Case Study, Livelihoods: PONT - Mbale Women's Bridal Cooperative

Case study on Cynnal Cymru site here

Wedding Bells are Ringing in Mbale
PONT – Uganda - Pontypridd

Wedding bells ring much more often in the poorer communities of Mbale these days thanks the support of people in Pontypridd for a bridal gown rental service in Eastern Uganda.

The idea is simple. Many married women in Wales have bridal gowns they will never use again, stored away in their homes. By donating them, women in Mbale, who would otherwise be unable to afford a dress may hire one instead. The profit generated from these rentals is used to support orphans and widows in the area.

The initiative is one of nine projects supported by PONT – Partnerships Overseas Networking Trust. PONT was founded in 2000 when a small group of committed volunteers in Rhondda Cynon Taf identified Mbale in Eastern Uganda as a town of similar size to Pontypridd (though with some of the highest poverty levels in Africa).

After initial exchanges between the two communities, participants persuaded NGOs, health and education providers, local decision makers and religious groups on both sides to form a network with PONT as the charitable wing.

PONT’s organiser, local GP Dr. Geoff Lloyd, explains how the wedding dress project started: "Two years ago the coordinator of the coalition in Mbale, Baptist minister Apollo and his wife, Janet, came over to stay with us.

"At that time they were looking for help to build an orphanage and do outreach work with the orphans. Several of the women were trying to think of income-generating activities that they could start with only a small an initial setup cost, to generate income and sustain their work. One of the ideas was a wedding dress rental shop."

"Janet came up with some costs for the proposals but borrowing the start-up finance from an African bank was untenable. Nobody would lend money to them. This is how poverty disempowers people and stops them from getting out of debt," says Geoff.

Geoff’s wife, Rosemarie, suggested that there might be women in Pontypridd who had worn their wedding dresses once, never intended to wear them again and couldn't ever find it in their hearts to throw them away but would be happy to help. Rosemarie announced it in church and the following week 12 wedding dresses were donated!

It began as a zero cost project, without a shop-front, run by the women in the Church in Mbale. When couples approached them announcing that they wanted to marry, they suggested that they might hire a wedding dress.

"What we are doing is empowering people who would not be able to afford to get married otherwise," says Geoff. The cost of hiring a wedding dress, which is seen as essential, is usually prohibitively high."

When representatives from PONT visited Mbale in May 2008 they found premises in the town centre to transform into a business and agreed to fund the rent and the wages for six months as well as some of the tailoring work involved in altering the dresses. The shop will be ready by winter 2008, in time for the main marriage season, which is around Christmas time.

Each dress hires out for the equivalent of about £30 - four week's average wages there - so the shop needs to hire out 50 dresses in six months to repay the thousand pounds. The profit from the business will provide local orphans with meals. Often their parents may have died of HIV and they have become stigmatised and ostracised by society.

The wedding dress project not only provides a livelihood for the members of a women’s cooperative in Mbale - they maintain and hire out dresses to those who can afford them, and loan them to those who cannot - but enables many poor families to celebrate their most important day with dignity and pride.

The women from Pontypridd who donated dresses have enabled women in Mbale to set up the bridal cooperative as a social enterprise. The project has also helped develop a profound understanding between the Welsh and African women. Furthermore, it’s an important project because it is easy for other organisations to emulate.

The coalition thinks that sustainability is key to the project’s success. "PONT is looking to build capacity rather than just give money, self-reliance rather than dependence on charity. We help plan ideas and give training where it is needed, but the money element is the last thing we introduce into the partnership," explains Geoff. The ultimate aim is to improve development across the spectrum so that all members of that society benefit and learn from the experience.

"A real impact will be made on poverty by these large organisations taking action together to meet goals in their own particular ways," says Geoff.

PONT has been commended for its contribution towards ‘Making Poverty History’ for the residents of Mbale as well as being awarded with Gold Star Community Awards in recognition of its work with children and on health.

Find out more about the project and other PONT initiatives at www.pont-mbale.org.uk.