The Walmart Foundation to Increase Women's Development Partnership With CARE to $3 Million

BENTONVILLE, Ark., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walmart Foundation announced today plans to increase its women's development partnership with CARE to $3 million, expanding its $1 million, one-year partnership initiated last year. The funding will empower women in Peru, Bangladesh, and India by developing new skills and creating new opportunities through education, literacy and job training programs in agriculture and factory settings.

"We are excited by the positive difference we have made in the lives of women through the work we have done in partnership with CARE and are looking forward to building on these successes to do even more," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Walmart and CARE board member. "These projects will create new jobs and advancement opportunities for women in the work place, as well as help to build and improve their confidence."

In Bangladesh, the new funding will enable 2,500 women to take advantage of an expanded curriculum to build their reading, writing, math and analytical skills, as well as promote health and nutrition awareness.  With this addition, a total of 5,000 women will build life-long skills that will increase their income-earning potential.

In India, Walmart and CARE will create additional women owned-and-operated cashew processing institutions, expanding into 18 new villages. This extension will help an additional 500 women in the cashew farming and processing sector achieve more equitable and consistent incomes, totaling 1,250 women impacted through the partnership.

In Peru, the project will extend its work into more provinces and new products, helping in total more than 1,600 households improve their agricultural operations and creating approximately 700 new jobs in the region. The project also includes strategies to empower women to take a stronger leadership role in their family farms and communities, including training in how to better market their produce and support in implementing women's business networks.

"Walmart's support has made a significant difference in the lives of thousands of women, and their families, in Bangladesh, India and Peru," said Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE. "This new funding is a testimony of Walmart's long-term commitment to provide women with the skills, knowledge and opportunities that will enable them to reshape the future for themselves and their families. By leveraging our collective resources, we can bring about lasting impact in the fight against poverty."

Globally, women make up 70 percent of the one billion people living on less than a dollar a day, work two-thirds of the working hours, produce half of the world's food, yet earn only 10 percent of the world's income and own less than 1 percent of the world's property.  Equipped with the right tools, research shows that women are the solution to breaking the cycle of poverty. Together, Walmart and CARE are working hard to ensure women are part of the solution in the fight against global poverty.

About CARE

CARE fights root causes of poverty in the world's poorest communities. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. In over 70 countries, women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. Each year, CARE helps tens of millions of people around the world effect real, positive changes in their lives.

About Philanthropy at Walmart

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. The Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From Feb. 1, 2009 through Jan. 31, 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $512 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally, $467 million of which was donated in the U.S. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

SOURCE Walmart Foundation