Utah firm gives vital aid to African women

African aid benefits women and children

Cho Cho purchased two sheep with a microloan she received from OFDC, a Utah based non-profit organization. She'll sell the wool to provide for her five grandchildren. Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries

A loan of $50 might not go far in America, but in Nepal or Kenya, it could change a woman's life.

Nia Sherar, founder and executive director of the Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries, will detail the struggles of women in these countries and talk about the fund that offers micro-loans that help make women self-sufficient during a public presentation Saturday.

The fund is a Utah-based nonprofit organization that was started in 1999. Many of the women the fund helps are single mothers or grandmothers raising children who have lost parents to AIDS. The loans have been used by women to purchase sheep for wool, pigs for slaughter and to cover school fees and uniforms for children.

The fund awards micro-loans of about $50 to women in Nepal and Kenya, where the average wage is less than $1 a day. Sherar said the micro-loan has been a lifesaver for most of the women.

"A mosquito net that will protect four to five children from the chance of getting malaria is only $4, but that's a lot of money for most of these women," she said. Malaria vaccinations are also relatively inexpensive by U.S. standards but many in the countries that the fund serves can't afford them.

Many of the women who have been helped are uneducated in basic areas of health, cleanliness, business and literacy. The micro-loan awards include education and counseling for the recipients, and after each loan has been repaid, the women can apply for others. The fund also awards funds to help build latrines and water wells in villages where it's common to share water with animals, and contamination from human waste is prevalent.

Sherar started the organization after donating her own money to help the villagers and works closely with the indigenous people in the villages to insure that the money is awarded and used effectively. Sherar has focused on women, children and health issues and encourages everyone to become more aware of what is happening in these countries and how they can help.

If you go

Nia Sherar presents a slideshow about the trials and struggles of women in Kenya and Nepal at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wasatch Commons, 1411 S. Utah St. (1605 West). To learn more about the Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries, visit the Web site http://www.ofdc.org.