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Margret Namisi
Microloans for 200 poor women in rural Uganda
Uganda, Economic Development

Margret Namisi, 42, is the mother of 8 children. She lives in rural Bulambuli village, Sironko District, Uganda. In January 2008, she received her first loan of $150 from the Women’s Microfinance Initiative.

“My family’s livelihood is more secure because of this loan, and I can afford school fees so my children and 2 grandchildren can continue to attend school. I also buy them meat once in a while. My life has changed. Even though the loan was small, I am committed to changing my life, so it’s a big deal to me.

Margaret cares for 1 AIDS orphan in addition to her own children. Her 2 older children fell sick 3 times last year with malaria. She saves every 2 weeks for school fees, health care and to expand her business. She finds it very difficult to pay for health care. As a result of the training offered by the WMI loan program, Margret now describes herself as more organized, outspoken and determined.

Margret has used her income to put a cement floor in her semi-permanent house, buy a cow for milk and send some of her children to school.

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Olive Gambwa
Microloans for 200 poor women in rural Uganda
Uganda, Economic Development

Olive Gambwa, 46, lives in rural Bulambuli village in Sironko District, Uganda. She has a semi-permanent house with a mud floor and no electricity or running water. She has 5 children and also supports 2 AIDS orphans. Her husband lives with her, but does not have a job—he now helps her with her business.

“My business is selling onions and eggplants. I managed to get a loan of 100,000 shillings ($50) from WMI to expand my business. Since then I have been doing well, making profits, which I can use to sustain my family. I pay school fees for my children and also buy household necessities. I am so proud of my business, and I thank WMI for bailing me out of poverty. I am really appreciative of this program because I have made progress in business using the loan from WMI. Instead of spending impulsively, I now budget for every little expenditure I make.

Since joining the WMI loan program, Olive has purchased 3 hoes and 2 pangas. All of her children had malaria last year. She saves money every 2 weeks for medical care, food and business expansion. Since receiving her loan, she describes herself as more self-confident and determined. She has learned marketing, budgeting and record-keeping.

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Fatou Sarr
Educate girls and fight poverty in Senegal
Senegal, Education

“My dream is to help my family buy the things we need so we can have a better life.

Thirteen-year-old Fatou Sarr comes from a very poor family in the small rural village of Médina Sangako, Senegal. She lives with her father, mother, grandfather, her father’s other wife, and six brothers and sisters. Her father tries to support the family as a fisherman but cannot afford his own boat, which means there are days when he is unable to fish. When he does come home with fish, Fatou’s mother must leave the family for long periods of time while she journeys to the markets in nearby villages to try to sell the fish. The family often has a hard time making ends meet.

In spite of these hardships, Fatou believes she can have a bright future. She is one of the few female students at Toubacouta Middle School, where she works hard every day towards her dream of being able to help her family out of poverty. Even though the school is four kilometers away and in another village, Fatou would get up at 5 a.m. so she could walk to the school and make it in time for the 8 a.m. opening. When she had to go home to help with the midday meal and then go back to school for afternoon classes, she would often walk a total of 16 kilometers in one day!

Women’s Global is proud to help such a dedicated and hard-working student as Fatou get the education she needs to build the brighter future she dreams of. Women’s Global assists Fatou’s family with her school fees and supplies, which they would otherwise be unable to afford. Fatou receives after-school tutoring from Women’s Global to prepare her for Senegal’s rigorous grade-level exams that can often cause students, especially girls, to drop out of school. Women’s Global also supports her family in serving as role models for a community where educating girls can be seen as a waste of valuable time and a poor use of limited family funds. Last year, Women’s Global also helped Fatou find a Toubacouta host family to board with during the week so she would no longer have to walk the four miles each way to and from school.

Fatou’s goal is to graduate from school, enter a university and become a nurse. She believes she will then be able to make life better for herself and for her family. She is well on her way to achieving this dream: Fatou not only passed her 2008 grade-level exams, she also finished at the very top of her class. Congratulations, Fatou!

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Daisy Recalde
Empowering Poor, Rural Girls in Paraguay
Paraguay, Economic Development

Meet Daisy Recalde—a young woman from Paraguay who is a teacher at the Mbaracayú Educational Center, an expert in organic horticulture, an entrepreneur and a mentor to 60 poor, rural girls who are living away from home for the first time.

Daisy is 20 years old. She is a graduate of the Fundación Paraguaya’s San Francisco Agricultural Schoolóa rural high school in Paraguay that transforms the sons and daughters of poor farmers into “rural entrepreneurs, with the skills they need to overcome the chronic poverty in which their families have lived for generations.”

“Today, Daisy is a well-trained professional, with a good job, her own income, and the chance to make a difference in the lives of other young women. But not so long ago, she was a poor, rural girl herself.

Daisy’s parents are ranch hands in the Chaco region of Paraguay-- a vast, semi-arid, sparsely populated region in the middle of South America. Together, her parents earn less than the minimum wage of $200/month. They have five children; the youngest is handicapped.

There aren’t many educational opportunities for children like Daisy. The ranch where her parents work is 200 kilometers from the nearest paved road. However, beginning in first grade, Daisy had an opportunity to attend a rustic, rural boarding school several hundred kilometers from home. When she finished ninth grade, she entered the San Francisco School, a financially self-sufficient high school that offers a high-quality rural education at virtually no cost to students. In 2008, Daisy graduated third in her class.

Today Daisy teaches organic horticulture at the Mbaracayú Educational Center, a boarding high school for poor, rural girls in the Mbaracayú Forest Reserve in northeastern Paraguay. It is similar to the school she attended, except that it is only for girls. Her students come from poor farming and indigenous communities where girls have little opportunity to get an education. It is the beginning of the new school year in Paraguay, and Daisy is teaching them how to develop good compost. “Organic gardening,” she tells them, “is not so much about growing beautiful vegetables as it is about developing productive soil,” a key lesson for these future rural entrepreneurs, as well as well for their parents and communities.

Daisy is also in charge of developing the organic garden into a successful, commercial enterprise. By helping Daisy run this enterprise, her students will gain both practical know-how and business skills, which will enable them to get good jobs or start their own rural enterprises. Meanwhile, the income from the school’s organic garden and other on-campus enterprises will pay all of the school’s operating costs. This will enable the school to continuing educating poor girls without charging high fees, which their families couldn’t afford.

Daisy also spends a lot of time with her students. She embraces challenges of all kinds and wants her students to, as well. She encourages them to learn English. She talks to them about her plans to study rural business administration. For recreation, she has even taught them how to swing out on a rope under the forest canopy and drop into the river below (that is, after she taught herself!)

Daisy is a very special young woman. She is part of the “girl effect”—an example of what happens when you give poor girls economic empowerment. But she is not unique. There are many, many others girls like Daisy. All they need is an opportunity. By supporting this project, “Empowering Poor Rural Girls in Paraguay,” you can give girls like Daisy the opportunity to show just how much an economically empowered girl can contribute to her family, her community and the world.

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Er’nyce Smith
After school programs for girls ages 6-18
United States, Education

I have benefited from Girls Incorporated in many ways. I started attending Girls Inc. in kindergarten and started working as an Health and Wealth Intern 3 years ago. Participation in this program not only gave me theoretical knowledge, but also provided practical skills needed for higher education. I have an eager nature to learn new tasks. I do not mind hard work. I have the initiative and ability to work with limited supervision. I am very dedicated and dependable. I have good verbal and written communication skills. I am able to organize and prioritize multiple, simultaneous tasks. I have developed a good relationship with other members and personnel. By following the examples and advice of the directors and other staff, I have learned how to take matters into my own hands and not be discouraged. I have also gained the confidence to strive to take on opportunities within my reach and beyond. I can sincerely credit Girls Incorporated with the many advantages I have obtained.

“Girls Incorporated has impacted my personal growth. Developing important interpersonal skills from Girls Inc. has helped me to learn how to associate with all types of people. It has helped me to teach as well as learn from others. It has also helped me to invest in myself by not just hoping to succeed, but expecting to succeed, and marketing myself like I deserve to succeed.

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Dahabo Hassan Maow
A Sanctuary for Empowering Refugee Girls
Kenya, Women and Girls

“Despite her tiny frame, when Dahabo Hassan Maow enrolled in Heshima Kenya’s programs last year she arrived bearing the tremendous weight of illness, alienation, and fear placed upon her over her 17 years living in Somalia.

Possessing unreal courage but lacking a sense of identity, Dahabo’s success in our programs illuminates why Heshima Kenya was created—to provide protection for vulnerable children, especially adolescent girls, while promoting self-sufficiency and leadership skills to in turn engender peace and positive social change. Without guideposts, families or encouragement, girls like Dahabo who have only known survival and conflict must display strength, determination, and commitment to cope with the past and work toward the future. More than that they need a place in the present that offers them the protection and means to undertake this herculean task. Dahabo’s success in the Children’s Empowerment Project empowers other girls beginning their journey toward rebuilding. And as a sign of this success, Dahabo will be teaching a course in Heshima Kenya’s new tailoring program, using her skills gained through the vocational training component of our Children’s Empowerment Project.

In Somalia Dahabo was born into a war that devastated her youth. Her parents died when she was an infant and her caregiver was killed when she was 14 years old. During that same time, Dahabo was shot in crossfire and her leg was amputated above the knee. She managed to flee with neighbors to neighboring Kenya when fighting intensified, but due to constant infection in her leg, Dahabo was displaced among many families in Nairobi, most unwilling or unable to care for her.

Nairobi is a haven for more than 100,000 foreign refugees, the vast majority of which live undocumented and without humanitarian assistance within the city’s informal refugee settlement. Alone, uneducated, physically ill, and without knowledge of her clan—one’s identify and social support system in her native Somalia—Dahabo was determined and desperate to have her voice heard. In one short year with Heshima Kenya, Dahabo has gained more self-confidence, support, and acceptance than she has experienced in her entire life. While residing at Heshima Kenya’s Safe House and participating in our Children’s Empowerment Project, Dahabo has found reassurance in knowing that there is and will continue to be a continuous source of structure and encouragement in her life. She has learned basic reading, writing and numeracy. She was placed in a skills training course and learned basic tailoring and how to tie-and-dye fabric. Her teacher and mentor, Saadia, a woman who grew up in a children’s home, is a vital component to helping Dahabo transition to self-sufficiency.

While her amputated leg remains a daily reminder of her past struggle and likely future social discrimination, Dahabo’s process of self discovery is an inspiration to staff, volunteers, and other girls in the program. We are extremely proud and humbled that Dahabo is a member of our community—but more so, happy she has found pride in herself.

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Sushila
Free and Educate 300 Bonded Nepali Girls
Nepal, Women and Girls

“Sushila, an 11 year old girl we rescued from her job as a bonded servant.

Sushila had been indentured by her father to work as a servant for a family in Kathmandu. Neither she nor her father received any compensation for her services, but the indenturing family promised to provide room and board. The NYOF staff went to Sushila’s home village, where they met the woman who was her employer. She had come to fetch Sushila to return to work for a third year. She vehemently denied that she employed a child servant and went sashaying off down the road, angry at the suggestion. Of course, she returned later, packed up Sushila, and brought her to resume work in Kathmandu.

We contacted Sushila’s father and asked if he would allow her to return home, in exchange for which NYOF would provide the family with a piglet or a goat, which they could sell at the end of the year for a profit. In addition, we offered to give her a scholarship to attend school, as we do to for every rescued girl. He agreed, and took the 10 hour bus ride into Kathmandu, where Raju, a member of our staff, met him.

Raju had called the employer in advance to tell her about the purpose of their impending visit. But when they arrived at the home where Sushila was working, the employer was not at home. Sushila was called out of the house, saw her father, and was puzzled at first by his presence. But when she learned why he was there, she broke into one of the brightest smiles.

The employer arrived a few minutes later, accompanied by a posse of relatives, and a royal row ensued between Raju and the employer and her relatives. They demanded to know why Raju was picking on them, since Nepal is full of child laborers. Raju replied that we had not singled them out, that we had rescued 4,000 girls in Sushila’s position, and that they must know child labor is illegal in Nepal. He demanded that she be allowed to go home with her father.

Sushila was finally allowed to depart with her father and Raju. On their way to the bus station to return to their village, they stopped to eat, and Raju said Sushila could not stop smiling. Sushila when asked what she will do now, she says “I’m going to go to school, and I will play, and do work in my own home.” In that order! There’s a child who knows what is important in her life!

Sushila’s story is far from the worst among the children who are bonded away. Many of these little girls are severely abused, since their working conditions are entirely at the discretion of their employers and no one checks to see how they are treated.

We are on a crusade to rescue all of these children and eradicate the bonding custom in Nepal. We hope you will join us!

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Bu Par
Life Skills for Women affected by Java Earthquake
Indonesia, Disaster Recovery

Bu Par is a 56-year-old survivor of the Java earthquake in the Bantul region of the Yogyakarta province. When the earthquake struck Yogyakarta and surrounding area in 2005, Bu Par’s husband and child were killed by the destruction of their house.

After the earthquake in Yogyakarta, Bu Par that lived alone in tent on top of her house ruins. Initially, the only work she could find to do was gathering wood to be sold in market. But the little money she made from selling wood was not enough to satisfy the requirements for everyday her life.

Bu Par had a skill in sewing, but was unable to establish a workshop due to a lack of access to capital to invest in her enterprise. She began working as the sewing teacher for the Foundation PUSPEM program “Life Skills for Java children of Earthquake victims.”

“Through her relationship with Foundation PUSPEM, Bu Par was able to access the initial capital necessary to start her own clothing sewing businesses so that she could better support herself.

Currently, Bu Par is living a far better life producing clothing in her house and earns enough to live with dignity. PUSPEM Foundation wants to thank the Donors who have helped contribute to the survivors of the Bantul earthquake.

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Anna Atieno
Provide Health Care to Sick Women in Kenya
Kenya, Health

Anna Atieno is a beneficiary of the SACRENA project in Kenya and a savvy, directed entrepreneur. “I just want to get capital to help me buy sewing machine so that I teach other single women how to make clothes and through me a vocational training can start,” says Anna.

“This is what we need to help change lives of women like me in our community.

SACRENA helps bring about the change that these women need so that they can stop struggling to make ends meet. They possess a fine skill to produce work with their hands, but have no access to capital to develop their businesses and expand their markets to sell products.

Hunger and food security is a serious issue in Kenya, with already 30,000 female fatalities due to lack of food. But, the strength of a woman is real. They walk long distances looking for water and firewood, all the while singing traditional songs. They are the bread winners. When they are unable to secure enough food and water, it is their children who suffer the most. Women want to educate their children and change the world. They seek access to healthcare for malaria, cancer, AIDS, malnutrition, infectious diseases, infertility, and pregnancy complications.

This month help us bring a smile to faces of 250 single mothers and widows in Kenya and donate now to change women’s lives. Help them put food on the table, live long, and be empowered. We are happy to be part of the voice for women a cross the world. Women are the mothers of nations.

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Shomironbibi
Help Women in India Start Small Businesses
India, Microfinance

Shomironbibi: A Portrait of Success

Trickle Up staff first met Shomironbibi two years ago, when her family’s only income was from her husband’s day labor; at just two dollars a day, he was employed only four months of the year. Her family often went without meals. But with support from Trickle Up, Shomironbibi’s situation was about to change.

This past summer, we found Shomironbibi in her mud and bamboo house, where she and her family sleep on straw mats on the floor. Surrounded by curious neighbors, Shomironbibi greeted us shyly and told us how her Trickle Up grant enabled her to start rearing goats in a bamboo pen. Step by step, her small enterprise is providing a livelihood that will soon allow her to sell her livestock and lease a plot of land. She also plans to diversify her assets—an important economic strategy for the poor—into fish and rice farming.

“Instead of relegating her future to fate, Shomironbibi is taking control, and the signs of her progress are unmistakable.

Her family has been eating two cooked meals a day and a third of leftovers. Their home now has a sanitary latrine, and a health counselor drops by regularly to offer advice and help Shomironbibi access free government healthcare she hadn’t known about before. Via the “self-help” group that we helped her join, she and twenty-four other Trickle Up participants are saving small sums every week.

In their society, women are rarely addressed by name, so we take extra efforts to increase confidence by providing name tags at Trickle Up trainings and showing women how to sign their names. Before we said goodbye, we asked Shomironbibi to sign her name. As she did so, the most compelling thing to see was not just her signature, but rather the enormous pride on her face as she wrote.

Shomironbibi is a portrait of success, but there are many others like her who have never yet received a helping hand out of poverty. Your contribution translates into an opportunity for more women to gain confidence as they start on the first steps out of poverty.

Watch the first video in a series showing Shomironbibi’s first steps out of poverty.

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Brittany SS Hardin
Global Educational Empowerment for 100,000 Girls
United States, Education

Hello to All,

“My name is Brittany S.S. Hardin and I am in the process of making a smooth transition from a child to an adult.

At this stage in my life I am Childfree, STD free and drug free. I am a healthy and active seventeen-year-old who is involved in sports, clubs and employment. I maintain above a 3.0 GPA and have a goal of becoming a prestigious African-American woman that will make history. Sisterhood Agenda has helped me to stay focused on doing something with my life and my potential. The program itself taught me to be proud f my ethic group and of my culture. It has taught me to be cognizant of a person for their personality and talents not for their clothes, their money or their popularity. Sisterhood Agenda showed me that most of the famous black women began as I, a young eager teen with a goal and dream of one day becoming the next best thing. Due to the lessons learned at Sisterhood Agenda, I have matured more as a person and have acquired knowledge, which has helped me to understand myself as a person and to mentally grow stronger.

The women at Sisterhood Agenda make the program a great experience. The women at Sisterhood Agenda are always open minded and willing to converse. They have the ability to be your friend but at the same time well respected adults. The goals of Sisterhood Agenda are reflected through the guidance and teaching. They practice what they preach and hold true their word. They are examples of how understanding yourself, your culture, and your potential can help you accomplish anything you set your mind to. The ability for these women to teach the goals of sisterhood, self-knowledge, self-development and self-esteem, and to exhibit them on a daily basis inspires young females like myself to go the extra mile even when the water is gone and the heat is unbearable. I hope that by following their examples and teachings, I too can be a successful African American female and an epitome of Sisterhood Agenda.

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Immaculée
Defend Burundian Women & Children from Legal Abuse
Berundi, Human Rights

Immaculée is a Burundian lawyer. She comes from Gisanze, a small village in the Northern part of this landlocked country. For over 5 years, she has been restlessly scouring prisons and defending impoverished women and children accused of a crime. Oftentimes housed with convicted male prisoners, women and children are particularly exposed to abuses challenging their physical integrity and human dignity.

A founding member of a local human rights group called Women Youth Solidarity Association, ée knows too well the situation faced by these women and children unmeshed in unchecked justice systems. She admitted sometimes lacking confidence and support from the legal community to mount a vigorous defense and free them from detention centers.

In May 2008, Immaculée attended, along with other 19 lawyers (among which 6 other women defenders) as well as police officers, supreme court judges, magistrates, and civil society representatives a criminal defense training in Bujumbura.

“Not only has Immaculée been empowered by her new-found tools to provide redress for the accused, but, more significantly, she now feels part of a supportive community that spearheads the movement for the eradication of torture in her country.

As a women lawyer, Immaculée is now in a better position to address the specific needs of women and children awaiting trial in one the country’s 11 prisons. She is leveraging the skills and confidence gained during the training to investigate each case, motion for bail, lobby judges and expedite her women clients’ trial dates with courage, strength and passion to make sure that one day, beyond bars, they start hoping again.

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Lal Maya Tamang
Support women farming sustainably in rural Nepal
Nepal, Economic Development

ASHA - Lal Maya Tamang & the Kurilo Women’s Society

“10 years ago, Lal Maya Tamang says, she could not have imagined her life today, as a respected elder stateswoman of a local women’s group. From her mud brick patio, she points out the view of her rainbow-colored vegetable plot where she grows leafy greens, squash, oranges, and corn.

And there on the hillside below her one-room thatched-roof cottage, she keeps her 4 goats. The first 2 were purchased with a loan she has repaid.

A group of 19 women, the Kurilo Women’s Society, sit on woven mats listening to Lal Maya speak about the importance of savings. Lal Maya proudly hands over her monthly savings to the group’s treasurer, her neighbor, who records the amount in a book: 50 Nepalese Rupees, around 75 cents. This is the average amount they save each month.

Lal Maya, 54, lives with her husband and their 9 year-old son in Nuwakot, an hour’s drive from Kathmandu. She and her husband moved here 10 years ago. Their job was to build retaining walls.

One day the contractor abandoned them owing them months of back pay. They were stranded. They settled by the side of the road, taking other meagerly paying jobs to survive.

But life for Lal Maya is no longer about mere survival. For the last 3 years, Lal Maya and the 19 women in the Kurilo Women’s Society have been providing each other with small loans to invest in income-generating activities.

Standard microfinance institutions usually exclude membership to women over 50, considering them not able-bodied enough. Her son, who was born with severe development delays, is completely dependent on her, as is her husband who was recently blinded by cataracts. Since the loan funds in Lal Maya’s group come completely from group members themselves, they set the rules; women like Lal Maya, who are the sole supporters of their families, are welcome to join.

The Kurilo Women’s Society also participated in ASHA’s sustainable agriculture training that includes free seeds and tree saplings to get members started. Their crop yields have been very good. They eat more nutritious food and sell the excess produce to a group of vendors who travel from Kathmandu. The women have also learned how to naturally preserve their own seeds, saving them costly treks to the city.

This year, the women pooled their money and purchased a plot of land. They requested, and received, a grant from the district council for a crop storage warehouse to facilitate wholesale marketing of their crops.

Lal Maya is longer dependent on an unscrupulous employer. She’s engaged in the community. She has an income, better food, and is better equipped to take care of her family. And with each passing month, she becomes an ever-savvier businesswoman. Lal Maya’s crops are thriving, and so is she.

Give to support groups like Lal Maya’s through March 27, 2009 and your donation will be matched. This year, 2 more groups are set to start their work.

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Dehkontee Sayon
100 women from 8 nations at the Homeless World Cup
Australia, Women and Girls

Liberian Girl: Dehkontee Sayon

Dehkontee Sayon, Liberia deservedly won the "Best Female Player" award at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup and was a key member of Team Liberia, runners up in the first ever Women's Homeless World Cup.

“My friends and relatives have received me back home proudly. A soccer game was played in appreciation of my splendid performance and voting me as Best Female Player at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup

shared Dehkontee.

"We even presented our Runner up Trophy to the Government of Liberia. We hope the presentation will stimulate the Government to help us with our budget for 2009/2010."

So what else does she have planned now after her victorious return?

Dehkontee is passing her success on to other Women in Liberia sharing the "wonderful experience and opportunity she had" attending the Homeless World Cup with her community and encouraging other players to focus and keep playing the game as it "is a tool for their future."

"I really want to work with women organisations to help other needful women of my country."

"It is all very exciting. I am so happy and proud to acknowledge what football has done and continues to do for me," she adds.

Wallace Weiah, President of FODEDE the organisation responsible for grassroots development in Liberia and fielding Liberia's Homeless World Cup Squad said: "Dehkontee is being really positive about her future and this is proving to be an inspiration to all those around her. Her story of her humble beginnings of playing football as a homeless woman in her native country of Liberia and her journey to the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne has been watched by all at home and abroad."

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Sokey*
Restoring hope to trafficked girls in Cambodia
Cambodia, Human Rights

Twelve-year-old Sokey lived with her family in a remote village of Cambodia. Her family was very poor and she had never been able to attend school. One day a woman visited the village, approached Sokey’s parents, and offered to take Sokey to an adjacent province, where she could work as a domestic helper. Sokey’s parents agreed. Perhaps she would get more to eat, and one less mouth to feed would help them, too.

“Sokey left home at age 12 for a place she had never been, with people she had never met.

Working as a domestic helper lasted two weeks. Next, she was taken to a brothel, which of course was terrifying. A neighbor took pity on the very young girl, and she was fortunate to be rescued. Sokey was taken directly home. Heavily drugged and very traumatized, Sokey just sat and stared into space. Her parents were not prepared to care for her, particularly because Sokey’s father had psychological problems of his own, from trauma incurred as a Khmer Rouge soldier. Thinking Sokey was crazy, they took her to a human rights organization. They referred her to Hagar.

Initially, Sokey lived at Hagar’s Phnom Penh Aftercare Center, which serves girls (ages 4 – 14) from backgrounds of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Sokey missed village life and longed to live in a more rural setting. Then, Hagar established a second Aftercare Center, in Kampong Thom, a three-hour drive north. Sokey was transferred there, and she settled in quickly. Kampong Thom was much closer to her home province. Hagar staff deemed it unsafe for her to live at home, due to the desperate situation of her family. Sokey could easily again become vulnerable to abuse. Still, her family was the only family she had, and she loved them. The Kampong Thom location better facilitated supervised home visits. Sokey studied hard at school and reached grade six. Younger girls at the Aftercare Center looked up to her and saw her as a role model.

Tragically, in fall 2008, Sokey’s father was murdered in an argument over fishing rights. Sokey returned home for the funeral and mourning period. She had a difficult time dealing with yet another trauma in her life, but she is now back at the Aftercare Center and slowly resuming progress.

Now, Hagar is faced with a very difficult situation. Funding for the Kampong Thom Aftercare Center has been hard-hit by the economic crisis. A major donor has informed us that he will not be able to fulfill his commitment. Unless ’stop gap‚ funds are found soon, Hagar will need to temporarily close the facility, while additional funding sources can be confirmed. All 25 girls will be cared for by other Hagar programs and staff, but Sokey doesn’t want to move, even if it’s temporary.

*Not her real name, according to Hagar International policy. Please note, our policy also prohibits sharing photos showing the faces of girls from backgrounds of sexual exploitation. Accordingly, a photo will be provided that adheres to this policy.

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Satora
Global Educational Empowerment for 100,000 Girls
United States, Education

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Rhonda Jones
Cultivating Young Women Leaders in Northern CA
United States, Education

In rural Northern California, feminist community organizers had a dream: to help empower other local young women to share their experiences and ideas; to make health-care information relevant; and to increase access to community services and other vital resources. Through this process, we found that we’d nurtured a budding network of community organizers.

In 2007, with foundation funding and a bedrock of generational knowledge the dream of a Young Women’s Leadership Institute, became a reality by offering young women an experience in sisterhood and community health education, and the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by the feminist health community organizers who work in the respectful, non-judgmental, woman-positive community of Women’s Health Specialists.

Using dynamic youth development principles to help young people become socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively stronger, the Young Women’s Leadership Institute focuses on positive characteristics rather than deficits. Our tools, activities, outings and strategies build participants’ knowledge and connections in the community, helping them develop the confidence and curiosity that are necessary for success both in school and in later life.

Rhonda Jones, a former Young Women’s Health Institute participant expresses how she felt after she completed the program,

“My name is Rhonda Jones. I completed the Young Women’s Health Institute. A program that forever changed my life. Before I chose to attend I didn’t know much about my body, but the basics. In one of those empowering days I learned about a pap smear and the famous speculum, which changed my life forever for the better.

Rhonda left the program with increased knowledge of both social and health-related issues facing young people and now she has the necessary skills to be a peer advocate in her community. The Young Women’s Leadership Institute is not merely a program, but a perspective that focuses on possible futures, harnessing the participants’ powers as immediate resources for themselves and others. By offering opportunities for bonding and growth in a caring environment. The Young Women’s Leadership Institute inspires participants to create a network of positive relationships and connections among youth and adults, youth peers, local organizations and community groups. Alienated no more*#8212;with The Young Women’s Leadership Institute, youth gain the confidence, information and power they need to make alliances with women and become a positive, productive force in their communities.

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Metrine Chelgat
Educate 150 Orphaned Teenage Kenyan Mothers
Kenya, Education

My name Metrine Chelagat, a 20 years old girl. My dream was to be a doctor to save my people from diseases.

My dream was shuttered when I dropped out of primary school due to early pregnancy. I have a 2 year old girl.

I had lost all my hope of ever making it in life. My parents are poor and we live as squatters.

“After TYSA introduced sports program late last year I was attracted and joined. It is here where I regained my lost dream.

Am overwhelmed by how much sports has changed my life. I look even younger than my age. I am currently training as a tailor and fashion design at Kapenguria Youth Polytechnic courtesy of Globalgiving community.

I hope other girls who are in my state could get more support for them to come and achieve their dreams through your support. I want to change the lives of 50 girls in my community who are affected by early pregnancies and prevent more than 3000 others who are at risk of early pregnancies

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Laxmi Lohande
First Community Radio by Women in Rural India
India, Women and Girls

Lokhande is a broom maker and vendor. She came to the radio station for an interview about her loan and banking experience with MDMSB. Lokhande had never been to school, and for her this experience was a lifetime achievement. She confidently narrated her experiences, and after her story was broadcasted, other women got the inspiration and they just pour into the bank. to raise various queries and seek out financial services from MDMSB.

Laxmi Lokhande is a broom maker and vendor. She came to the Mann Deshi Tarang FM Community Radio for an interview about her loan and banking experience with Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (MDMSB). The bank specializes in both group and individual lending, as well as savings and some forms of insurance. It provides specialized interest-free loan programs, and a rural business school which offers financial and vocational training.

“Lokhande had never been to school, and for her this experience was a lifetime achievement.

She confidently narrated her experiences, and after her story was broadcasted, other women got the inspiration and poured into the bank to raise various queries and seek out financial services from MDMSB.

The Mann Deshi Tarang community radio station is just one of many projects run by the Mann Deshi Group and was launched in December 2008. The community radio seeks to meet the community’s needs by broadcasting programs that are designed by the community itself. People in the rural areas of India are often left behind by conventional communication platforms, but community radio is an ideal system to promote efficient development through education, information and communication. Mann Deshi Tarang provides access to local, national, and global information, and allows community members to share and learn about other people’s experiences. The topics of greatest interest have been: local news, agriculture information, utility and banking information, women’s self help groups, child education, government and non-governmental development programs, local culture and entertainment, and health and hygiene.

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Emily
Provide 500 Women Globally with Abuse Support
United States, Women and Girls

Emily was married to a Taiwanese man and had been living in Taiwan for 17 years. She has four sons; seven-year-old twins living with her in Taiwan and two teenagers who she managed to send to the United States to live with her sister. Emily’s husband had been growing increasingly abusive and, in the last several years of their marriage, his verbal and emotional abuse escalated. Her husband was an alcoholic and Emily suffered years of abuse before she ever reached out.

She had a deep desire to return to the U.S.; however, was unable to because her twins’ passports had expired and she lacked financial resources. After the first contact on the international domestic violence hotline, ADVCL staff and volunteers provided Emily with numerous hours of advocacy; providing information on domestic violence, resources for local organizations, and connecting her with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts.

Because her husband closely monitored all the of the family’s finances, ADVCL advocates helped Emily with a repatriation loan provided through the AIT, which she qualified for and would allow her to receive monetary assistance to secure a flight home. The AIT initially denied her request stating they would need her husband’s permission. ADVCL staff advocated on her behalf with U.S. State Department officials who then contacted the AIT, which ultimately resulted in her successfully obtaining both the repatriation loan and passport renewals for her children.

“As Emily planned her escape, the ADVCL advocates provided ongoing support and safety planning. The crisis line was available to her 24 hours a day to help her work through this difficult transition and ensure that she was able to get on the plane with her children.

She feared that her husband would find out and was thankful that ADVCL was a confidential organization that could help.

On her return to the U.S. Emily wanted to reunite her family and hoped to have her older sons live with her again. She needed to find a shelter that would accept her whole family, including her teenage sons. ADVCL staff worked to find Emily and her family a place where they could start their lives again free of violence and abuse. Earlier this year, Emily and her children were accepted into a transitional housing program and she is currently enrolled in a healthcare training program.

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Nimarla
Provide 500 Women Globally with Abuse Support
United States, Women and Girls

Relief International’s microfinance project assists women beneficiaries by providing assistance to 1,600 families in the Ampara district of, the region most devastated by the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean in December 2004. The program helps communities regain strength and profitability through small, entrepreneurial business and the ability of the local peoples to save and build credit. From each family, one female representative is chosen to join the program. The women are divided into groups of 20-30 women, each of which receives loans as a collective. These groups function as savings clubs in which members are able to apply for loans. Loans are granted based upon previous savings behavior, likelihood of the success of their enterprise, regular attendance in group meetings, and individual group policies.

Nimarla, a 29 year old woman from Vinaygapuram, is one of many who has successfully benefited from the Rural Savings Creation Program.

“After narrowly escaping the tidal waves and losing her home and belongings to the tsunami, Nirmala joined Relief International’s microfinance savings group, Madura in December 2005.

With the assistance of the savings group, Nirmala started to save Rs.50/= weekly. After 3 months of regular saving, she was able to take out her first loan. Using her first loan of Rs.5000/= Nirmala bought dry rations for her fellow group members in the area. She was able to take second and third loans and pay back fully with interest. She got Rs.40, 000/= during her fourth cycle loan and expanded her business to a small Grocery Shop.

Presently Nirmala is selling goods to meet the daily needs of her community and is enjoying sales of Rs.2000/= to 3000/= with a profit of Rs.300/=to 400/=.

Nirmala expressed her gratitude to RI during the last community meeting in December 2008 for helping her improve her standard of living. She is proud to have gained the respect from her family and community and is a living example of the success RI’s Savings Group program has to offer.