Devadasi – A Tradition of Slavery
Despite several court orders to abolish it, there are still a few states in India which continue to practice the Devadasi tradition, which dates back to the 6th century. Devadasi is translated as the feminine form of “slave of god”. Within the tradition, young girls are dedicated and married to the temple deity, Yellamma, before […]
Terrorism Hits Close to Home in Nigeria
Boko Haram, a terrorist organization in northeastern Nigeria, continues to terrorize in many areas where our Nigerian partner, Sarah, oversees more than 25 SowHope projects empowering women. Recently, Sarah’s cousin and his friend were killed during a brutal attack in her parents’ hometown. During the attack, people from the town ran for their lives, including […]
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 […]
Essential Worker in Kenya
SowHope partner Josephine, in Kenya, is an incredibly compassionate person. We first met her through a mutual friend who told us she was helping AIDS widows and orphans. At the time, she worked for the government and had recently heard of two children dying. She drove to the area where the children passed and began […]
Emergency Support for Bangladesh
The Tea Garden areas of Bangladesh are some of the poorest regions in the country where local people obtain day labor jobs at about $1/ day. When COVID-19 hit, the tea companies banned outsiders from coming in and stopped hiring local people to work. This situation has caused an immediate economic crisis where people cannot […]
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 […]
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, […]
Crisis Response
We have reached a point of crisis not experienced in most of our lifetimes. The recent events surrounding racial injustice and anarchy combined with enduring the difficulties associated with COVID-19, have given us a greater measure of empathy with the women we serve around the world. Every day they live with violence, poverty, fear, death, […]
Face Masks for Nepal
Single mothers with no way to provide for their family are being given a renewed opportunity to make a steady income. Anand, a local leader in Nepal, runs a small-scale mask making project that employs 40 of the most impoverished women in the community and pays a generous wage so they can support their children. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, Anand found […]