Income Generation Projects

Immediate food aid and shelter after an emergency is not enough to bring the lives of those affected by a disaster back to normalcy. Islamic Relief believes in facilitating ways for our beneficiaries to achieve self-sufficiency. Those who can work and make their own livelihood have a greater chance of improving their living conditions in the long run.

Many of the beneficiaries of these projects are rebuilding their lives after war or disasters in which they may have lost their homes or family - and also their livelihoods. The road out of poverty begins with the community itself. In order to become self-sufficient, impoverished people need improved resources and diversified skills.

Effects on Children

Children from poor families often drop out of school to begin their working lives at an early age without acquiring either the skills or education to find well-paid work. Trapped in jobs with pitiful incomes, and sometimes in dangerous or illegal employment, their future is bleak.

Effects on Women

Women face the greatest difficulties in finding work. In many developing countries women tend to manage the household while their husbands provide financial support. But when they are widowed or left abandoned with families to support, they lack the necessary skills to earn an income. Women are also less likely to inherit land or property, and therefore lack the credit to start a business.

Rural Poverty

In developing countries, a high percentage of the population lives in rural areas, making a living from agriculture. When floods and drought lead to crop shortages, thousands of people and animals die in the famine that follows. The death of livestock and harvest failure deprives these people of their only source of income.

Islamic Relief and Income Generation

Islamic Relief aims to make a lasting difference in the lives of the poor by building the capacity of local communities to sustain themselves. Islamic Relief provides training and interest-free micro-credit loans enabling people to earn a better living, either by operating small businesses or by seeking well-paid employment.

Several of our projects attempt to redress the gender imbalance by focusing on widows who have no source of income. These programs are also sustainable as once the loans are repaid the money can be loaned out once more.
 
Islamic Relief’s income generation projects includes such projects as providing interest-free business loans in places like Bosnia, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories. In Afghanistan, the Kandahar Women’s Bakery Project allows approximately 5,600 female-managed and poor households have secure access to baked bread for an extended period of 6 months. The bread helps the households reduce their expenditure on food and divert financial resources to improve living standards. This program also encourages economic empowerment for women.

Additionally, Islamic Relief also operates Income Generation projects in Malawi and Albania.

Aims of Income Generation Projects: