Finding good in the world: The Milaya Project

In NW Uganda, you will find the 2nd largest refugee camp in the world. It’s called Bidibidi and over 270k people live here. Can you guess how many are women? It may be larger than you think. 80% of the people who live in Bidibidi are women.

Many of them are widows that escaped the violence in South Sudan. Probably makes you wonder, what’s going in Sudan? I’ll tell you in less than 15 seconds. Civil war erupted on 4/15/23, leading to roughly 25 million people needing aid. That’s more than half the population of Sudan.

Since you’re reading this on LovEvolution, you already know there must be something positive here. In true LovEvolution fashion, we’re going to focus on the positive. The Milaya project is the shining light out of Bidibidi. It’s a non profit funded by 2 South Sudanese business women and a writer for Nat Geo. You may be like me and never heard of a Milaya before, so let me explain.

A milaya is a traditional embroidered bedsheet, but it is far more significant than that. Women wrap their clothes inside the milaya and carry them for miles as they make their way to Uganda from South Sudan, escaping the humanitarian crisis in their homeland.

The Milaya project is a collective that provides women in the Bidibidi camp with a platform to help grow their businesses. All water to wash the materials must be fetched by hand. They don’t just sell bedsheets, they also sell throw pillows and wall hangings. There are other ways for you to give back to the women. You can sponsor one of them with just $25, which can feed her and her children for 3 weeks! With any purchase on the website, 100% of the profits go to the women.

By supporting the Milaya project, you're not just buying a product; you're empowering women to rebuild their lives.

Inspiring change, one story at a time.