Agros Microloan Project Featured on Oprah.com

On this Thursday, October 1, Oprah Winfrey will deliver a call to action for all women. Inspired by the New York Times best-selling book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, The Oprah Winfrey Show will spend a full hour revealing stories of women overcoming adversity to realize a better life for themselves. Be sure to tune-in to the “Oprah” show this Thursday, Oct 1, to hear this appeal in support of women around the world. Check local listings for time and channel.

In conjunction with the show, Oprah will launch a new giving registry online at www.oprah.com/forallwomen, where Agros International will be featured.

You can find Agros’ featured project in Oprah’s giving registry under ‘Microloans’ by clicking on the project entitled “Economic Independence for Women in Central America.” Or, you can navigate directly to Agros’ featured project page at GlobalGiving.

Agros exists to end rural poverty for entire village communities, and supporting women is an important message for Agros because we believe investing in women is a critical component in the development of solid communities.

Not only do women prove themselves to be successful entrepreneurs, but their commitment to reinvesting profits into their families reaps rewards for the extended community. Women’s projects are becoming a significant source of income in many Agros villages and better position families to pay off their land loans ahead of schedule.

Here are just a few examples of projects that offer women economic independence, confidence, and the ability to contribute to their families’ income:

Twenty-five women in Batzchocola, Guatemala have joined together to form a Community Bank. They have successfully completed six six-month lending cycles with a 100% on-time repayment record and have saved $1,847 to lend to other community members outside of the Community Bank. This is a huge accomplishment for a group that started working together just three years ago and will significantly increase access to funds for all village members interested in starting projects.

Griselda, 48 years old, is the President of the Community Bank Group A in Cajixay. “My dream for our group,” she shares, “is that the projects benefit all of the women in our community.” Griselda currently invests in a small store where she sells sugar, water, nachos and medicine. She also raises pigs and rabbits, in addition to having her own bread oven! Griselda is so ambitious she has established a partnership with a nearby restaurant that places a weekly order for her breads. With the income that she earns, she hopes that her grandson Denison will be able to go to college, just like her son Jacobo who graduated in 2007 in agro-forestry.

Women in other Agros villages are concentrating on a variety of projects including baking and food catering, animal husbandry, weaving and embroidery, decorative arts, and small retail stores.

Your support helps Agros make a significant impact in the lives of rural, female entrepreneurs and their families.