A mere $200 microloan is all it took to change the life of Sharifa and her daughter, forever. The Afghan villager, struggling to survive in this war-torn area, used the loan to invest in a rug loom and weaving supplies. She was soon able to hire other women weavers, freeing up her young daughter to finally go to school. Read more about what other microloans have done.
Kim Pityn, MEDA's vice president of international operations, passionately engaged those in attendance at the launch of the Afghanistan Challenge on May 14 in Ottawa, ON. Watch Kim as she wows the launch crowd below!
Support the Afghan Challenge at medatrust.ca/give, not just for Canadians!
Rohina Samim of Women for Women International, MEDA's partner in microfinance in Afghanistan, explains how microfinance is helping entrepreneurial women improve life for themselves, their family and their community. Learn one Afghan family's story from Rohina below.
MEDA's Through the Garden Gate program works within the social confines of war-torn Afghan villages to help women who are suffering the harsh reality of poverty to become enterprising farmers and businesswomen through training and resources that integrate them into the local economy.
Meet these women: You will be amazed by their resilience, their entrepreneurship and their commitment to creating a better future for their children. They are becoming successful entrepreneurs, whose opinions are now valued and respected by their families and other villagers. They are providing for their families and are seeing new hope for their future.
Did you know that MEDA has 26 videos on YouTube? Visit our channel and see!
MEDA's Business as a Calling Convention will take you to the future with the theme of New Frontiers: New Solutions and a special focus on alternative energy and food supply/security issues. Find out more about Business as a Calling 2009.
Sid Burkey likes "seeing the light come on" among students attending MEDA's convention when he sponsors a convention scholarship, but even more exciting is when they become "MEDA lifers." Learn more about Sid.
On this month's MEDA's World radio interview, Jared Penner talks about the work that MEDA is doing with youth in Afghanistan in a new project: Afghanistan Secure Futures. Jared notes there is an optimism amongst Afghans who want to turn the country around, and they see it with youth: This is the generation that will usher in a new future for their country. Click here to listen (~5MB - If there are problems, please right click and select Save As.)
