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Portrait: Meet Melanie, SKImfi Chile Project Manager
SKIC’s project manager for SKImfi-Chile, Melanie O., discusses her work with SKI Charities and the path that led her to a passion for woman and child development. In your own words, what is your role in SKI charities? My first encounter with SKI Charities was a trip to Lebu I did to get to know the…
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“It’s About Trade, Not Aid”
How Micro-Finance Help to Stimulate Communities at Large “Any time I’ve been given something – just given something – I’ve never treated it very dearly or very importantly,” SKIC founder, Shyam, says. “But when I have worked for something and reaped the reward, I feel satisfied, accomplished, and inspired.” A similar pattern follows with SKIC…
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Empowering Transformational Female Leaders
In a previous post, “Why Focus on Women?,” we discuss the importance of SKI Charities’ focus on empowering female entrepreneurs and providing education for young women. In the traditional communities of developing countries like Zimbabwe and Chile, where SKIC works, already-marginalized women are often made powerless by circumstances of conflict and unrest, with men historically and culturally standing as the heads of…
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Africa’s Mobile Technology Rise
The technology that has long provided convenience in most daily lives is now transforming opportunities available to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Mobile technology in Zimbabwe has risen to more than 71 percent, supplementing the work of SKImfi and allowing women in Zimbabwe to expand, organize, and promote their entrepreneurial efforts. Mobile technology in Africa has created…
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Faces of SKImfi: Prudence K.
When Prudence and her SKImfi group members gather for business meetings, they begin each session with a chant: “High high, it lifts you high. SKImfi lifts you UP!” Prudence K., a 30-year-old mother of three, launched an electrical supplies business after attending a Selection, Planning and Management workshop with SKImfi Zimbabwe. She accessed a $100…
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In This Together
One of the main problems facing aid in the developing world is anonymity. Organizations that provide aid to “the children” or “the hungry” fail to specify whom, precisely, are the recipients of that aid. While these regions often desperately need aid, the blanket statement of “the hungry,” for example, diminishes the individuality of countless people…
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A Word with SKIC’s Founder
SKIC founder Shyam K. Iyer visiting a site in Myanmar SKI Charities’ founder Shyam K. Iyer discusses the path that brought him to work for women’s empowerment and the impact that this work has made on him. In your own words, what is your role in SKI Charities? My role is to make sure we…
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A Word with our SKIpgo Zimbabwe Program Manager
Elizabeth, our program manager for SKIpgo-Zimbabwe, discusses her work with SKI Charities and her passion for child development. In your own words, what is your role in SKI charities? I work for the SKIpgo Zimbabwe Trust, one of the projects run by SKI charities in Mutare, Zimbabwe. I recruit candidates who are eligible for the…
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Less is More: The Benefits of Microfinance
For SKI Charities, keeping things at a micro level is essential to the organization’s success. Charity founder, Shyam K. Iyer asserts, “When you’re doing microfinance at such a local level, it’s not just about these women creating their own wealth and creating their own businesses. What about the spillover effects?” Shyam notes that SKImfi beneficiaries…
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A Word with our SKImfi Zimbabwe Field Officer
Our field officer for SKImfi-Zimbabwe discusses his work with SKI Charities and the path that led him to develop a passion for woman and child development. What is your role in SKI Charities? My role is to identify prospective loan beneficiaries, those who are struggling to make ends meet and need a boost to increase…