From Stonecutter to Seamstress
All Aruna, from India, had ever known was stonecutting. As her family’s traditional work, it was the only skill she had for earning money, until she signed up for the SowHope-funded tailoring project in her village. At 29, Aruna is a wife and the mother of three children. She would accompany her husband whenever there […]
Volunteer, Mita Fitzjohn
Mita Fitzjohn, a member of the SowHope Fund Development and Marketing Team, understands the plight of women and girls in extreme poverty. “I was born in India,” Mita explains, “and moved to the US with my parents when I was two years old. I am fortunate to have come from an educated, middleclass family, yet […]
Working From Home in Nigeria
“I try to think of what I can sell as a young lady. Not getting even a little income of my own worries me sometimes. But through this (SowHope funded) project, I got ideas on how to produce and run my own business, by myself.” – Gloria. Rural Nigeria is a difficult place to be […]
Fall 2020 Matching Gift Appeal – Burkina Faso
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”6879″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” img_link_large=”yes” box_shadow=”small_depth” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text] Dr. Itengré and his wife, Rasmata, a Registered Nurse [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default”][vc_column_text] SowHope has funded dozens of fistula repair surgeries in addition to income-generating […]
Why 2020 is the Best Year to Give
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default”][vc_column_text] Over the last few years, there have been several changes to charitable giving rules that have caused would-be donors to pause their giving. Recently, most of the tax benefits for cash giving to your favorite charitable organizations have been restricted based […]
COVID-19 UPDATE FROM SOWHOPE PARTNERS
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default”][vc_column_text] COVID-19 UPDATE FROM SOWHOPE PARTNERS Around the world, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the lives of people. Those who were suffering due to poverty face even more struggles and danger due to unemployment and food shortages caused by lockdowns. At SowHope, […]
2019 Annual Report
International Women’s Day 2020
SowHope celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 by offering a public screening Disney’s Queen of Katwe. Although it was a beautiful spring day – the sunniest and warmest to date in Grand Rapids, Michigan – more than 160 people supported women by attending the event. Queen of Katwe is about the struggles a widowed mother […]
An Oasis in Egypt
Twenty-five impoverished women, most of them widows, learned how to make leather bags and wallets at a SowHope-funded project in Egypt. Our partner, Bassem, reported that in addition to attaining financial independence, the women also became more social and loving, their personalities improved, and there was no jealousy between them. He said they worked cooperatively […]
Board Member, Fridah Kanini
“My soul was touched,” answered Fridah Kanini, Board Member of SowHope, when asked what attracted her to the organization. In 2015, when she attended the Annual Gala at Frederik Meijer Gardens, she was mourning the loss of her mother, who had died nearly three years prior. “My mother was my best friend. When I watched […]