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The Health Crises in Chile and Zimbabwe, and How We’re Helping
SKI Charities’ mission—to bring entrepreneurship, education, and empowerment to women in Lebu, Chile, and Mutare, Zimbabwe—extends beyond providing loans to SKIC participants so that their businesses can begin to take shape. We also work with women to build the confidence they need to network, achieve their goals, stand up to oppressive figures in their lives,…
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6 Indigenous Women Artists We’re Obsessed With
If you know SKI Charities, you know we’re passionate about empowering women artists—especially our beneficiaries in Chile who keep their indigenous Mapuche heritage alive in their work. We’re proud to be part of keeping these vulnerable but essential traditions alive. In many indigenous communities and cultures, art is an enormous part of life. But many…
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Celebrating Indigenous Culture At Our Chile Site
Whenever our founder, Shyam K. Iyer, visits our site in Lebu, Chile, he returns inspired by the crafts, textiles, and food being created by SKImfi microfinance beneficiaries of indigenous Mapuche heritage. SKI Charities aims to give women a path to start and grow sustainable businesses that encourage them to utilize their culturally-embedded skillset. We talked…
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“I Feel Like An Empowered Woman”: Meet Our Beneficiary Nataly Becerra
Before Nataly Becerra became a SKI Charities microloan beneficiary, she was relying on income earned selling snacks at her children’s school at special events and holidays. “With the few resources I had, it was difficult for me to sustain my business and support my family,” she says. Despite her circumstances, she “radiated confidence,” says our…
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Why Microfinance Was the Perfect Fit for SKI Charities
When Shyam K. Iyer first began SKI Charities, there was no question that microfinance would be the best method for him to execute his vision. Though the effectiveness of microfinance has been questioned since its rise to prominence in the early 2000s, Shyam stands by it as a powerful way to provide people with autonomy,…
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SKI Charities in the News: What It Takes To Sustain an Impactful Charity
What does it take to start and sustain an impactful charity like SKI Charities? Between start-up challenges to growing pains, it’s easier said than done. In the past year, our founder Shyam K. Iyer has been asked this very question many times—here are some of his best answers: On starting a business on a budget:…
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How Financially Empowering Women Can Reduce Domestic Violence
The United Nations Population Fund reports that in Zimbabwe, 1 in 3 women age 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and about 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence. UN Women reports that 35% of women in Zimbabwe have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence. The Zimbabwe National Statistic Office reports that…
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Why Vaccination Is Key to Our Education Efforts in Zimbabwe
Though our primary focus is economic empowerment and early childhood education, we are invested in the greater prosperity of the communities we serve. Sometimes that means broadening our reach to tackle some of the other challenges Zimbabweans have been facing due to the economic crisis the country is experiencing. “Historically, Zimbabwe has had a very…
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How We Choose Our Scholarship Recipients
In order to maximize our impact as an organization, we give early-stage scholarships to girls between the ages of four and five in and around Mutare, Zimbabwe. We believe that the earlier we can jumpstart a child’s education, the more successful they will be. But when you’re working with such young children, how do you…
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8 Ways Parents Can Support Their Child’s Education at Home
When we’re choosing girls to participate in our scholarship program, one of the most important factors we look for is their guardians’ commitment to education. We seek out parents and grandparents who will not only support their child as they begin their journey in education, but will go the extra mile by supplementing that education…