Teach A Woman To Fish

Overcoming Poverty Worldwide

Ritu Sharma, Annapolis MD, Women Thrive Worldwide (WT), DC Nonprofit renamed 2008

• Palgrave McMillan, Multco 305.409 S5315t 2014

• 1990 21yo, internship at Friends of the Earth
• p xv "women in developed countries ... can push our governments to act better ... shop differently to reward companies doing good"
• p004 Sri Lanka tsunami Dec 2004 pg 7: 35K dead, 823K homeless, 80% were women and girls
• p008 National Women's Collective of Sri Lanka (NWCSL), association of hundreds of local women's organizations
• p011 IDP, Internally Displaced Persons, camps controlled by males, women preyed upon
• p014 GW Bush promises $950M for tsunami relief, WT tried for $10M for local women's groups ... failed
• p021 Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) "facilitators"
• p029 Home based work 25 to 60 percent of garment and textile workforce "because we can stay at home"
  • ? will their educated daughters want the same?
• p029 60 to 90% of working women in this "invisible" economy
• p030 "last hired, first fired," as demand changes
• p030 low demand, price competition drives down pay, example $6 to $1.70

• p033 graph: tax revenues; US 2% products and services 55% income and investment gains, Sri Lanka 42% P&S, 18% IIG

  • this graph doesn't consider how the two economies are structured, few US people make and sell stuff, most work for wages

• p051 MAS Holdings (Mahesh & Ajay & Sharad ) Amalean, synthetic textiles (Vic.Secret, Speedo, others) 25 years to 57,000 empl, 34 factories in Sri Lanka, good employer

  • 2003 "Women Go Beyond", "The Empowered Woman", Sujeewa, Priyangani
• p055 62% of women subject to violence in the home, 99% are sole breadwinners
• p055 Shevanthi?
• p061 EPZ Export Processing Zone (no export tariff), poor worker conditions are common
• p069 George W. Bush, Millenium Challenge Account (or Corporation)
• p079 CEO John Danilovich "rescued" MCC