Income Generation Program
SCAI’s Income Generation programs help break the cycle of poverty, the main reason children are trafficked or separated from their families.
We believe every child has the right to be cared for in a safe nurturing family environment. It’s hard to imagine that any parent would choose to send their child to an orphanage, or into domestic servitude or an early marriage, but these things do happen because of dire social and financial situations. SCAI’s Income Generation programs provide a range of capacity building activities including Small Business Training, Skill Development Training, Financial Literacy Training and savings and loans activities to encourage the children’s families to become self-sufficient after our support ends.
SCAI currently supports the families of the 285 children in our education scholarship programs with various income generation initiatives.
How our support helps
SCAI focuses on empowering the families we work with by giving them a step up rather than mere handouts, so they can develop sustainable livelihoods that carry them well into the future after our support ends. The old proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” sums up our approach perfectly.
Whilst greatly appreciative for the financial support for their children, many families have expressed that they would prefer to be independent rather than rely on external assistance on an ongoing basis.
What support we provide
- We teach them how to establish and run their own community savings groups
- We teach them how to prepare basic business plans, including assessing the market, the local resources, technologies and their own capacity
- We provide relevant skill development training
- We teach them how to run a new or expanded small business effectively with responsible ongoing financial management
- We teach them how to establish and run their own community cooperatives
- We teach them how to access sources of credit from local government and other sources
- We teach them how to access other community support networks
SCAI matches savings made by the children’s families up to a certain amount through a contribution to the savings groups formed as part of this project. This encourages the families to save as much as possible and doubles the funds they can access for their new or expanded small business. Depending on what is most suitable for each family, some may undertake animal husbandry, while other may engage in crop farming, tailoring or other activities.
SCAI provides regular guidance and support generally for a five- year project period to help families grow their businesses and help them overcome any obstacles they may face along the way.
Goat Rearing Program
Since 2017, SCAI has been running a goat rearing program which involves families breeding goats and passing on 2 females to another family before breeding more for sale, creating a pyramid effect.
Following an initial feasibility assessment, 18 families from the education scholarship program were selected for the program. They attended 3-day goat rearing training and were then given two pregnant, vaccinated, insured female goats. The first two female goats born were passed on to another group of families from the education scholarship program and the cycle has continued, with goats from subsequent births being used for income generation and for further breeding. There are now 73 households that received 2 goats following the first 18 households. By 2024 there have been a total of 90 goats passed on to other families and there are now over 65 pregnant goats!
The families receiving goats contributed by constructing their goat shelters and the first 18 also contributed to funding a portion of their new goats. The program was designed in conjunction with the local government livestock office who facilitated the training, provided male goats for ongoing insemination, and provided subsidised grass seeds.
Make A Difference Today
Thousands of children in Nepal continue to be separated from their families due to trafficking or being enticed away with the promise of a better life and education. Thousands still live in orphanages despite having families, work as child labourer’s or enter into early marriage.
Help us prevent separation and exploitation of vulnerable children and reunite separated children with their families.