Global Fund for Widows Inc

We at GFW aim to provide economic opportunities to those widows who are suffering. In communities all over the globe, we provide capital and training in a chosen skill, financial literacy, and social, entitlement and rights awareness to widows, along with ongoing assistance and evaluation of economic ventures. This serves to provide not only an opportunity for adequate household income, but for the widows to achieve economic empowerment through access to previously mentioned training. Widows we have worked with have been able to send their children back to school, renovate their homes, and reclaim their lives. Not only have we change the lives of the widows we are working with directly, but we also work to change the social norms in their communities. Where widows were once marginalized and pushed out of the social sector, they are now integrated into their communities' economies. The empowerment of these women and their families is not only serving to protect their human rights, but is also assisting the United Nations in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Through economic opportunity, widows are able to achieve empowerment. Widows are trained in a skill which they can capitalize on, granting them a household income that was previously unachievable. With this income, widows then learn to manage their money after providing basic needs. The widows we work with are able to also learn financial skills including responsible repayment of loans and savings. Most notably, widows are able to send their children back to school, enabling the family unit to escape the cycle of poverty that typically ensues after the event of widowhood. By holding the widows responsible for a realistic-for-them repayment scheme of loans, we at Global Fund for Widows put their financial training to use, and when the women succeed in the repayment of their loans, successful management of their money, and overall financial independence, they are empowered to continue on with their lives leaving that time of despair and rejection behind them.

Our organization's head is Heather Ibrahim-Leathers, a well educated and exceedingly competent powerhouse. With her ingenuity and compassionate leadership, we are able to find creative yet effective strategies for answering the needs of each individual community, taking into account cultural factors as well as the needs of the women. By tying the widows' work with inelastic markets, we enable women to create business ventures that can be a reliable source of income for years to come. In the last ten years, we have started and maintained partnerships with Egypt, India, Nigeria, Kenya, and more reaching and impacting over 10,000 widows - and our work is nowhere near done yet.

Thus far, we have worked empowered 20,000 widows in eight countries. Over the past 13 years, we have lobbied for greater protections for widows at the United Nations and have given a voice to those who were previously silenced. Our polling in Egypt has indicated that over 90% of widows reported feeling financially independent and confident to claim their legal rights. Over 75% of widows in Egypt also reported an increase in household income and the establishment of savings. And outside of the economic sector, we found that as the widow's income increased, her exposure to domestic violence decreased. These achievements have helped in the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10. Our success thus far only motivates us to continue pushing until the issue of widowhood is recognized and addressed globally.