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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
16,806 & Counting
Josephine is one of the many dedicated local partners SowHope supports. She is an exemplary leader and has facilitated many microfinance and transformational development opportunities in Kenya, a country where SowHope projects, funded with your donations, have benefited over 16,800 women. Her work and commitment to empowering marginalized women through education and economic opportunities has […]
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 […]
Hope Versus Violence in DRC
Few places have endured violence and unrest for as long as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Nine pregnant women and a nurse were brutally murdered at a SowHope-funded birthing clinic last year. Because of this ongoing conflict, it was with some relief that SowHope recently received communication from Ngadjoy, a longtime SowHope partner. […]
New Opportunities in Asia
Always on the alert to find countries where women could benefit from SowHope-funded projects, President Mary Dailey Brown and Board Member Kathleen Muedder traveled to Myanmar and Nepal last December with Kate, the Executive Director of Harvest Bridge, an international nonprofit that has done work in South Asia for years. This exploratory trip gave Mary and […]
Reunion in Sierra Leone
Reunited and it felt so good! Dr. Sylivia Juta, who served on the SowHope Board and Program Team from 2012-2017, hosted a SowHope team that traveled to Sierra Leone in June. Her husband Papa, originally from Sierra Leone, wanted to move back to help rebuild his country. They are both university professors who desire to boost […]
Finding Support Through Tragedy
A SowHope team recently visited rural India to evaluate a tailoring training project impacting 160 women. The team was treated to an opportunity to watch the graduation ceremony for 40 women along with hearing stories of how the project impacted their lives. Renuka took part in the class because she wanted to work from home […]
Home Businesses Change Lives
Vinita’s heart is overflowing. As the local leader of a SowHope funded project at a vocational training center in India, she reports that women are blossoming. Three hundred women were trained at the center and all of them are now working, most from their own home businesses. The women are earning as much as $145 […]