#climbforSHE

Top 5 Photos of 2015

in Blog  by connie lewin

Last year SHE improved the lives of hundreds of girls, women and their families with our game-changing business model. As we look forward to changing more lives in 2016, we invite you to take a look back at our Top 5 Pictures of 2015. Thanks for being a part of the work we do.

1. Our Ngoma production team celebrates our win of the Global Sourcing Council’s 3S Awards, a prize that recognized our efforts to empowering women that are part of our supply chain.

SHE Rwanda celebrated the second annual Menstrual Hygiene Day with 2.5 million people tuning into our live Q&A and 703 boys and girls leading local celebrations for the global day in the Rukara district.

2. SHE Rwanda celebrated the second annual Menstrual Hygiene Day with 2.5 million people tuning into our live Q&A and 703 boys and girls leading local celebrations for the global day in the Rukara District.

3. Our farmers earned a 33% increase in their co-op income as our fiber suppliers.

3. Our farmers earned a 33% increase in their co-op income as our fiber suppliers.

4. Our go! pads were a hit at the Eastern Province Expo. Over 8,600 packs of go! pads have been sold directly to girls, schools, and wholesale customers such as the Peace Corps in 2015.

4. Our go! pads were a hit at the Eastern Province Expo. Over 8,600 packs of go! pads were sold directly to girls, schools, and wholesale customers such as the Peace Corps.

Our Kilimanjaro #climbforSHE team achieved its audacious goals to supply 6,000 girls with the go! pads they need by raising over $53,000.

5. Our Kilimanjaro #climbforSHE team achieved its audacious goals to supply 6,000 girls with the go! pads they need by raising over $53,000.

Scaling Mountains to Solve An Overlooked Issue

in Blog  by connie lewin
Eva Johnston Kilimanjaro Climb with go pads July 2015 .jpg

#climbforSHE team member Eva Johnston on Mt. Kilimanjaro with a pack of go! pads.

Our #climbforSHE team is back from scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro and raised $51,615 dollars! Read about her life-changing experience:

Eva, one of our esteemed SHE climbers recounts her experience climbing Mount Kilimanjaro:

My attempt to sum our trip up…magical to the point of being miraculous! SENE was an incredible expedition company, our SHE climbing team consisted of rock star climbers and every single woman on the trip was and continues to be an inspiration to me!  Our circumstances couldn’t have worked out any better. The weather was as close to perfect as one could hope for. Additionally, noting that our ages ranged from 17 to 71, some with zero climbing or camping skills (me and my daughter included), others with zero training we ALL reached the summit safely and with smiles on our faces! I feel so lucky and blessed to have been a part of this group of women.

To Bella—our brilliant, compassionate, motivated climb leader and the other equally inspiring young climbers, Mia, Beatrice and Chloë, you all give me such hope for the future and I want to thank you for being such positive role models for my daughter while we climbed the mountain. To Sara, Joanne, Connie and Gayle—I was truly lucky to be up there breathing the same air as you ladies!  I am in awe of your strength, motivation, and passion for SHE, for helping other women across our planet and your commitment to leaving this planet better than we found it.

As anticipated, I am feeling a post-climb, post-adrenaline rush sadness acknowledging that this amazing experience has come to an end. I’m certain I will be dreaming of the pure, cold air I was breathing on Mount Kilimanjaro, the stars that looked like I could reach out and touch, the sound of our awesome guides waking us up to check vitals each morning and the hot cup of coffee I knew was on its way from our always smiling team of SENE porters and the views from my tent every morning. As amazing as pictures are, they simply cannot capture the magic of the moment that is experienced and taken in by the human eye!

#climbforSHE Bella Wiener takes top honors

in Blog  by connie lewin

#climbforSHE campaign founder Bella Wiener was recently acknowledged as a young game changer at the recent MUSE Women’s Conference in Bend, OR. Bella shared the stage at the 3-day conference with Myrlie Evers-Williams, Daphne Zuniga, and other female catalysts for change. The following week, Bella won the Young Hero Award by the Bend Chamber of Commerce’s Women of the Year Awards. Bella’s adventurous spirit serves as an inspiration to many!