Movie star pleads for women
Apr 23, 2004
AMERICAN movie sensation Natalie Portman concluded her visit to Uganda yesterday
By Richard Komakech
AMERICAN movie sensation Natalie Portman concluded her visit to Uganda yesterday.
She called on donor countries to double their soft loans to increase the recipients’ ability to handle severe burdens, among them HIV/AIDS orphans.
Portman, an ambassador of hope for the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), starred in the Star Wars trilogy as queen Amadala and recently in Cold Mountain.
Portman, a psychology graduate of Harvard University, called for increased attention to women, whom she said carried the biggest burden of society.
“When you are talking about giving loans to women whose income is less than a $1 a day, you can easily make the leap to see what a micro-loan can make possible,†she said.
“Mothers, especially in Uganda, handle AIDS orphans and it is amazing that many communities in Africa rely heavily on women in the AIDS-affected continent,†Portman said after visiting Umaru Nayima who has succeeded in operating a small hotel through a $50 loan from FINCA.
Nayima, a widowed mother of seven, was married at 13 and gave birth to her first child at 15.
“While a small loan of $100 might not seem like it can make much of a difference, it can mean providing the seed for a woman to open a small store or sewing business in her home and increase her income, which means she can provide better food for her children and the opportunity for her to send them to school,†Portman said.
FINCA provides financial services aimed at creating employment and raising family incomes.
AMERICAN movie sensation Natalie Portman concluded her visit to Uganda yesterday.
She called on donor countries to double their soft loans to increase the recipients’ ability to handle severe burdens, among them HIV/AIDS orphans.
Portman, an ambassador of hope for the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), starred in the Star Wars trilogy as queen Amadala and recently in Cold Mountain.
Portman, a psychology graduate of Harvard University, called for increased attention to women, whom she said carried the biggest burden of society.
“When you are talking about giving loans to women whose income is less than a $1 a day, you can easily make the leap to see what a micro-loan can make possible,†she said.
“Mothers, especially in Uganda, handle AIDS orphans and it is amazing that many communities in Africa rely heavily on women in the AIDS-affected continent,†Portman said after visiting Umaru Nayima who has succeeded in operating a small hotel through a $50 loan from FINCA.
Nayima, a widowed mother of seven, was married at 13 and gave birth to her first child at 15.
“While a small loan of $100 might not seem like it can make much of a difference, it can mean providing the seed for a woman to open a small store or sewing business in her home and increase her income, which means she can provide better food for her children and the opportunity for her to send them to school,†Portman said.
FINCA provides financial services aimed at creating employment and raising family incomes.