Connections and Transformation in Senegal
22
Feb, 2016

Connections and Transformation in Senegal

By Marsha Wallace, Dining for Women Co-Founder

When I received a call from Susan Anderson, a board member with The Grandmother Project (GMP), inviting me to travel with her to Senegal to see their work in action, I jumped at the chance. Patricia Andersson, inveterate traveler and trip leader, was up for the adventure too! CREATE!, another DFW grantee, was headquartered within several hours drive of the GMP office, so we were fortunate to be able to visit both organizations to see the projects we’ve supported with our DFW grants. Details

14
May, 2015

A conversation with One Acre Fund

In August 2009, Dining for Women granted $18,437 to a small non profit providing support to farmers in Rwanda. Today, that program has grown from serving 25,000 farmers in two countries to a projected 305,000 farmers by the end of this year in four countries. We had a conversation with Briehan Lynch of the One Acre Fund to find out how they did it and to talk about the impact of our investment in them. This is the first in a series of Impact Hangouts to re-connect with past programs.  Details

13
May, 2015

Re-connecting with past programs

Our first Impact Hangout takes us to the One Acre Fund. We’ll reconnect with this program and find out how they’ve grown from serving 25,000 families to more than 300,000 families in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi in just six years. This is the first of a series of Impact Hangouts for 2015. Details

15
Apr, 2015

Women defending their rights and natural resources

Dining for Women is moving to be a part of the broader conversation about gender equality and women’s global empowerment. We have connected with Oxfam America on some projects and recently Marsha Wallace was invited to become an Oxfam Sister on the Planet Ambassador. Through that lens, we are having our eyes opened to some issues in the world of international rights, compensation and environmental impact. Details

15
Apr, 2015

Featured program selections announced

We’ve selected the featured programs to round out the 2nd half of 2015. They focus predominantly on maternal and child health but there are also programs on environmental sustainability and girls’ education. Check out this interactive graphic.  Details

15
Apr, 2015

RIPPLE Africa makes home fires safer

Ripple Africa 4_StoveinUse

Cooking should be one of those activities that makes us feel safe and secure. What’s more comforting than home fires? But in much of the developing world, indoor cooking over open flames results in dangerous household air pollution. The World Health Organization estimates that 4.3 million die each year from its complications.

RIPPLE Africa has developed a low-tech, sustainable and efficient stone cookstove that burns significantly less wood and uses bricks that retain heat as the cooking surface. This is safer than open flames, reduces the indoor air pollution and saves women significant time spent gathering wood for cooking fires. That time can now be used on educational or economic activities in the home.

RIPPLE Africa is our featured program for May 2015. Our $45,000 grant — distributed over two years — will directly effect 3,000 families in the Nkhotakota district of Malawi. The Changu Changu Moto project will build a cookstove in each of 3,000 homes, provide instruction for the families on safe use and include follow up visits for more training and education as well as data collection.

For more information about RIPPLE Africa, review their program page and program fact sheet. You can learn more about Malawi customs and cuisine and review this month’s Proven Platter.

7
Mar, 2015

What are our programs Tweeting?

Social media makes it easy to stay in touch with our programs — with stories, activities and ideas. Follow along — and join the conversation —  by bookmarking this page with the live Twitter feed from programs DFW has supported.  Details

18
Nov, 2014

A Rwandan Thanksgiving with Gardens for Health

By Jessie Cronan
Executive Director, Gardens for Health

More than 500 people gathered at the Gardens for Health farm in Rwanda on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, for a very unique Thanksgiving celebration. Families enrolled in our program joined local officials, neighbors, and visitors, for a day of dancing, singing, and – of course – eating. Details