{"id":3229,"date":"2024-10-10T15:32:13","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T15:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/?p=3229"},"modified":"2024-10-10T15:32:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T15:32:13","slug":"rural-women-rise-stories-of-resilience-and-leadership-in-ethiopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/rural-women-rise-stories-of-resilience-and-leadership-in-ethiopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural Women Rise: Stories of Resilience and Leadership in Ethiopia"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 15th, as we mark the International Day of Rural Women, we celebrate the strength, resilience, and leadership of women in rural communities. In Ethiopia, where women often face limited access to education, financial services, and leadership roles, programs like Digital Green\u2019s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are changing lives. These SHGs are more than just savings and loans\u2014they are lifelines that offer women the chance to build confidence, leadership skills, and strong support networks that ripple across entire communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital Green has organized over 300 SHGs, empowering more than 7,600 women in Ethiopia. These women have collectively saved 19 million birr, and with the support of 8.3 million birr in capital funding, they\u2019ve accessed loans to grow businesses, support their families, and invest in their futures. But beyond the numbers, it\u2019s the personal stories of women like Belaynesh, Netsanet, and Gabite that truly showcase the impact of these groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

For <\/span>Belaynesh Fichola<\/b>, a 30-year-old mother of three, the Dararcho SHG gave her the chance to rebuild her life after her husband\u2019s death left her struggling to provide for her family. She began by selling fruits, but her business transformed when she secured a 6,000 ETB loan from the SHG. With that, Belaynesh started selling maize and flour, eventually expanding her business enough to buy livestock and create lasting stability for her children. Today, her assets are worth over 43,000 ETB, and her role in the community has grown too\u2014she now serves as vice president of her SHG and a leader in women\u2019s affairs in her kebele.<\/span><\/p>\n

Netsanet Legamo<\/b>, a 28-year-old from Bursa, used her SHG loan to support her family during a tough time. Despite having a teaching diploma, Netsanet couldn\u2019t find work. When her husband fell ill, she took out a 5,000 ETB loan from her SHG, bought sheep, and slowly built a small livestock business. Her growing income allowed her to support her husband\u2019s medical expenses and education, and today, she\u2019s the primary earner in her household. Netsanet\u2019s SHG not only helped her gain financial independence but also provided her with emotional support, helping her through a challenging period in her life.<\/span><\/p>\n

For <\/span>Gabite Kiea<\/b>, a mother of six from Gucho village, the Elto SHG was a lifeline. After her husband passed away, Gabite struggled to run her small coffee shop. A 3,000 ETB loan from her SHG enabled her to start a poultry business, and with hard work, her income grew steadily. Gabite\u2019s SHG didn\u2019t just provide financial support\u2014it offered her practical help, from plowing her fields to giving her the confidence to take charge of her family\u2019s future.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are just a few examples of the thousands of women in Ethiopia whose lives have been transformed through SHGs. By giving women access to financial tools, leadership training, and community support, these groups are creating lasting change\u2014women are not only improving their own lives but also strengthening their entire communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we celebrate the International Day of Rural Women, we\u2019re reminded that empowering women empowers whole communities. Programs like Digital Green\u2019s SHGs offer a path to financial stability, leadership opportunities, and a brighter future. There\u2019s still more work to be done, but with continued support, more women will have the chance to rise above challenges and create lasting change for themselves and their families.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s continue to invest in the strength of rural women. Their resilience, leadership, and ambition deserve our support\u2014not just today, but every day.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 15th, as we mark the International Day of Rural Women, we celebrate the strength, resilience, and leadership of women in rural communities. In Ethiopia, where women often face limited access to education, financial services, and leadership roles, programs like Digital Green\u2019s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are changing lives. These SHGs are more than just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3229"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3231,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3229\/revisions\/3231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalgreen.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}