Friday, September 30, 2011

Girls Giving Group--September 29, 2011

Hostess:  Erin Clark

We added one new member this meeting and spread the word to many more.  Some of the giving girls will join our efforts online.

Our giving opportunity this time will help Sharafniso, a 35 year old divorced woman in Tajikistan seeking a loan on kiva.org for a retail business. 
http://www.kiva.org/lend/341799

See www.tajikistananddeliver.blogspot.com for pictures of Tajikistan and the women there.

It has been estimated that 300,000 women in Tajikistan are abandoned by their husbands who travel to Russia as migrant workers and don't return, divorcing their wives over the phone in accordance with Muslim and Tajik law or simply stopping all contact.  This leaves women and children with no means of support, especially in rural areas, where living conditions can be mud huts with no running water or electricity. Many women in Tajikistan have become the heads of their households and communities.
http://www.iom.tj/projects_facilitating_legal.htm

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

An Update on Syltane

We received a letter from Syltane thanking us for the donation. The translation from French to English was a little choppy but to summarize she said that she was “wholeheartedly” thankful for our generous donation.  She is from a family of 10 children and her parents were farmers. Her family suffered greatly because her father passed away and her mother was very ill. She also said that it is her desire to increase the number of health professionals in her country. She chose nursing to help all the people suffering in her country.  After she receives her degree she wants to specialize in physical rehabilitation in order to work for the Healing Hands for Haiti Clinic in Port-au-Prince.  She ended by saying that the gift we gave her was the most wonderful thing that has happened in her life.  She closed by writing, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for thinking of me.” 

We are planning to be in touch with Syltane throughout her schooling and graduation process.

Girls Giving Group - March 31st, 2011

Hostess:  Krista Burrow

We added several new members to our group for our second official meeting!  We began by reviewing the history of how are group started and it's purpose.  Our giving opportunity for this quarter went to a woman named Syltane, a nursing student from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  We reviewed the history of Haiti and some of the current challenges that the entire country is facing as well as the burden on women to become educated.  A bio of Syltane was presented and the group as a whole decided that it would be a worthy cause to present our donation to Syltane to assist her in her tuition payment for the upcoming semester.  A little about Syltane....she is 32 year old single woman and in her first year of nursing school. She currently works at the Healing Hands for Haiti Rehabilitation Clinic washing dishes in the guest house.  She has been struggling to pay her tuition and buy the school supplies that she needs.  Many of the group members wanted to know more about Syltane such as her family background, how she decided on nursing for a profession and what she plans to do after graduating. We will post more information when we hear back from her. 

Syltane in her nursing uniform





Our message to Syltane