The April International Women’s Health Spotlight was held at the State Library of Western Australia. Guests were welcomed by the soothing sounds of Ezereve (Kat Eggleston) before they were seated for the evening.
Susan Ardagh was the first speaker of the evening. She is a former member of the Board of Directors for Opportunity International Australia. She talked about the meaning of the sisterhood and her heart-warming story about her trip to Manila in the Philippines where she met one woman who was so grateful for a loan that helped her children.
The Healing Fields Foundation in India partner with Opportunity International who received a 100 Women grant in 2014. Mukti Bosco is the CEO of Healing Fields and she presented firsthand stories on the impact of the grant she received from 100 Women. She talked about micro-loans and micro-financing strategies that actually reach women in rural India and make a significant impact on their lives. She spoke about how everyone is living under the same sky and how the inequalities she witnessed in these rural communities led to her drive that inspired her to start Healing Fields. Her pride in the project came through her stories and she showed so much gratitude to 100 Women for the grant. We could have listened to her all evening.
Finally, Jaya Earnest ended the evening by giving us her personal experiences of living and working in Africa that started her passion in women’s issues. She talked about four important pillars of the women she has worked with; resilience, empowerment, family and mentoring. She then tied her stories together and brought it home to Australia by giving us personal stories of determination and survival of migrant women in Western Australia.
Drinks and nibbles were enjoyed in the foyer by everyone after the talks. A special thank you to Raw by Chris for the delicious chocolate truffles and the Finer Details ladies Sara and Heather for their assistance in logistics.
Thank you to all those who attended-It was an inspirational night.
If you would like to be a part of creating a world where all women and girls can live safely with access to health, education and economic freedom, join the 100 Women movement.
100 Women hope to double out impact this year. All donations are fully tax deductible. For more information on joining 100 Women please visit email [email protected].
Writen by Kalpani Senasinghe: 100 Women Event subcommittee member
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