WOMENSTRONG INTERNATIONAL

IN 2018, WOMENSTRONG INTERNATIONAL PROVIDED $1,415,431 IN GRANT FUNDING TO ORGANIZATIONS IN FOUR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO ASSIST THEM IN ACCOMPLISHING ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS RELATED TO WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' EMPOWERMENT. A) WOMENSTRONG PROVIDED FUNDING TO THE DHAN FOUNDATION IN MADURAI, INDIA, TOTALING $410,000 TO SUPPORT DHAN'S EMPOWER PROJECT (END POVERTY TO MAKE MADURAI THE NEW PARADIGM OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT WITH RESILIENCE). THE EMPOWER PROJECT AIMS TO STRENGTHEN WOMEN FEDERATIONS AND POSITIVELY IMPACT THE WELLBEING OF POOR HOUSEHOLDS THROUGH INTEGRATED INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS LIVELIHOODS, HEALTH AND NUTRITION SECURITY, SANITATION, GIRLS' EDUCATION, LEGAL SUPPORT TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT THROUGH WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP. BY THE END OF 2018, NEARLY 4,000 MORE WOMEN HAD JOINED SELF-HELP GROUPS, AND NEARLY 1,000 OF THEM HAD RECEIVED CREDIT TO START NEW BUSINESSES. NEARLY 12,000 GIRLS WERE ENROLLED IN GIRLS' CLUBS, 16,000 WOMEN HAD RECEIVED HEALTH SERVICES THROUGH THEIR SELF-HELP GROUPS, AND 500 NEW TOILETS HAD BEEN CONSTRUCTED. B) WOMENSTRONG PROVIDED FUNDING TO ALICE VISIONARY FOUNDATION PROJECT (AVFP) LOCATED IN KISUMU, KENYA TOTALING $502,075. WOMENSTRONG ENABLED AVFP TO EXPAND ITS EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE KISUMU SLUMS OF MANYATTA. WOMENSTRONG SUPPORTED SAVINGS GROUPS THAT HELPED WOMEN TO CREATE SMALL BUSINESSES AND UPGRADE THEIR ENVIRONMENT, AND AN INITIATIVE TO END CORPORAL VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS AND AT HOME. WOMENSTRONG ALSO SUPPORT AVFP'S GIRLS AND MOTHERS' CLUBS TO STRENGTHEN LITERACY AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS, SELF-ESTEEM AND SISTERHOOD. BY THE END OF 2018, 18 GROUP SAVINGS & LOANS GROUPS WERE IN OPERATION, AND NEARLY 300 WOMEN WERE OPERATING SUSTAINABLE INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES. MORE THAN 300 GIRLS WERE PARTICIPATING IN GIRLS' CLUB ACTIVITIES, AND OVER 100 WOMEN AND GIRLS HAD RECEIVED COUNSELING AND REFERRAL ADVICE FOR ISSUES CONCERNING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE. C) WOMENSTRONG PROVIDED FUNDING TO HAITI OUTREACH PWOJET ESPWA (HOPE) IN BORGNE, HAITI, TOTALING $337,146 TO SUPPORT THEIR SEE FANM PROJECT. THIS PROJECT OPERATES MOBILE AND REGULAR CLINICS THAT PROVIDE SCREENINGS, PRE- AND POST-NATAL CARE, AND FAMILY PLANNING FOR WOMEN WHO OTHERWISE HAVE LITTLE OR NO ACCESS TO SERVICES. THE PROGRAM ALSO OPERATES MOTHERS AND GIRLS' CLUBS THAT REACHED WELL OVER 1,000 FAMILIES WITH INFORMATION ON NUTRITION, HYGIENE, LITERACY, FINANCIAL LITERACY, JOB SKILLS, LIVELIHOODS, AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE. IN 2018, MORE THAN 2,000 WOMEN USED THE MOBILE CLINICS REGULARLY, MORE THAN 1,000 WOMEN PARTICIPATED IN MOTHERS' CLUBS, AND MORE THAN 1,000 WOMEN JOINED HOPE'S SAVING GROUPS.