Recently, one of our supporters Linda Bauer wrote of her trip to meet her sister sponsee in Rwanda. Below is a short excerpt of her trip:

"My sister, Marie Odette, is called out of her group to meet me. My first memory of Marie is of a young woman in a long brown print dress carrying a wooden bench for us to sit on and placing it under a shade tree. "We hug each other as though we are old friends who have reunited after a very long time apart."

To read more about their meeting, please see the following link: http://wfwnotesfromthefield.wordpress.com/

After surviving the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Marie-Claire learned that her husband had infected her with the HIV virus, which she’d then unknowingly passed on to her daughter, Bobette. Marie-Claire couldn’t afford medicine to save her daughter, or her husband, who was too sick to work. Life seemed hopeless.

With Women for Women International, Marie-Claire went through rights awareness training and was given direct cash assistance. She learned how to prevent further transmission of the virus and encouraged other women to get tested.

With the women in her group, Marie-Claire saved a few dollars each month until they were able to buy an electric mill. Now they run a milling business together, sharing the profits.

Upon realizing the success of her business, and recognizing the power of education, Marie-Claire opened a kindergarten in her village and taught 50 children to read and write. That kindergarten is still open and being run by local teachers.

Marie-Claire is "barely recognizable" from the woman who entered the program to the woman she is today - a smiling, energetic, healthy, confident woman, who makes enough money to buy medicine for her family, and can always put food on the table.

Women for Women International's project Help Women and Children Survivors of War Rebuild, makes it to the top 5 in the American Express Members Project. To nominate this project for potential funding, please go to Help Women and Children Survivors of War Rebuild. Please click the link on our project and click Nominate — and ultimately vote so we may share in the $2.5 million in funding from American Express. If you do not have an American Express website login, just click “Guest Member” provide a little information and you can then Nominate and vote.

http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/AM0MV5

Thanks for your Support!