Social Entrepreneurs: Poverty

By developing entrepreneurship and cultivating sound business values, José Santos Chango is empowering Ecuadorian farmers across different ethnic communities in the fight against rural poverty in a globalized world.

Philips Laulia of the Vision Network Society is a young mechanical engineer who is introducing simple and eco-friendly solutions to poor Indonesian farmers struggling to survive on their lands.

Farouk Jiwa, Co-Founder of Honey Care Africa has created a Kenyan enterprise that promotes small scale community based beekeeping as an environmentally sustainable income generating opportunity in East Africa.

Turning her back on a political career, Dhana Khatiwada established the Women Awareness Group (WAG) in Nepal to engage village women in an initiative to reduce rural poverty. She provides the tools with which the women take on roles in the village economy that transcend the boundaries of gender norms.

Maria Quezada works with Food for the Hungry (FH) in Constanza to provide basic sanitation, educational scholarships, vocational training and spiritual nourishment for children living in poverty.

Schoolteacher Judith Achar trains needy Mexican families in the ancient Nahua weaving technique - to create colorful bags from recycled materials - so as to combat problems of poverty, unemployment, poor access to education and environmental degradation.

The Mexican migrants workers' influx into the United States has been an issue in both countries. In the USA, the battle over illegal aliens residing in the country and in Mexico the prospect of losing a young and able workforce leaving rural communities fragmented.CREA Mexico aims to empower female micro-entrepreneurs to curb migration from Mexico by strengthening local communities and the opportunities within these communities.

Roberto Killmeate, a former priest, promotes the dignity of rural life by providing tools for self-empowerment: a way to earn a livelihood while strengthening social ties.

URDT’s model of integrated Rural and Human Development in Kibaale District has shown that education, training, demonstration, women’s empowerment, consciousness raising and information sharing are effective strategies for economic growth, social, cultural and political development in Uganda.