Olmoti Women: Building A Future and Finding Hope

Happy International Women’s Day

Meshah Singolyo, our local advisor on economic sustainability, visits Olmoti Village weekly to guide six different groups of women, men, and elders in building entrepreneurial skills. With her guidance and local knowledge (Meshah is a trusted member of the Maasai community) the goal is to elevate women from poverty, deliver access to information and capital, demonstrate new ways to create food, earn income, and foster independence.

By expanding options and modeling alternative ways to think about gender roles, this program offers women viable alternatives to hunger and poverty at a time when severe droughts, the urban migration of working-age men, and threats to ancient pastoral traditions are weakening the sustainability of rural villages like Olmoti.

Please excuse the typos in the attached document. English is not Meshah’s first language. But her words ring out clear and true and the photos she includes show the faces of women who possess renewed hope that their children will thrive by learning new ways and exploring fresh paths to economic independence.

Read Meshah’s presentation here: