Edition: Fall 2019

GIFTS FOR HER

On #GivingTuesday, we had a corporate donor donate

20 girls scholarships!

Saalt has kicked off our holiday campaign with a $10,000 donation.

You can donate anytime this month with a gift that gives twice the power - a gift for the recipient and a gift to a girl or woman in need: https://trellis.org/gifts-for-her.

SPOTLIGHTS

MOTHER’S SPOTLIGHT: TULKI’S STORY

We visited Tulki at her rural home in Dang. We walked up to wooden fence entryway and were greeted by a silent toddler girl with big, brown eyes. Tulki, with her whitening hair and slight frame, scooped up her granddaughter and welcomed us. Tulki, with her granddaughter firmly planted on her hip, walked us past her garden and showed us her chicken coop. With a loan of 10,000 Rupiah (the micro-credit group maximum) and another 10,000 from a friend, Tulki had built a chicken coop and purchased 300 chicks to raise. I looked inside the brick framed coop with chicken wire walls and a corrugated tin roof and saw the chickens walking and pecking about, occasionally eating from the feed containers hanging from the ceiling. Tulki explained that she purchased the chicks from a supplier who, after the chicks are mature (in 40 days) would buy them back, or Tulki could sell them on her own. She lamented that a recent cold spell had killed 30 of her chicks but was confident that because she is able to raise several groups a year that she would recoup the losses. 

I asked Tulki how the micro-credit group had helped her and what she would have done without it. Her response came in the form of a story. All her life she had been a daily labourer and she, with her husband, had worked hard to save enough to build a brick house, more sturdy than her mud home. Finally they had saved enough to buy the materials but they had to take a loan to pay for the labour. The loan had a rate of 40% per year and that left her with nothing left to invest in a business. "What would I have done without the micro-credit group?", she repeated my question, "I would have had to continue working daily labour until eventually I could save up. With such high loan rates, I don't know how long that would take."

Tulki has a son who recently left to work in the Arabian Gulf to save more money for the family. "Be sure to save your money with the Unako Co-op!" he instructed her, "Stay away from those other micro-credit organizations he said. Tulki then told us of how a few other large multinational organizations had come to their area to try to start micro-credit and saving institutions. "The members fought," Tulki explained, "and they disagreed about how the money had been used." The lack of transparency had resulted in money going missing and after a few short years the organizations collapsed. 

I asked Tulki what she does with her profits. She pointed to a large pile of rocks at the front of the yard. "Now I want to build and stronger cement house." I then learned that when wants to build a home, they often save by buying the materials incrementally. The rocks were her first step and would be for the foundation of the home.

By Kate Phelps, 2017

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: sunita

Sunita, an ex-bonded girl, is now a nurse!

Growing up, Miss. Sunita did not have an easy life. At the age of five, she was bonded for four years, forced to

live away from her family and worked relentlessly for no pay. Her parents were both labor workers and had little money to provide for the family.

When Sunita returned home from being bonded, her family was unable to pay for her to get an education. However, her mother soon joined the local mothers group and was recognized by Creating Possibilities Nepal ( CP Nepal) as someone who could use financial support for schooling. CP Nepal began playing for Sunita with the support of Her International so that she could continue her studies.

Sunita was an excellent student with a strong motivation to learn. Once she reach grade 10 she announced that she would like to be a nurse. It was right moment that there were Her International Volunteers to build classrooms at Higher Secondary School Chainpur. Among the volunteers, Lorraine Ens, Cathie Heinricks and Diane Rittinger were ready to pay her fee for the Nursing. We all were very happy on this that one students was getting a big opportunity.

Following her graduation, she took the entrance exam that would allow her to proceed in to nursing. Unfortunately, she failed the exam. Instead of being discouraged she decided to complete her grade 11 and 12 years in school and try again in two years. After finishing these extra two years of schooling, she felt ready to take the exam again. This time she passed.

Soon after, she was enrolled in Madhyapaschim Nursing School at Nepalgunj. The first year of her studies was very difficult. There were many rules and regulations that had to be followed daily. The senior students constantly harassed the younger students, demanding their services at all time. Sunita struggled during the first few months as there was so much to learn and the program’s expectations for their students were very high.

However, during her first year in the program Sunita had a problem with a pinched nerve in her spinal cord. The discomfort was too much for her and she was forced to move back home for six months while she recovered. When she felt that she could return back to college, she had already missed so much content. The next few months were incredibly exhausting as she had to work nearly 24 hours a day to make up for her missed time. Her teachers were very hard on her not giving her any sympathy for her injury.

Even with the set back of an injury, Sunita successful completed her studies within three years. One year later, she was trying to get her license to practice medicine. Now, she got the nursing license and would like to work in a large hospital in hopes of getting more practical experience. Following this, she would like to move back home and work in local health posts. She is so grateful to her sponsors and to Her International for allowing her to follow her dream of becoming a nurse.

FALL RECAPS

9 WINE & PIE

September 20, 2019 at the Sunset Ranch & Country Club

This year’s 9 Wine & Pie was the most successful yet! Kevin and Linda Edgecombe hosted several golfers and Her International supporters in a fun afternoon of friendly competition, laughter, and pie.

After playing 9 rounds of golf and enjoying a delicious dinner, attendees gathered for a presentation by Her International Co-Executive Director Tamara McLellan and President Kevin Edgecombe.

In good tradition, 9 Wine & Pie featured both a pie tasting and wine tasting contest. There was also a Silent Auction and a Live Auction that had attendees competing to outbid each other in an energetic environment.

This year’s 9 Wine & Pie raised $26,000 for Her International. Both Kevin and Linda Edgecombe never fail to impress with this event. Their dedication and hard work both planning and executing such a successful tournament year after year is formidable and truly heartfelt. Thank you to the Edgecombes and to everyone that helped put on the 2019 9 Wine & Pie!

Women’s Holistic Business Conference

Named Her International the 2019 charity of choice

Carnaval del Sol

A WORKSHOP FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS

Empower Her

A mindful workshop for girls in the Okanagan

We want every girl to feel strong, confident, and be armed with the skills to boldly follow their dreams by inspiring leadership. This is why we created an adolescent girls' empowerment workshop in Kelowna called Empower Her on Dec 14 from 11:00am - 4:30pm.

This heart-centered workshop is for adolescent girls ages 12 - 17. Together we'll create a safe space for them to learn about global awareness, conscious listening, self-defense, and goal setting through visualization techniques and manifestation tools.

Registration is $15 and scholarships are available. If you are in need of a scholarship, please email tamara@herinternational.org with why you or a girl you know needs the scholarship and what you hope to gain from the experience.

Lunch and snacks will be provided! Thanks to Tamara Terlesy

HER AMBASSADORS

“Her Ambassadors” are a group of passionate people who have committed to be ADVOCATES and ACTIVATORS for our organization. They work closely with our organization to develop their own fundraising initiatives, to sell Unako products, or to raise awareness for our cause. Ambassadors are featured on our website and awarded Her Ambassador badges (see right) for their websites and business cards.

featured ambassador: STERLING

It all started with a school project called Power of One, which raised awareness of Nepali girls our programs support. Children were challenged to raise $1,200. One student in particular, Sterling Oliver, took it upon himself to go door-to-door to share the project and collect money. What is most valuable is not the amount of money that he raised, but rather the message he shared and the valuable life lessons he learned from the experience. He had to practice his pitch with family to gain confidence and communication skills to be able to go our there and be vulnerable. After all, some people say no when you ask for money. In the end, his actions and the funds he raised made a difference in the girls lives.

Stories of courage and inspiration, like Sterling’s, serve as proof that we can take our mandate to provide educational opportunities in our own backyard.

Congratulations to Sterling Oliver, our very first youth ambassador. He is an inspiration and a perfect example that you are never too young to make a difference.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Welcome home hardware!

We are thrilled to announce that our Unako scarves will launch in Home Hardware on December 9th.

We will be at the Kelowna, Penticton and Canmore locations to start.

100% of the proceeds come back to Her International.

Thank you Home Hardware for this beautiful partnership!

Christmas Markets:

Craft Culture | December 7 - 8
Prospera Place, Kelowna BC

Shoparama | December 7 - 8
Vernon Rec Centre, Vernon BC

Home Hardware
Kelowna | Penticton | Canmore

Globally Fair
3001 Tutt Street
Purchase our scarves and jewellery at the number one fair trade shop in the Okanagan. 
 

Peter’s Your Independent Grocer
1835 Gordon Drive
You can find all of your grocery needs, along with a lot of local options, at Independent Grocer in the Capri Shopping Mall. And soon you will be able to shop for a cause with our scarves in front of the Customer Service Desk and our jewellery on checkout at Aisle 1+2.

BECOME A MEMBER

Excited by all that you see happening and want to have a say?
Become a member today for only $35 (tax deductible).

Your $35 annual contribution not only funds Her programs but also makes you a voting member of our registered charity. Members direct the future of Her International by voting on overarching organizational changes and the board of directors.

As a member you also enjoy 20% off scarves and bags on our website: Unako.ca! 

Thank you for being a part of this journey in supporting and empowering girls & women around the world. 

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