There is an old saying: “Where there is despair, sow hope.”
Mary Dailey Brown, founder and CEO of SowHope, will give a presentation at Ferris State University in IRC 120 on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. The event, presented by Ferris’ Globalization Initiative, will showcase Brown’s inspiring projects aimed at one of the most disadvantaged groups globally, women who make less than $2 per day.
“It’s easy to feel helpless about having any impact on global problems, so we want the Ferris community to hear about something exciting going on,” said Rebecca Sammel, an assistant professor in Languages and Literature at Ferris and a member of the Globalization Initiative Steering Committee. “Mary Dailey Brown uses a self-help model that is effective in both individual lives and communities around the world. Students will see how the SowHope model can work here in Michigan communities as well.”
SowHope
helps disadvantaged women through programs that include loans,
healthcare, counseling, scholarships, literacy classes and vocational
training. The organization has supported more than 18,000 women in nine
developing countries.
SowHope has implemented an
anti-human-trafficking program in Bangladesh, where 50 girls a day are
kidnapped into lives of forced prostitution in Pakistan and India. In
the Democratic Republic of Congo, SowHope has helped to build a birthing
center for poor women. In Rwanda, young women with AIDS can learn math,
reading, writing and sewing through the efforts of SowHope. In Uganda,
SowHope is helping 60 women develop financial independence by obtaining
microloans for businesses.
“We were interested in Mary because she helps women help themselves,” Sammel said. “Her work empowers women to become self-reliant and productive, against the odds of extreme poverty. The success of her self-help model is very impressive.”
Brown earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, where she majored in Psychology and Photography.
To learn more about SowHope, visit http://www.sowhope.org/.
Brown’s presentation is free and open to the public. Anyone with questions should contact David Kelson at (231) 591-2464 or Rebecca Sammel at (231) 591-3073.
