The House of Representatives has already proposed drastic cuts to international assistance, on everything from AIDS to education. In the coming weeks, the Senate will vote on a bill that aims to cut the very programs that would help women like Betilde lift their families out of poverty.

Betilde, a woman living in Nicaragua, struggles every day to feed her family. Rising every morning at 5am, she feeds her husband and five children, does laundry and tends to her family's livestock, all before leaving for work. Despite all her hard work, Betilde remains one of the 1.4 billion people in the world struggling to live on about a dollar a day. The majority of them - 829 million - are women and girls.  

We all know times are tough in America. There is a growing desire to cut budgets and many have argued that we should start with international assistance. What they don't realize is this: investing in a more secure and prosperous world IS fiscally responsible. In fact, international assistance does not just help foreigners, it helps us too.

Read about the new USAID evaluation policy here 

www.womenthrive.org 

Nowhere outside of the continent of Africa is the African cultural presence more evident than in Latin America where African influence is evident in the gastronomical, musical, and religious traditions.   

On Sunday, February 20 from 12 PM to 4 PM, MOLAA celebrates African contributions to Latin American culture at a free Annual Afro-Latino Festival which includes art workshops, face painting and music and dance performances by local artists.

Click here for more info.