“We Sow Hope” Dinner 2016
On Thursday, September 29th, 2016, SowHope hosted the annual “We Sow Hope” dinner, enjoying the company of community supporters while sharing in the successes of local women leaders in 16 countries throughout the world. Mary Dailey Brown, SowHope’s President and CEO, painted pictures of intimate and inspiring stories, including peace building in South […]
Africa Team Report: “Waiting in the bush…”
By Melissa Miller, SowHope Board Member I was expecting Tuesday to be a fully exhausting day of emotional ups and downs. Our team of eight was conducting field visits today…meeting and engaging with the women participating in our women’s groups through microloans, literacy, and wellness projects. [My thoughts in the jeep] Wow, I feel spent […]
Africa Team Reports – Literacy Brought to Life
Thursday Nov 15 By Wes Miller – SowHope Board Member Before writing this blog, I looked up the literacy rate in Uganda. It turns out that as of 2002, less than 60% of women could read and write. I find statistics to be helpful because they give me a sense of the state of a situation. Without accompanying stories, […]
Africa Team Reports – First Day in Uganda
Friday, Nov 9th
By Beth Leeson – SowHope Board Member
First Impressions: We’re experiencing our first introduction to Uganda. Having arrived in the late hours the previous evening – traveling from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Detroit to Amsterdam to Kigali, Rwanda and finally on to Entebbe, Uganda – our body clocks were a bit out of sync.
We stayed up together sharing cold Nile beer and waited endlessly for food at our small hotel, learning that nothing in Africa is fast. But, on the other hand, everything is prepared from scratch.
Awaking to the crowing of a rooster, we enjoyed a breakfast with our malaria tablets and headed out in two four wheel vehicles for our travels to a town about three hours west of Kampala to visit microloan recipients. Driving through the bustling streets of capital city Kampala was a sensory experience of sights, sounds and smells. The streets were teeming with cars and motorbikes loaded with people, as well as colorful fruits, veggies, and building supplies – anything or anyone that required transport. The smell of emission fumes mixed with the smoke of cooking fires made breathing a difficult task.
Coming into view as we turned a corner, in one of the many villages we passed, was a crowd of people surrounding an apparent thief. He was being escorted by two policemen, one on each arm. The gathering seemed to be moving together toward the police station. The thief was being repeatedly and forcefully struck from behind by the probable victim, who appeared to be quite angry. According to our driver, Fred, Ugandans generally don’t have many possessions, and thievery, while common, is a serious offense.
Traveling to Africa together as a team, and preparing through several meetings hunched over maps and proposals, we did all that we could to be prepared for the work and the experiences. But trying to imagine life half way across the world was just a little out of our reach from the comforts of Michigan. Our impressions during the first day or two were simply amazing and filled our senses with new ideas, new smells, new friends, and new challenges. Most wonderful!
(Photo by Wes Miller)
Africa Team Reports
SowHope recently hosted its first overseas vision and service trip. A team of eight people, led by me, went to Africa for 10 days. Two SowHope Team leaders, Anne Kendra (PR) and Doreen Mangrum (Program) along with three board members, Beth Leeson, Wes and Melissa Miller, who also serve on our Program Team and film-makers […]
Life Transformed In Bangladesh
SowHope continues to see success in its economic endeavors in Bangladesh. Microloans given to women, who are trained in business practices, are a great source of encouragement and true life change. For more information on Shefali (pictured right) read our October 2012 newsletter. http://conta.cc/QwmHGV Source: Sow Hope
Watch Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
It’s not too late to watch Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – an amazing documentary that shows the story of the women SowHope seeks to inspire around the world is available for free to watch on-line until Oct 8!&nb…
Vote for ArtPrize #52267 “Sowing Hope” by Kim Gill
Once again, artist Kimberly Grace Gill has skillfully painted the beautiful women of SowHope. This time you can see her art on display until Oct 7 at the Women’s City Club at 254 Fulton Street in Grand Rapids. The large oil painting is part of a 1517 piece competition for the largest art prize in […]
Necessities?
We had a coupon for a Mocha Frappe, my daughter’s favorite early morning jolt. Her tummy was full of bagels and cream cheese and she was on a mission for the Mocha Frappe. We pulled into the drive-through, her excitement building as we waited our turn to order a drink for her and an extra […]
Envy
We were in a white, sterile exam room when the doctor told me I had cancer. Later, when I was talking on the phone with a friend I reasoned that I didn’t have time for death, I had a teenage daughter to raise. As I contemplated the fine mess I’d gotten into, I realized […]