Foundation For Women
  • Home
  • Programs
    • Programs Overview
    • Microfinance
    • Education
    • Healthcare
    • Housing
    • Why Integrated Development
  • About
    • About FFW
    • Film Projects
    • Staff
    • Board
    • Partners
    • History & Values
  • News
  • Donate
  • Savvi
  • Contact

What's New?

June 12th, 2017

6/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 Foundation for Women Monrovia, Liberia
 
I have been back “home” here in Liberia for a week now – and am wondering why I ever leave…  Every time I return, I immediately step back into the love of this West African nation; despite the challenging circumstances, love is everywhere.  Oretha greets me each morning as I complete my workout in the gym.  Karpo and Etta and Claire and Louisa welcome me to breakfast – and James makes my regular scrambled eggs with cheese and tomorrow.  Korto and Seema and Princess and Chris and their front desk team offer warm “Good Morning Deborah!” wishes as I leave the RLJ Kendeja – and greet driver Calvin.  I regularly tell Calvin that he needs to clone himself as “I need a Calvin in Liberia and a Calvin in America!”
 
The greeting on the Foundation for Women office door here reads, “WELCOME HOME DEBORAH!!  ALWAYS FABULOUS TO HAVE YOU HERE!!!”  Love.

After more than a decade now of working in Liberia, we have assembled the best-ever team.  The microcredit program is headed by Program Manager Charles and his team of Amelia, Debbie, and Calvin.  The school loan program and finance office is headed by Program Manager Anna and her team of Magnus, Morris and Wordon.  And there is the most fabulous David Beyan, our long-time COO who brings out the best in all and makes everything work!
                          
I am so blessed to be connected to this extraordinary group of dedicated professionals who have helped to make the Foundation for Women Liberia the leading microfinance organization in this country.  Along with our treasured partners Edify and the University of San Diego, we are touching the lives of thousands and thousands of people in this country – a country that so deserves goodness and joy after so much challenge and pain.
 
I have come this time for many reasons.  I am helping to welcome a team from the University of San Diego (USD), their 6th visit here over the last few years, to once again train 30 of our school partners in the best educations practices. 60 people will complete the training making a total of 120 schools/240 people trained.  Really fabulous! 
 
In addition, I brought my mentee, Patricia Wakhusama, from the Kroc School of Peace at USD to intern with us for ten weeks.  Patricia is from Kenya and has completed the first of two years in a masters in peace and justice program.  We are delighted to have her with us!  Among other things, she will do a program evaluation of the FFW-Edify partnership, gathering data regarding the impact of the school loan funding, the USD training, and other support offered the schools due to our partnership.
 
We are also adding a third product to our portfolio.  We are beginning a partnership with HealthStore.org, an organization that has worked in Kenya for nearly 20 years providing quality community health care via a franchise model developed after Subway Sandwich.  Each community clinic offers the same limited menu of health services, services which can handle 70-80% of the issues that kill people in the developing world.  The first ten clinics will surround Benson Hospital as a hub for handing cases which cannot be solved at the clinic level.  We are thrilled to be a part of creating better health care in post-Ebola Liberia!
 
I arrived in Liberia with more skateboards and 60 helmets donated by the Tony Hawk Foundation.  We have a wonderful commitment from them – they will donate a helmet for every skateboard donated to the Skateboard Liberia Project!  FABULOUS!  The dream of bringing skateboarding to this country and beyond is becoming a reality!
 
All this in addition to the continued work of the Foundation for Women here – providing microfinance loans to women for income generating activities so they can better provide for themselves and their families and providing microfinance loans to low fee independent schools to enhance their work and attract more children to their schools.  Liberia has the largest percentage of school age children out of school of any country on the planet; 375,000 children.  We must change that statistic!
 
In my meditation and quiet reading time this morning, two things struck me deeply and have been the focus of this day:
 
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you love.”  Rumi
 
“Life can only be understood backward but it must be lived forward.”  OPTION B by Sheryl Sandberg/COO Facebook
 
With love and gratitude from Liberia,
Picture
Deborah Lindholm
 
“Faith is our assurance that there is a Divine plan of infinite love at work even in the most challenging moments, and that we are a part of that plan.  Faith gives us the confidence to move ahead with vast visions in the face of enormous odds; it is an invitation to work in active partnership with the Divine in service of a better world.” - Women, Spirituality and Transformative Leadership

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Deborah Lindholm with Deborah in Liberia

    About the Author

    Deborah Lindhom is the Founder and CEO of the Foundation for Women. For over 20 years she has lived and worked in Africa, India and the United States on issues of poverty, education and microcredit. 
    "​Just a quick note to say how we appreciate all that you are doing in Liberia and wish we could do more to help. We enjoy reading your newsletters which are always so well written.
    All the best!" ~ Ian and Julie Allen,  Africa and Beyond Art Gallery 

    Archives

    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    Announcements
    Ebola
    Education
    Film Projects
    Founder's Blog
    Fundraisers
    Healthcare In Liberia
    Housing Program
    In The News
    Letters For Liberia
    Letters From Liberia
    Liberia
    Microfinance
    Newsletters
    Press Releases
    Skateboard Liberia Project
    Success Stories

    RSS Feed

Helping over a million women and their families since 1997

Donate

The Foundation for Women is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Donations are tax deductible. Federal Tax ID #33-0786016
2005-2017 The Foundation for Women. All rights reserved. Login
  • Home
  • Programs
    • Programs Overview
    • Microfinance
    • Education
    • Healthcare
    • Housing
    • Why Integrated Development
  • About
    • About FFW
    • Film Projects
    • Staff
    • Board
    • Partners
    • History & Values
  • News
  • Donate
  • Savvi
  • Contact