SowHope.org Blog

Part 3 - Ideas on Mothering – Cont.

Leecie Brown — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:51:38 GMT

So why do we treat third-world mothers as though they are any different than us? Do they love their children less than we do? Are they less motivated to see their children’s lives flourish? Are they less capable of self-sacrifice, affection, empathy, or compassion than we are? We apparently take our parenting very seriously here in the United States, so I imagine we’d find such questions insulting if the tables were turned.

This thinking about the nature of women, and of mothers in particular, has gripped me as I have heard the message of SowHope. Helping women is the right approach to alleviating severe poverty because it is so closely aligned with what we can observe in ourselves: women who are mothers are innately motivated to better the lives of their families and in the vast majority of cases they are well-equipped to do so capably.

This is an interesting set of questions to discuss at the playground or in the preschool parking lot. Admittedly, it opens a whole host of gnarly issues surrounding our beliefs about the nature of poverty, the role of government, the merits of individual efforts, and so on. But at this time of year when we honor mothers, I encourage you to think about the nature of women as mothers and think about how best to lift the burden of severe poverty around the world. Thinking about this in our own context here in the West and our personal experience of motherhood makes the mission of SowHope easily understood. After all, if it were you struggling to meet the needs of your own family, don’t you believe you would do it better than anyone given the right opportunities?

This past week we honored Mothers whom we know work hard to elevate the health, happiness, and opportunities of their children all over the world. And we work hard, every day, at SowHope to help those mother’s in need.

We hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Part 2 – Ideas on Mothering - Cont.

Leecie Brown — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:57:03 GMT

So if your mothering is not based on Western Society, consider the options for alleviating Third World poverty that are presented to most of us here in the privileged West: we are shown pictures of darling babies, innocent toddlers, toothless grins of elementary-aged school children, and asked to support them monetarily. There is no question that we feel compelled to lend aid to innocent children. These are people who never asked to be born, have not done anything to ‘deserve’ their station in life, and typically they bear the brunt of poverty’s bite as they are unable to defend themselves or provide for their own needs. They are dependent on others to care for them. So we want to do what we can to help them.

But after decades of NGOs distributing aid in the poorest regions of the world, there is little improvement in the misery that severe poverty inflicts around the world. And so it is worth reflecting for a moment when we are faced with the darling image of the crushingly poor baby and ask ourselves: who are they dependent upon? Are they dependent upon their local or national governments to feed, clothe, shelter, bathe, discipline, nurse through illness, mediate disputes, teach about the world, and otherwise raise them? Are the dependent on multinational NGOs and charity organizations? Some few are, and hopefully the orphan care in their respective countries is somehow equal to the task, or at the very least making a good-faith effort to meet their many and complex needs. But the chief answer around the world is that innocent children are dependent upon their parents.

And in the Third World, the task of raising children, particularly very young children, falls exclusively to the mother. Now return to the exercise that was previously described: place yourself and your family into grinding poverty and continue to raise them to the best of your ability. Speaking for myself, I have two very young children who are prize-winning cute. Really, they are. I get stopped all the time by strangers commenting on this fact, and I feel free to agree with them because I didn’t have anything to do with designing them. So I can imagine that if I were struggling to raise them in an environment of severe poverty, my kids might be featured in a solicitation for aid or ‘sponsorship’. But if aid were given to them, as I retained the responsibility for their care and well-being, I have to say I would feel a little skeptical that anything a stranger offered would be a quality investment in them the way I would supply it, since I know them better than anyone else and I am deeply motivated to see their lives improve.
In honor of all Mother’s this week, we all relate to the need to improve our children’s lives.

Follow our blog this week for more on this…..

Ideas on Mothering

Leecie Brown — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:27:29 GMT

As Mother’s Day approaches, we ask, “Do you love your children because you have a college degree? Or because you live in a rich country? Do you do what is best for them because you have electricity and running water? Do you get up with them in the middle of the night when they need you because you have access to professional medical care? Do you invest in their well-being because you are literate? Do you strive to give them opportunities because you are able to travel freely? Or because you can vote? Or because you have access to professional legal assistance? Are those the reasons that you are a good mother? “

Certainly not.

It is absurd to try to give credit for mothering to the infrastructure of Western society, and as mothers living in the United States, we would never credit our society for the care of our own children. Rather, judging from the intensity with which we discuss the minutia of parenting in this era of blogs, forums, self-help books and parenting magazines, we are pretty interested first and foremost in our central role as the parent in what is known as ‘raising our children’.

But try this mental exercise as you consider what it means to be a mother to you and to your peers: Strip out all the trappings of winning life’s lottery and being born in the United States, or even in a Western country, and imagine being dropped with your husband and children into grinding, merciless, tireless third world poverty. Now ask yourself: will you do everything in your power to elevate the fortunes of those you love most in the world, especially your children?

Naturally, the answer is Yes.

Follow our blog this week to read more on this….

Give Them a Voice

Brenda McWaters — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:14:19 GMT

The conversation flowed, the company familiar. We bantered back and forth as amicable associates do, first on the news of today, then on our mutual peers. The air of change began almost imperceptibly, just as the car traveling beside you begins to edge into what you have established to be your comfortable traffic lane. The conversation snowballed into the entire room in agreement on ideological views that are a vast contradiction of my own. If there had been even one person in the group with the slightest inclination toward my perspective we could stand together united. But there was not.

What happens to our comfortable status-quo when we alone stand up against our peers for what we are vehemently opposed? It is a darkened path to tread, and one that women across the world face every day just to survive.

Women in impoverished countries are treated like second-class citizens. To merely speak out for themselves bring negative consequence difficult to recover, that is, if their voices are even heard.

SowHope has become the voice for these women, to stand beside them when they stand tall against the faltering wind. While we travel the road toward our comfortable homes, SowHope travels to far-away places in search of those who have no homes, who have no hope.

When we support SowHope, we stand alongside women who for generations have stood alone. We have the power to give them a voice.

Something Ridiculous

Brenda McWaters — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:11:41 GMT

The budget has been tight this past year in trying to get back into the swing after a year of self-employment. Delving into a designer bag / food business out of my home, I hoped the correlation of hard work with my gleeful hobby would translate into mountains of cash. After all, Coach had to start somewhere, or at least Relic. Alas, my efforts brought only an anthill of cash… on a good month. In that end, I offered my bags as lovely Christmas gifts before returning to my first love, the World of Criminal Justice.

Imagine my excitement when I found a $20 bill on the street on my way to meet with the judge and detectives for work. The ever-so-slight rainfall plastered it to the road, so I didn’t even have to grapple at it while chasing the wind swept bill down the street. It was just lying there, waiting for me to whisk it up.

My decision was immediate. I was going to buy Something Ridiculous with it. Ridiculous spending was at a minimum this past year, so this was MY time to shine. Twenty packs of Juicy Fruit gum? Maybe. A HARD cover book? Perhaps. The world was my oyster, or at least $20 of it. I quickly called my husband Kelly to tell him the great news.

“No kidding,” he responded. “Twenty dollars?”

“Yes,” I said gleefully. “I’m thinking about buying…”

“Hey, how about we add $5 to that and give it to a family I know at work who could really use it,” said my buzz-kill husband. “That would be a great cause.”

You know the sound you hear when a gigantic, noisy engine is powered down? That’s what I heard inside my head. Geez, leave it to him to, well, do the right thing. It’s what I love and, well, don’t love about him.

“B-but,” I countered. “I wanted to buy something, well, r-ridiculous.”

In the end, I bought my Something Ridiculous and renewed our SowHope contributions. To feed the urge to splurge is fun for today, but to know that our money is helping women across the world to help themselves is lifelong. Both felt great.

Who Do You Trust?

Brenda McWaters — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:17:07 GMT

The Power Ball jackpot was over $300,000,000. I decided that the millions upon millions could come in handy, so I bought a ticket.

When I purchase a Lotto ticket, which isn’t often, the ticket-to-my-own-personal-fortune clanks around in my wallet for weeks. Because the drawing has long passed and the numbers are no longer posted, the clerk must verify the ticket.

I approach customer service and hand my tiny goldmine to the clerk to scan the numbers. I admit to holding my breath ever so slightly while telling myself it probably won’t be a winner... probably.

“Sorry, it’s not a winner.” the clerk says efficiently, robbing me of my aspirations of becoming a ga-zillionaire through a $2 investment. “Do you want me to throw away the ticket?”

Hmmm. Since you asked, I have to think about that now. Do I want YOU to keep what moments ago was a ticket-to-my-own-personal-fortune?

Sure, most people are honest, but I work in Criminal Justice where there are always two scenarios.

A) You are an honest clerk who will dispose of my losing ticket in a recycling bin.

B) You are a thief in a clerk’s costume who will take my ticket-to-my-own-personal-fortune and whisk away to Switzerland or wherever rich thieves who steal Lotto tickets go.

Temptation abounds when there is much power to be wielded.

Who do you trust? I trust those who inspire me. I trust the Board at SowHope where the aspiration is to stand beside women and their children around the world.

Mary Dailey Brown is a Top Woman in Philanthropy

Shelbi Hoffman — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:14:48 GMT

SowHope could be the featured nonprofit at Little PINK Book's upcoming Spring Into Ownership event!

Click here to cast your vote for Mary Dailey Brown, President & CEO of SowHope.

LittlePINKBook.com

A lesson in sales

Mary Dailey Brown — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:55:38 GMT

It is always good to hear how people around the world use their resources to improve their lives. I recently visited a country, south of our border, and passed a guy selling cigars on a crowded street corner. I then overheard his witty sales pitch to a woman behind me.

Salesman: “Buy my cigars, Ma’am?”

Lady (clearly annoyed by the many sales hawkers all around her): “No thanks, I don’t smoke.”

Salesman: “Then buy some cigars for your friends.”

Lady: “I don’t have any friends.”

Salesman: “Then buy some cigars for your co-workers.”

Lady: “I don’t like my co-workers, so why would I buy them anything?”

Salesman: “Then buy them some cigars, their lives will end sooner!”

I don’t know if he actually made the sale, but, besides being very funny, I was impressed with his tenacity to find and eventually present a plausible need for his unseemly product to a potential (and mildly hostile) client. His working conditions were not easy. He was standing in the hot sun all day, a box of cigars strapped around both shoulders making a portable display table at his stomach; all in a very chaotic and competitive sales environment. Yet, he was able to maintain a good attitude and even bring a smile to those around him. Too bad he wasn’t selling chocolate. My friends and co-workers would have loved me to buy them some of that!

Surviving or thriving; what is the key?

Mary Dailey Brown — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:02:38 GMT

Last weekend my son, Alex, a friend, Mike, and I made what has become an annual winter trip to Tijuana and Tecate, northern border towns of Mexico. From 1989 to 2005 our family went each summer with volunteer church teams to build one or two homes. Within a few years we added winter trips to visit the families of the homes we most connected with emotionally. We still take food baskets and Christmas gifts for the parents to give to their children to about 10 families.

It has been an interesting experience to watch these families mature over the years. We have watched children grow into adulthood. We are now holding the babies of the babies we held while building their houses.

When I first arrived in Tijuana, it was exceedingly poor with only a few paved roads and very little infrastructure. There was no electricity and no running water in the areas we were building, not far from the city center. People were coming from even poorer conditions all over Mexico, leaving families and hometowns, to homestead land near the border with the hope of making a better life. Over the years, this would prove to be a risk well worth taking. The economy there has blossomed. Although it is still quite poor when compared to US standards, there is a big difference from the extreme poverty of the late 80’s. Many of our friends, while eking out a living, are also supporting their parents and extended families back in the villages.

Some of the families are barely surviving while, it seems, others are thriving. One of the indicators I have been observing is the level of education being attained by the children. Most of the children make it to about 9^th grade, which is mandatory there. One of the key factors which seems to influence the ability for children to move on to high school, and even university, is the family structure. In each case where a child has made it to university, from the families we know, there are two parents, both working, who actively encourage the child to further their education.

The families where children only do the minimum education required by law are living in homes of single mothers who are not highly educated. Those kids are now struggling to find work. The one family where the mother died and the father abandoned his four sons are coping the worst. Neighbor ladies have stepped in to care for the boys as much as possible, but the older boys have already quit school and are finding it difficult to find jobs.

In my observations, children who live in poverty, at least, survive under the care of a loving mother. In order to really thrive, they need two supportive parents. But, woe to the ones who lose their mothers, especially if other women don’t step in to care for them. It takes a village to raise a child and that village does a better job when the women are empowered. Join us as we inspire women around the world by promoting wellness, education and economic opportunities.

How important is it that women vote?

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:07:41 GMT

This week, I read about two women in their early 20’s who had just cast their votes. The first one is Dalia, my friend from Egypt, who excitedly wrote on her Facebook page, “I voted! It took me six hours, but it was so worth it…” The other is Natalie from the Democratic Republic of Congo. While referring to that country’s recent election, she was quoted in a NY Times article saying, “What do I fear? I fear death. No one knows what’s going to happen.”

Politics aside, what is notable here is that these young women, both students, were able to take advantage of their right to have a voice in their futures. They live in two countries where SowHope has funded projects giving wellness, education, and economic opportunities to impoverished women.

As I thought about what the experience of casting their votes might have meant to Dalia and Natalie, I realized that most of the women we serve are not able to vote, due in part to the fact that they are illiterate. How can you vote when you cannot read a ballot? Or, they are too busy working all day to provide food for their families to even think of going to the polls. Or, they simply have never been told that their opinion counts, so voting is not a rung on their short ladder of self-esteem.

This ability to express your voice is no small matter, especially when it comes to women in developing countries, who often are treated as second-class citizens. Perhaps this is why Natalie from the DRC, literally scared to death, still goes to the polls. And why Dalia, from Egypt, waits in line for six hours to cast her vote. To both of them we say, “Bravo, ladies, we hear you!”

A week for thankfulness!

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:42:46 GMT

This is the week to be thankful, although I believe it is good to be thankful every day.

Monday marked nine years since my mom, Jennie Evangelisti Dailey, died. Just thinking of her continues to inspire me. She was a person who lived a life of unconditional love and service. She was a tremendous example to witness day in and day out. What a gift to grow up with the knowledge that you were always accepted, no matter what. What a hero!

I see these same powerful elements in so many of the local leaders that we partner with around the world. Women and men who sacrifice their wealth to show others they have value. They are the ones: who speak up for what is right, when it would be easier to stay quiet; who stand up when everyone else cowers; who don’t demand more of others than they are willing to do themselves; who sacrifice their comfort, so others can live. These are the true heros in the world and I am thankful for them and thankful to know them.

Who was the 7 billionth person in the world?

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:12:38 GMT

What is so special about Nargis?

Well, she was named the 7 billionth person in the world a few weeks ago, when it was estimated that we hit that milestone number in our global population. While no one knows exactly who it was, the government of India, which holds one-sixth of the world’s population, pointed to the little girl from Uttar Pradesh in northern India as the record breaking baby.

Welcome Nargis! We are glad your government recognized you, a girl, as a significant part of the human race. May your life be as remarkable as your birth.

It’s 11/11/11 and I just got on train #111 going to DC. Happy Armistice Day everyone!

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:12:50 GMT

I am heading down to Washington DC and then on to Lexington, VA where tomorrow we will be having our first SowHope Speakers Bureau Training.

It has been an idea in the hopper for a long time and thanks to Dr. Anita Arnold for taking on the leadership of this training and making it a reality. Also, a big thanks to Abigail Inn for hosting this training.

Twelve trainees from six states will gather to become a growing team of speakers able to effectively share the mission of SowHope and stories of deserving women who are being inspired through wellness, education and economic opportunities all around the world!

Mary Dailey Brown
President SowHope

The burden women carry

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:34:12 GMT

My first recollection of blatant gender discrimination in the developing world took place on the side of a mountain. My friend Bev and I were being escorted down a well-worn Himalayan path just as the sun was setting. We were trying to reach a good sized village where we would meet our driver and a car to take us to the border of this stunningly beautiful Asian country. The three mile walk down the mountain was quite enjoyable and along the way we would run into only a few people walking up the mountain.

One small group was a family consisting of a father, mother, and their adult daughter who was holding an infant. Except for the perfectly formed baby, all were lepers on their way to a church service. They were scheduled to arrive late, as was their custom, so they could enter the back of the church and not disturb others with their deformed presence. Our guide knew everyone in this locale and introduced us. We cooed over the baby and then gave each one a lingering heartfelt hug goodbye. Our guide advised us that surely that was the only hug they had received since contracting leprosy, a disease which was still widely feared by everyone else.

While walking and pondering their station in life, we came upon a man who was probably about 30 years old carrying a baby son. He greeted us in the traditional manner by forming his hands into the praying position, somewhat awkwardly, while trying to also hold the baby, nodded his head, smiled broadly, and cheerfully said “Namaste”. We returned the greeting with the same enthusiasm.

As we turned to continue our downward journey we caught our first glimpse of the man’s wife. She was tiny and following about 10 steps behind her husband. We stared, dumbfounded, as she passed us struggling to carry a bag of rice so big that she had to balance it on her back with a strap going up and around her sweat-laden forehead. She was bending over and breathing heavily under the immense weight of her cargo which seemed to equal, or even exceed, her own body weight. Between breathless pants, she managed to blurt out “Namaste” as she passed us looking straight ahead, forging on with her heavy load.

My encounter with Nicholas Kristof the NY Times writer

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:30:10 GMT

At SowHope we are really thankful for Nicholas Kristof. He is a NY Times writer and co-author of the book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide”. He is one of the major voices speaking up for impoverished women in the world. His book, which he co-authored with his wife, Sheryl Wudunn, and which we highly recommend, depicts the plight of women that we strive to serve at SowHope.

The title of the book comes from a Chinese saying that women hold up half the sky. He was in Grand Rapids this past week and gave a great speech on the topic of women under oppression. Kristof believes that the best way to fight poverty is to educate and empower women and girls.

I stood in line after his speech to get my copy of his book signed and to meet this hero to women world-wide. He said hello and chatted with me. We laughed when he said that he remembered me running up to him in the Boston airport about six months ago to introduce myself and to hand him a SowHope brochure. I handed him another one and told him that we have impacted over 25,000 women through our programs. He was very encouraging and signed my book “Mary, Keep up the great work! You are holding up 2/3 of the sky!”
Ok, you Nicholas, you had me at hello!

Welcome!

Mary Dailey Brown — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:32:41 GMT

Welcome to our new blog at SowHope.org! We will be using this space as a way to help keep you informed about our work with impoverished women around the world. I am Mary Dailey Brown the president and CEO of SowHope.

In January of 2006, my husband Doug and I, along with the help of many friends, founded this international, charitable, non-profit organization with the goal of impacting deserving women in the developing world.

We decided to start this organization after I had spent about five years traveling in the third world witnessing the plight of women who make less than $2/day. I wanted to spend the rest of my life’s energy on this demographic group, which numbers 1.5 billion women.

After searching for 3 months for a large scale multinational group dedicated to basic life-saving holistic care of women I could not find even one. There are hundreds of these types of organizations for children. It was at that point that we launched SowHope.

Please join us in this important work of empowering women through wellness, education and economic opportunities. And I hope you enjoy the blog!

Welcome to the SowHope Blog

Shelbi Hoffman — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:10:40 GMT

Welcome to the SowHope Blog. Please visit often for the latest news from SowHope.