Where do your proceeds go?
When we started b.a.r.e. soaps, we knew we wanted to operate outside of the "buy one, give one model" and focus on investing in economic development. But what exactly does that mean? Here are some common questions answered.
How do you deploy your proceeds in Uganda?
We partner directly with two organizations- Point Community Church and Hopechest. Hopechest is an organization based outside of Colorado and they set up "Carepoints" in places of need.
What is a Carepoint?
A Carepoint is not an orphanage- rather it is a place where children are able to aggregate for a full nourishing meal each day. We have two full time staff members on the ground that run the Carepoint and ensure that each child is taken care of (ie medical issues).
Where is our Carepoint located?
Our Carepoint is called Carepoint 68|5 and it is located in Kaberamaido, a district roughly 230 miles from the capital (where we fly into). The drive takes about 8 hours due to traffic and road conditions. There are currently 12 Carepoints in Uganda.
Who is able to go to the Carepoint?
Even though the Carepoint is not an orphanage, the children who participate are typically considered orphans. This term in developing country typically implies that a child has either lost two parents or a child has a single parent who is unable to fully care for them (due to demands of farming or other work).
Who are the children and how are they selected?
Hopechest profiles the poorest of the poor children in each location. The average Ugandan family has 7-8 children! So it is common for only 1 or a few siblings to be selected, but the model hopes to help the entire family (ie providing a goat for each child that would benefit the family). There are a total of 150 children at our Carepoint. It is quite common for children outside of the program to wander into the Carepoint. Our Carepoint actually makes enough food to feed these children too.
What does the Carepoint do?
What does the Carepoint do?The carepoint provides a consistent meal and tuition for each child. Their model starts with "survival", leading into "thrive" and finally "succeed". In Kaberamaido, we are now in the thrive phase and looking to head into succeed. From the land that our partnering church purchased, we can grow 3 crops of maize. The first crop can feed all 150+ children for a year and the other 2 yields are sold to other Carepoints in the region (at a discount) with proceeds reinvested in this Carepoint.
How is the Carepoint funded?
Each child has a "sponsor" who pays $38/month to provide the food, tuition, and other supplies. Most of the sponsors are members of Point Community Church or friends/family of the church. At year end, the church holds a massive fundraiser. Funds have helped pay for land, goats, etc in the past
So what is baresoaps' role?
We are here to help supplement and work with Point Community Church to lift the neediest children and their families out of poverty. We work with leaders from both the church and Hopechest to determine if there are any "big" projects that we can fund. One good example is providing shoes to all 150 kids last year. Each shoe cost around $12 (which is ALOT in Uganda, since its 3300 shillings to $1, and the average wage per day is 2000 shillings). In the past, we have also supplied a years worth of vitamins, conducted hygiene workshops, and provided funds for soap/ toothbrushes/ toothpastes for each child.
Amazing company! We need more people like you in the world. Thank you for all you do in helping others.
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