monthly support or donation will provide basic education, and other necessities such as medical care, clothing, food and shelter. Not only will you be a wonderful blessing to the child you assist, but in turn you will experience great joy as you see your child mature and grow.
Beta Outcome Foundation provides sponsorship to over 50 children currently and experiences more demand for sponsorships from the communities with children who would otherwise not be able to attend or complete school. We also provide basics such as uniform, scholastic materials, distribution of sanitary pads, Christian teaching, counseling and guidance, community awareness and sensitization aimed at mindset change, and medication among others all aiming at a holistic child/youth development.
Individual Child Gifts/ Family Support
A sponsored child may receive his or gift from the sponsor and this may be a birthday celebration gift or a family gift and this special gift is is delivered to the child and a thank you letter is written to the sponsor by the child to acknowledge the receipt with a photo in return. These may come with instructions from the sponsor on which money is meant to be spent on a particular service like is food, house construction among others.
Christmas Gifts
All sponsored children receive a the same Christmas package because many of our beneficiaries still lack sponsors and thus the money directed towards this activity is put in the pool and divided equally so that all children get an equal amount unless otherwise. A sponsor may send both the individual gift and a Christmas gift of which the individual is personal. This continuous effort to enrich the child holistically has been appreciated by all stakeholders.
Project Foundation Gifts
These are gifts sent by a sponsor to the organization to help in its functions and this is used for the mutual benefit of all the sponsored children. In the instance that a gift is sent without the instruction of use from the donor/sponsor, the Board and the Directors make a decision on its use for the good of the children and the entire organization.
Note:
The Personal Gift, Christmas gift and Project gift allows you to give a gift to your sponsored child which is above and beyond your monthly sponsorship amount. This can be your gift celebration for the child’s birthday, a response to a letter they may have written you, or simply because you desire to bless them.
HEALTH
- WASH programme (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
- Nutrition supplement for HIV/AIDS beneficiaries
- Medical Checkups and health care services.
- Counseling and guidance/HIV-AIDS (peer educators)
- Rehabilitation services for individuals with complex traumatic life experiences.
- Provision of special services like surgeries and disaster relief.
- Free medical camps with the intention of reaching medication to the poor communities and bringing services closer to the elderly persons.
food security
- Nutritious food and supplements for protection against malnutrition.
- Large scale agriculture to provide food for the hungry(at least 3meals a day)
- Animal rearing and poultry keeping.
- Provision of seeds, seedlings and educational services in relation to agriculture to the poor communities and individuals that have access to land.
Discipleship
- Evangelism
- Counseling and guidance
- Community Outreach
- Ongoing Christian training through a local church, schools & community groups.
women and the environment program
women financial inclusion and the law program
Laws bounding women’s agency and free movement can hinder their financial inclusion
Laws restricting women’s agency and mobility can block their financial inclusion because they can limit women’s legal capacity through seeking permission; usually from a husband to carry out daily activities which can obstruct women’s financial inclusion. In most communities of Africa, the husband is legally considered head of household, which can have impacts ranging from land allocation to who receives government benefits within a household. Legal constraints can limit women’s free movement and decision making. In some communities, married women are not able to choose where to live as compared to married men. In other communities, women are not permitted work outside the home as compared to married men yet in some communities; married women can’t travel outside the home which is the exception of married men. In all these cases, women may have challenges earning independent income or living in a place that offers them the chance to work or access equal services.
Laws restricting women’s economic independence also bound their access and usage of financial services. For instance, where married women are prohibited to work, women are less likely to have accounts, formal credit services or savings. Where married women are not in position to choose where to live as compared to men, gender differences in financial inclusion are higher for women’s access to bank accounts and their ability to borrow from a financial institution
Hindrances to women’s access to and control over property can impact their financial inclusion.
Proof suggests that gender gaps in asset ownership are an influential factor hindering women’s ability to access credit. Low access to assets is also a major reason why women are denied loans, as banks can be reluctant to lend to customers who lack traditional collateral security. Family, inheritance and land laws are important in allocating assets for men and women. These laws step in to play different stages of a woman’s life-cycle, deciding what a daughter will inherit from her parents and what assets a woman can have access to during her marriage and as a divorcee or widow. In places where these laws are favorable, women have greater economic independence. Most communities have customs and traditions that guide how marital property should be used and that decide the allocation of assets between spouses. Most options are full or partial community property ownership or separate property ownership.
In complete community property ownership, the property of either spouse obtained before and during marriage is considered as joint property regardless of who met the bill for it. In partial community property ownership assets obtained before marriage are considered as the separate property of the acquiring spouse and assets acquired after marriage are considered as the couple’s joint property. In separate property ownership, each spouse retains ownership of and control over property they purchased. In the same way, the recognition of women’s unpaid work through recognizing non-monetary contribution is considered in some communities.
Imbalanced inheritance rights are also a hindrance to women’s financial inclusion
Access to assets through inheritance is also relevant for women and girls. Widows may depend on inheritance for financial security, and daughters may become more economically independent and have greater educational opportunities if they are given equal inheritance rights with sons. Improving women’s inheritance rights can lead to improved outcomes. In one of the studies by BETA Outcome Foundation, it was found that improved inheritance rights led to a greater likelihood of women having bank accounts. Women are also more likely to have housing finance where inheritance rights are balanced for widows and daughters. One possible explanation for this is women may have fewer assets to use as collateral where inheritance rights are imbalanced. It is also important to look at how accounts transfer when the account bearer dies.
In Uganda, for instance, it is hard for widows to have access to their deceased husband’s bank account. MTN’s policy on Mobile Money accounts states that account balances stay in the deceased’s account until they are claimed. However, wives are not able to automatically claim their husband’s account money. The policy requires that when a Mobile money subscriber deceases with a will, the next of kin must avail copies of the death certificate, ID and grant of probate to MTN. If a Mobile Money subscriber deceases without a will, the next of kin must also present letters of administration. This is also to banks and other financial institutions. If no one claims the money in a period of two years, it is transferred to Bank of Uganda. Allowing a husband to name his wife as a beneficiary at the time the account is opened can challenge these procedures and make a difference for widows.
Lack of credit histories can obstruct access of women to finance
Access to formal credit relies heavily on asset based lending, but where women have less access to property, they are less likely to use it as collateral. Information sharing institutions, such as credit bureaus and registries, are vital determinants of private credit development. Where they put together the types of reputation collateral that women are more likely to have, such as a record of successful repayments to microfinance institutions or retailers, this may assist women in building their credit histories and ultimately access finance. However, in many communities, well established credit schemes are rare. Yet where they do exist, they may hinder themselves to meeting high loan amounts that rule out the vast number of female borrowers who have smaller loans.
Women’s leadership is minimal in the banking sector and decision-making bodies
Recent studies present how female participation in the banking sector and decision-making bodies can have a positive impact on financial inclusion. For instance, access to the internet, mobile phones and financial inclusion are especially connected to the availability of women in leadership roles. Studies on female leadership in other decision-making bodies have presented impacts on issues affecting women. For instance, female representation in national parliaments at levels of 25% and above makes it more likely for discriminatory property laws to be reformed in the next 5 years in comparison with 15 years before such levels of representation.
When it comes to corporate boards, some research links gender diversity to better company performance, including in areas like greater returns on sales and assets. Women are also under represented at senior levels in the financial sector over-all. Recent information gathered from largest banks, insurers, asset managers and professional services firms present that only 25% of top executives are female. At BETA Outcome Foundation, we work to increase women participation in leadership positions in the banking sector and decision-making bodies.
BETA Outcome Foundation is working to implement actions that link between women’s financial inclusion and the legal environment. However, it requires more work to be done. Husbands still control marital property and sons still hold a higher inheritance percentage of the deceased parents. Prevailing social norms do not permit complete overtake of constraints to women’s financial inclusion, but rather increasing steps. Legal reform is a vital element that requires to be fixed in broader strategies to develop
WOMEN AND CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAM
Why the women are more vulnerable
WOMEN'S FUND PROGRAM
Under this program, BETA Outcome Foundation offers Small Grants ranging from $500-$1000 specifically for Women’s projects: The grants are used to implement grassroots projects empowering women and girls in poor communities in the following focus areas;
- Community development
- Women empowerment
- Health and nutritional support
- List Literacy and leadership training
- Educational seminars and workshops
- Women’s human rights
- Safety, protection and security for Women Human Rights Defenders
- Groups governed and directed by women
- COVID-19 Emergencies
BETA Outcome Foundation does not provide small grants for;
- Individual scholarships and tuition
- Political organizations
- Religious groups unless the proposed project contributes to the general good of the community
- The construction of permanent buildings or the purchase of land
- Salaries for board members and permanent staff but may include stipends/honoraria for external resource people/trainers
Small Grants Application
All interested applicants must complete and submit a letter of Intent (LOI). The letters are received on recurring basis. After the LOI is reviewed, your group may or may not be invited to move forward in our funding process, with the completion of our full application.
- The Letter of Intent must be submitted by a group of women
- The proposal should address the empowerment of women and girls and should lead to action and sustainable change in the community
- The proposal must clearly reflect the participation of women/girls in its development and design.
- The project should address the sustainability plan after our funding with continued impact in the larger community
- Women should be well represented in the leadership, staff and management of the group and project.
- The group can demonstrate its ability to mobilize resources from local sources/Community
- The Letter of Intent should provide reliable email addresses as well as phone numbers
- The proposal must present a true budget with a clear explanation of all items. The budget amount requested from BETA Outcome Foundation must not exceed $1,000 USD.
- Other sponsors or potential funding for this project must be clearly identified
- The timeline of activities should be realistic and achievable
To apply for a grant, send your letter of intent to grants@betaoutcomefoundation.org