500 Afghan Women Are Transforming Their World

I am delighted to report that five hundred Afghan women have successfully managed to create a space for themselves in Afghanistan's male dominated agro industry. Two years ago, these women, along with Global Partnership for Afghanistan, began working on a strawberry farming project in search of a sustainable income stream.

Providing more details, the project's Executive Director, Kate McLetchie mentioned, "The project has enabled women to corner a previously unexplored section of the agricultural market in Afghanistan. Because strawberries are a new crop, wholesalers and producers alike were able to move into a space typically dominated by men for other crops. Women wholesalers were able to make successful sales at local shops owned and operated by men. The project established women as the primary wholesalers and traders of strawberries in the three provinces where the project has operated. Networks are immensely vital to the economic success of women entrepreneurs and to this end this project has connected women producers and wholesalers to shops and retailers, creating relationships that will lead to a steady revenue stream for many years to come."

While the money will help them ensure a better lifestyle, education and healthcare for their families, these women are also learning first hand how true happiness comes from sharing.

Learn more and see if you can help our Afghan sisters - Click Here!

#5Mindfulness #TrueHappiness #GoodCitizens #GlobalGiving #GlobalPartnershipForAfghanistan #AfghanWomen #Afghanistan

La Casa de Panchita

If the rich were fair, we wouldn't have to fight for minimum wages or health benefits or better working conditions. People across the globe are exploited by greedy employers. Imagine what must be the condition of women domestic workers in Peru.

"Half a million females work as servants and nannies in Peru. Most come to Lima from rural poverty or shantytowns. The vast majority do not enjoy basic rights: schooling, 6 day work week, minimum wage. Girls as young as 9 years serve others to earn a meal and care for children, instead of going to school themselves. Women and girls suffer abuse and entrapment. We enable these women to stand up for their rights and negotiate better jobs and give these girls a chance to reclaim their childhood.

La Casa de Panchita empowers 800 women & girls as young as 9 to escape 14 hour days, avoid abuse, attend school, and earn fair pay. We train, tutor, and give legal advice to domestic workers in Lima.

With their education, training and counseling, girls and women in domestic work will be able to improve their own situations, encourage other girls to look beyond domestic work and improve working conditions and opportunities for all domestic workers.

La Casa de Panchita are helping break through a heritage of poverty and servitude passed from mother to daughter because of lack of opportunity and education. As they gain skills, confidence and understanding of their rights, the 800 girls and women we serve each year will pursue more education and secure better jobs. They in turn will educate other domestic workers and parents of young girls about the alternatives and will fight to ensure the rights of all domestic workers are respected."

More information here :

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/empower-girls-and-women-peru/

Khadija expands her business

Khadija, a single mother, has expanded her clothes shop to include sewing machines so that she can make alterations for her customers.

Her village of Haris, in the West Bank, only had one clothing store.  When she overheard people in her community talk about the need for variety, Khadija responded by raising the capital for a new clothing business with her brother. But she soon saw an opportunity to expand.

“I noticed most of the women who come to buy from my shop also need their clothes altered,” she said. “I realized that a sewing machine would give me a competitive advantage in the market.”

Khadija participated in NEF’s program – creating a business plan to grow her business and successfully securing a start-up grant for expansion.

“Having your own business is not only about money,” she says. “It is also about achieving your social, psychological, and financial independence. My business makes me feel that I’m an active and useful person in this community.”

NEF is supporting disadvantaged women in Palestine and Jordan to create businesses and achieve economic security. Each year NEF provides 250 women with training and coaching to build business management and leadership skills and helps them access start-up funding. With this support, they are able to earn money, lead change in their communities, and break the cycle of poverty to create better lives for their families.

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/empower-women-entrepreneurs-in-jordan-palestine/