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Hanna | San Diego

Nov 12, 2024 | California, Featured News/ Events, Our Impact Page, Women Stories

Meet Hanna B.


When Hanna Borysiuk arrived in San Diego from Ukraine, she felt the weight of uncertainty pressing down on her. The war with Russia forced her to leave her homeland, and she arrived in the United States unprepared for the challenges of starting over in a foreign country. Life was confusing as she tried to figure out how to support her family in this new environment.

Hanna’s eldest daughter, understanding the depth of her mother’s skill and passion for sewing, managed to bring Hanna’s beloved Singer sewing machine from Ukraine.

Sewing had always been a constant in Hanna’s life; she couldn’t live without it. She had always altered and repaired clothes for her husband, two daughters, and two granddaughters. This act of love sparked a glimmer of hope. 

Hanna learned about the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego and enrolled in several programs, including the TVESL driving lessons cohort and the employment capabilities program. Through these programs, she was referred to those funded by WE grants within the IRC’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which became essential for her to start, develop, and grow her business. With the support of the IRC SBDC, Hanna completed the Business Women in Action (BWIA) training course. This cohort was designed for newly-arrived Ukrainian women aspiring to start businesses.

Hanna was considering turning her sewing skills into a viable business to support her livelihood in her new country. She describes her business advisor as a compassionate and encouraging counselor who helped her pivot her loving hobby of sewing into an entrepreneurial one. Her advisor has been with her business every step of the way to formalize her business with the City of San Diego, fulfilling her goal to alter and sew clothing for others besides her immediate family members.

Hanna advertised her services to her community and started getting orders for clothing alterations. However, she quickly realized that her single sewing machine wasn’t enough to meet the growing demand. Although Hanna could sell her services, she was not making enough to afford a new sewing machine to meet her customers’ needs. So, she returned to IRC to discuss her problem and strategize with her business advisor, who informed her that she could qualify for a women entrepreneur microgrant to purchase another machine. Hanna was overjoyed with this news. She asked her business advisor about the requirements and wasted no time, diligently working to submit all the required documents. Hanna received a $1,000 microgrant from IRC SBDC, which allowed her to purchase another sewing machine and the necessary supplies.

Hanna says, “When I received my new sewing machine, I was very happy! I could do almost everything that was brought to me for repair and make people happy because I was giving a new life to their favorite things. I am grateful to [IRC and my business advisor] for supporting me in achieving my dreams and giving me the opportunity to make a living in my new country.”

Reflecting on 20 Years of Economic Empowerment

May 1, 2024 | Featured News/ Events, Our Impact Page

Women’s Empowerment International 20th Anniversary
The Power of 20: Celebrating Two Decades of Economic Empowerment

“Almost half the world right now is living on under $2 a day, we are trying to reach [women in economically disadvantaged communities] and give them a chance to break that cycle of poverty.”
– Co-founder Win Cox

It’s been 20 years since Women’s Empowerment International (WE) gave out its first grant to help women start on stronger economic paths and break cycles of poverty.

While progress has been made in promoting women’s economic empowerment in society, significant challenges and disparities persist globally. Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive strategies that tackle structural barriers, promote gender equality in education and employment, and enact supportive policies and legal frameworks. That’s where WE comes in, helping to fund programs for women locally and internationally that work to break barriers and open opportunities for financial stability and self-sufficiency.

WE recently dove into the archives to reminisce and introduce those new to the mission of why WE exists.

Back in 2003, when Co-founders Win Cox and Leigh Fenly decided to start Women’s Empower International, it was a calling that they imagined locally and abroad uniting women with the larger vision of creating stronger economies. Together, they personalized their approach by getting directly involved with the populations affected.

In celebration of these 20 years, let’s look at the difference WE has made in the lives of both the grantees and supporters.

In 2004, WE gave its first grant of $4,025 to Grameen de la Frontera, which was the perfect start because the organization directly focused on the economic growth of women. With this first grantee, WE formed a close relationship and founders and board members traveled to Sonora, Mexico to see WE’s funding in action. This involvement became a distinguishing quality about WE that put it in a category of its own.

Over the years, WE has partnered with organizations in nine countries, getting to know the nonprofits and women in the regions, understanding their way of life and how WE can help.

As of 2024, WE has provided over $2.6 million dollars in funding that has helped change the lives of women and families by:

  • Helping young women locally purchase cars, so that they can attend school, maintain steady employment, and take care of their children and families
  • Assisting women in launching businesses that help sustain families through micro-loan programs and business development support and training
  • Providing microloans to grandmothers in Uganda to fund their ability to create sustainable businesses to help take care of and educate orphaned grandchildren
  • Contributing to increasing women’s income in Haiti through their operation of community health stores
  • Providing financial literacy training for girls through an innovative mobile-based app
  • Supporting loan support groups for women in Mexico who have experienced human trafficking, immigration challenges, and other traumas
  • Helping to provide new sources of income for indigenous Maya women in Guatemala, along with leadership training and growth opportunities

Along the way, WE has won a number of awards for our impact, including recognition for the Co-founders team, the Philanthropy Partner of the Year award from the International Rescue Committee in San Diego, and most recently a proclamation from the City of San Marcos for our “amazing dedication and remarkable achievements advocating for gender equality.”

Join us throughout this year to celebrate!

Make a 20th Anniversary Donation

Husniah | San Diego

Nov 21, 2023 | California, Featured News/ Events, Our Impact Page, Women Stories

Husniah, a refugee student from Afghanistan and Corpsmember with WE partner, Urban Corps of San Diego County, has faced numerous challenges on her journey, but her resilience and determination have never wavered. As a refugee, she has had to overcome obstacles that most of us can’t even imagine. One of the biggest obstacles she faced was transportation.

Living far from the Urban Corps of San Diego campus, it was a constant struggle for her to get to her High School Education and Job training program. However, with the help of the Women’s Empowerment International’s grant for vehicle down payment assistance, she was able to obtain a much-needed car of her own.

It has been said that “transportation is the aorta of poverty” and this is very accurate for Corpsmembers at Urban Corps. Corpsmembers were found to be missing career opportunities because they didn’t have their own vehicle. Employers want “reliable transportation” and public transportation does not always go a work location or might be delayed en route, and if you are unable to make it to work, you risk losing your job. WE has provided support for down payments, while Mission Federal Credit Credit Union, another Urban Corps partner, has been supporting financial literacy training and counseling to ensure Corpsmembers are able to continue with any insurance and loan payments that they will have.

For Husniah, her car has become a lifeline for her, enabling her to commute efficiently and reliably, eliminating the barriers that once stood in her way. Now, Husniah can confidently navigate the demands of work and education, empowering her to reach her goals and create a brighter future. Her unwavering determination, combined with the support she received, has truly transformed her life.

Nolvia | Honduras

Nov 20, 2023 | Featured News/ Events, Honduras, Our Impact Page, Women Stories

Nolvia M. is a pulperia and carniceria owner in La Ceiba, Honduras. To grow her business, she joined the microfinance program with WE grant partner, Adelante, which enables women like Nolvia to work toward self-sufficiency and break a cycle of poverty and strengthen their families. Nolvia has taken out 19 loans with Adelante over the last 15 years. Prior to her involvement, her mother was a client of Adelante, which is how she came to learn of their services. With her loans, Nolvia has grown her business bit by bit and expanded her butchery business with her father, the person who inspired her to start this business.

Over the course of time, Nolvia borrowed funds to invest in assets that would help improve her product offerings and efficiencies, including an industrial-sized meat sealing machine, supplies and materials, and a larger freezer. As a successful, repeat customer, Nolvia also qualified for—and took advantage of—Adelante’s other loan products such as the home improvement and water and sanitation loans. With those, she has repaired her roof and now has a washroom.

Nolvia shared that not only is she extremely grateful for the opportunity to start and grow her business, but she has also experienced slowly over time, greater profits that she has been able to put towards the betterment of her family, business, and home.

Most recently she was able to purchase a used car that she uses for both business and personal purposes. She is able to pick up needed materials more easily and expand her client base by being able to make deliveries. She also uses the car to get family members to and from different activities and appointments, ensuring they are able to access and more easily obtain necessary services that improve the overall welfare of her family and greater community.

Doña Nolvia is excited to share that she plans to open a second location somewhere central in the city since her current business is located on the outskirts. By experiencing greater profits and mobility, she will be able to achieve her greater enterprise goals and continue to invest back into her business efforts and her family’s wellbeing.

Ramona | Guatemala

Oct 12, 2023 | Featured News/ Events, Guatemala, New Grant Partner, Our Impact Page, Women Stories

Ramona Lucia from Guatemala

“Although I grew up with many limitations, I did not limit myself and always looked for a way to get ahead.”

Ramona Lucia, 23, lives with her family in Chiyax, a small village, 45 minutes from the city of Totonicapán. The local Maya dialect is K’iche’. Ramona was taught to embroider by her mother, Cipriana, who is also a member of the Multicolores’ Embroidery group, which is supported by a WE grant.

Throughout her life Ramona has dared to do things without fear to make her dreams come true. One such dream was to finish High School. This meant taking a job, at 12 years old, so that she could pay for transportation, food and school supplies when it looked like her parents’ financial resources would prevent her from going to school. Juggling work and school often meant that she had to do her homework well into the night. Ramona describes herself as a person with a lot of creativity, positivity, and perseverance to achieve her goals.

Another goal took shape in 2022 when the embroidery group had the opportunity to visit the home of a private collector and view the embroidered works of Antonio Ramirez Sosof, now deceased. The works so inspired Ramona that she resigned from her job in a shoe factory and dedicated herself to her career as an embroidery artist. Impressed with the collection, she stated that “one day I want people to collect my work like they have collected Don Antonio’s.”

Ramona’s abundant enthusiasm and willingness to learn has not gone unnoticed. She is currently working with Multicolores, assisting the Creative Director in the production area, putting into practice many of the new skills she has gained: quality control, shipping and inventory management, which she learned during her ArtWorks internship with Multicolores in 2022. Ramona is also learning English. Of working with Ramona, the Creative Director shares, “it’s nice to see how Ramona processes information; one can see her eyes light up generating more ideas and getting ready for action. She is very observant and wants to replicate the good she sees in others.”

An important and recurring theme in Ramona’s work is loss of culture and lack of awareness of cultural stories. She forms part of a movement of artists who are narrating and illuminating this theme globally. As an artist, Ramona uses incongruous imagery in her artwork, combining images that would not exist in reality, in order to evoke an emotion or sentiment. This can be seen in the story cloth below entitled, El Baile del Venado (The Dance of the Deer).

As a member of Multicolores, Ramona is proud to work with a group of talented and creative women who share ideas, support each other, and find joy in collective work. She is proud to support herself and her family through her work. Over time, Ramona has improved her design skills, particularly her drawing skills, she has learned how to convey technical knowledge to other women in her group, and she has achieved many of her goals. Her current goal is to continue saving so that she can install a drainage system in her family’s home. She also wants to continue learning English and learn more about clothing design. Ramona likes a challenge, and she likes to challenge herself. She is ready to take on the world!

“The Dance of the Deer is one of our most celebrated traditions, a folkloric rain dance, to the tune of the maracas and marimba. At the center of the dance is a person dressed as a deer, wearing a painted mask and a special ceremonial cloak.” – Ramona

El Baile del Venado (The Dance of the Deer) by Ramona Lucia Tzunún García

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vivian | San Diego, CA

May 12, 2023 | California, Featured News/ Events, Our Impact Page, Women Stories

Vivian from San Diego, CA

Honoring a Local Mother and her Perseverance

Vivian is a Corpsmember and supervisor at Urban Corps of San Diego County, a WE grant partner since 2022. Urban Corps is a nonprofit, certified local conservation corps, and charter school, whose mission is to provide underserved young adults ages 18-26 the opportunity to expand their career opportunities through paid job training, support services and education.

Vivian joined Urban Corps a few years ago, after becoming a young mother and seeking opportunities for personal and professional growth. She graduated with her high school diploma in June 2022.

Currently, Vivian is working in the Environmental Department at Urban Corps, going to college in the evening to become a medical assistant, and taking care of her two young children. Her career goals are to get her foot in the door in the medical industry and further her education and training to become an ultrasound technician.

To successfully manage all the different aspects of her life, while living in a county with a challenging public transit system, Vivian needed a car. Through a pilot program funded by a WE grant, Urban Corps is able to provide vehicle down payment assistance for female Corpsmembers, setting them up for financial success and self-sufficiency after graduation. Vivian applied to this program and is proud to say she recently bought a car. She now doesn’t need to worry that the buses don’t run after her classes get out at night, and she happily reports that she can drive her children to school now.

Being a part of Urban Corps has empowered Vivian to strive for and reach her life goals like providing for her children, having a stable job, and working toward a career with greater opportunities. To her delight, Vivian will be graduating from her medical training soon and will continue to explore how she wants to develop her career.

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