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The Flo DeWitt Women Empowerment Initiative
SOTENI's emphasis on training is rooted in the belief that effective education leads to success. SOTENI believes that giving women the confidence and skill sets to become self-sufficient is important, so in addition to the women's empowerment training that took place in SVH-Mituntu, a new program began this summer:
In June, SOTENI Village of Hope-Mbakalo launched the Flo DeWitt Women Empowerment Initiative, a microfinance program providing short-term loans of 30,000 Kenyan shillings to women's groups. These loans enable them to finance income-generating activities and achieve greater self-sufficiency. After visiting Mbakalo and witnessing the positive influence of Mbakalo women's groups, Flo DeWitt became interested in their development. The initiative was named for her because of her inspiration, dedication, and fundraising efforts.
The women will work on projects ranging from beekeeping to crop development and repay their loans within a year. Before being awarded the loans, the women's groups participated in training, during which the women received advice on how to effectively manage their capital, maintain membership, develop a sustainable project, and repay the money. Each group received feedback on their proposals. 
Left to right: Simon Sitati (SVH-Mbakalo Coordinator), Flo DeWitt (volunteer), Mbakalo women's groups
Women's groups representatives receive training before accepting their loans
A ceremony was held to distribute checks to the women's groups. The women are incredibly grateful and eager to begin their new enterprises! |
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SOTENI interns are also an important part of our training! Not only do they receive training here and in Kenya, but they have been helping expand SOTENI's social network and move us into the 21st century! Check out the Quick Links on the left to explore new ways to support SOTENI. You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter. iGive and iSearch:
iGive and iSearch are two new ways that you can support SOTENI by doing what you normally do on the internet--when you make online purchases through iGive from hundreds of merchants like Amazon.com, 1-800-FLOWERS, and Staples, a percentage of your purchase is donated to us. Changing your default search engine to iSearch earns 1¢ for SOTENI with each search you make. This may not seem like a lot, but if a family of four uses iGive for one year, SOTENI will receive over $55--enough to buy 35 banana seedlings to provide food and income-generation. We also encourage you to pass this along to your friends and family--every search and purchase counts!
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