Next Sunrise Session

Empowering African Women
to Transform Drought-Ravaged Communities

Dr. Layne Coppock Associate Professor Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources Email

Friday, April 13, 2012
7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Grand America Hotel
555 South Main, SLC

Poverty and drought devastate many Africans — seemingly impossible problems to solve. This will be an overview of how a USU-led project improved the lives of tens of thousands in southern Ethiopia by catalyzing a skill-development process that improved incomes, assets, and well-being. Poor, illiterate women became transformational community leaders. This was possible because a USU team had discovered dynamic women’s groups in the northern desert of Kenya who had lifted themselves out of poverty and become entrepreneurs. USU then enlisted the help of the Kenyans to cross the border and inspire the Ethiopians, unleashing a tidal wave of change. This is their story.

Take a look at a 15-minute project film by journalist Robert Caputo here.