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At SKIC, Community is Everything
SKIC has been a community-minded organization since day one. But now, more than ever, the organization is seeing the importance of maintaining and stimulating communities in both of its operating sites – Lebu, Chile and Mutare, Zimbabwe. LEBU, CHILE | Lebu is a rather isolated city, with a static population. It relies heavily upon people-to-people connections…
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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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Why Early-Stage Scholarships? (Part 3)
In parts 1 and 2 of this series, we reported that investing in early-stage education makes social and fiscal sense for both the recipient and the community. In this post, we’ll explore how, relative to later interventions, early-stage intervention is remarkably more effective and much lower in cost. Policies that aim to repair educational deficits…
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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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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…
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Happy 3rd Birthday SKIC! – Zimbabwe Photo Journal
In October of 2010, Shyam K. Iyer began SKI Charities. Two countries, three projects, and hundreds of beneficiaries later, the organization is now celebrating it’s 3rd birthday. And we are just getting started. To celebrate the occasion we commissioned a photojournal of our very first project, the SKImfi Microfinance Institute in Mutare, Zimbabwe. To view…
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A Conversation with Shyam: Inspiration Found in Local Mapuche Craft-Making and Cuisine
Shyam returned from his most recent trip to Lebu, Chile 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. Listen in to hear more about…