ZOE’s multi-national Leadership team includes respected professionals from a range of background and specialties including business, economics, social justice, international law, academia, theology, and Christian ministry.
Leadership
Epiphanie Mujawimana
Empowerment Model Founder and Rwanda Country Manager
Epiphanie Mujawimana
Empowerment Model Founder and Rwanda Country Manager
Epiphanie helped to develop the model at the heart of ZOE’s Empowerment Program. Epiphanie and her husband have four children and are also raising four nieces and nephews.
Gaston Warner
Chief Executive Officer
Gaston Warner
Chief Executive Officer
Rev. Gaston Warner is an elder in the Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Gaston has led congregations in inner-city, multi-ethnic, and suburban settings, from Chicago to Bristol, England. He has consulted with and served on a number of non-profit boards and as staff for Habitat for Humanity, Duke Divinity School, and Duke University Chapel. Gaston joined Zoe Empowers as a board member in 2007 and currently serves as CEO.
ZOE currently facilitates the empowerment of over twenty-eight thousand orphans and vulnerable children in seven countries and across three continents including: Africa, India, and Guatemala. Gaston earned a BA from Brown University; a MDiv from Duke Divinity School, and a MBA from The University of Durham in England. He lives outside of Abbot, TX (population: 356) with his spouse, the Rev. Dr. Laceye Warner, who teaches at Duke University Divinity School, their daughter Clare, and various pets and livestock.
Randy Wiersma
Chief Operating Officer
Randy Wiersma
Chief Operating Officer
Randy has over 35 years of management experience. He was a co-founder of College Bookstores of America which grew to over 100 locations and served 16 years as Chief Operating Officer. Randy received a BS from Vanderbilt University, an MA from North Park Theological Seminary, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He lives in Wilmington, NC, with his wife Nancy. He has one daughter who is married and has three granddaughters.
Reegan Kaberia
Chief Program Officer and Kenya Country Manager
Reegan Kaberia
Chief Program Officer and Kenya Country Manager
Before joining Zoe Empowers, Reegan served both local and international child-centered community development organizations. In March 2007, he joined the staff of Zoe Empowers, opening and growing the empowerment program initiative in partnership with Maua Methodist Hospital. He holds an MBA in strategic management from Kenya Methodist University. Reegan is married and has two daughters.
John Boswell is Sr. Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for SAS, the world’s largest privately held software company. John is responsible for legal services and contract administration worldwide, leading a group of over 90 attorneys and 250 staff members globally. He is also responsible for the Government Affairs, Enterprise Negotiation and Risk Departments at SAS. As a member of the SAS Executive Committee, John helps set policy for the company. Before joining SAS, Boswell was President of Vista Development Corp., and General Counsel and Secretary for Raima Corp. In addition to his work for Zoe Empowers, John volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, Family Health Ministries and with the Angel Flight network. John is married with three sons.
Wendi Smith
Wendi Smith
Wendi Smith provides personalized consultation to mentoring programs that are on the spectrum of either starting-up to preparing for great expansion. Most of this knowledge comes from her previous positions with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Northwest PA., and Big Brothers Big Sisters in Greater Charlotte. Wendi received her B.A. Degree from Oberlin College. Her last year there she did a semester abroad in Liberia, Africa. She then earned her J.D. Degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law. Earlier career experiences include Mediator with the City Prosecutors Office, Cleveland’s Juvenile Justice, Youth Development Center, an Adoption Caseworker, a facilitator of FAKT (Foster, Adoption, Kinship Training) and a co-facilitator of Co-Parenting for Divorced Parents. Later, she became the York County Coordinator with the Case Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem Program under the State of South Carolina. Wendi is married with three children. For a brief season, she and her husband were also foster parents.
Ann Eppinger
Ann Eppinger
Ann Eppinger-Davidson is currently the President of Eppinger & Associates, LLC, a municipal finance advisory firm located in Windermere, Florida. Previously, Ann was an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette in New York City, and Prager, Sealy & Company, LLC, in Orlando, Florida. In her 21-year investment banking career, she assisted a number of real estate developers with funding their infrastructure needs, and was responsible for the issuance of over $2 billion of tax-exempt debt. Ann has a MBA degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Economics from Shepherd University. Ann has had the privilege of visiting Zoe Empowers in both Rwanda and Kenya. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida United Methodist Foundation, where she is on the Executive Committee and chairs the Board Governance and Nominations Committee. Ann is passionate about working with educational ministries in local Title 1 public schools and is Circles ally for a Circles community in East Winter Garden, Florida. She is married to Scott Davidson and is the mother of two children and stepmother to three grown children.
Chris Graebe
Chris Graebe
Chris Graebe is a founding member of the Raleigh law firm Graebe Hanna & Sullivan, PLLC and has been practicing law throughout North Carolina since 1990. Chris has been named among Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite in business litigation and as one of the Best Lawyers in America. Since 2012, the peer-selected North Carolina Super Lawyers has recognized Chris as one of the Top 100 lawyers in North Carolina. Chris regularly represents disadvantaged clients in housing and consumer cases without charging a fee. In 2008, Chris received the North Carolina Bar Association’s highest honor for an individual attorney’s pro bono service, the William L. Thorp Pro Bono Award. He has served on the board of directors of the North Carolina Justice Center for several years. Chris is married to Susan Graebe, a former Zoe Empowers staff member, and has two grown children.
Dr. Abbie Shipp
Dr. Abbie Shipp
Dr. Abbie Shipp is an Associate Professor of Management (with tenure) at Texas Christian University where she teaches and conducts research on organizational behavior, with a particular emphasis on individual development over time. She is currently a member of the executive committee of the Academy of Management’s Organizational Behavior division as well as an editorial board member for several top-tier research journals in her field. Prior to joining Texas Christian University, Dr. Shipp taught at Texas A&M University, the University of North Carolina, and Oklahoma State University, as well as working in human resources for The Boeing Company and TV Guide. Dr. Shipp has also consulted with firms such as Ernst & Young, Marriott International, Halliburton, Texas Transportation Institute, and AT&T on issues of employee engagement and retention, person-environment fit, employee relations, organizational change, and survey design. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which time she was introduced to Zoe Empowers and admired its clear results using the empowerment program. She is married and has one son.
Dr. Mark La Branche
Dr. Mark La Branche
Dr. Mark La Branche was appointed the twenty-seventh president of Louisburg College in 2008 after serving as Senior Vice President at Huntingdon College in Alabama. Previously, Mark spent eighteen years in parish ministry, serving churches in the Alabama – West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He also spent ten years in the health field, eight of those years as a neonatal respiratory therapist. Mark has served on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Franklin County, and served as United Way Campaign Co-Chair in 2009. He is a member of the Louisburg Lions Club, and its past president. Mark is a member of the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges, and a board member of the National Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities of the United Methodist Church. He received his Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, his Master of Divinity from Emory University, and his B.A. from the University of South Alabama. Mark is married to Mona Maxwell La Branche. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Erik Ross
Erik Ross
Erik Ross currently serves as a Sales Executive with Accenture. He has over 20 years of experience in information technology and management consulting. Erik has served on the board of the Methodist Home for Children in Raleigh, NC and was their Chairman for three years. He is married to Jenny and they have two sons, Nick and Noah.
Rev. Emmanuel Jackson
Rev. Emmanuel Jackson
Emmanuel Jackson is head of staff and lead pastor of Living Word Lutheran Church, a thriving and vibrant ELCA congregation in the suburbs of Houston. As Lead Pastor, he oversees the spiritual health and vitality of the community, ensuring that Living Word remains focused on its God-given mission and vision. God first called Emmanuel to Living Word in 2008 as Associate Pastor, then in 2012 as Lead Pastor. He is gifted preacher and visionary; always exploring new ways to be church in a changing world. Emmanuel is a native Liberian who survived a brutal civil war, lived for 7 years in refugee camps along the West African coast, and migrated to the United States as a refugee in 2001. Emmanuel has a compelling life story that celebrates hope, the courage of the human spirit, and God’s deliverance. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Carthage College in Kenosha Wisconsin, and a Masters in Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Pastor Emmanuel is married to Annick and they have two sons, Rod and Matrix. He is also an avid sports fan who believes that “real football” is played with your feet, not with your hands.
Linda Folger
Linda Folger
Linda Folger is Executive Vice President for HUB International Southeast, Cary, NC, the seventh largest insurance and risk management broker in the world. Linda specializes in designing and managing insurance and risk management programs for non-profits, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, biotechnology/technology, and a wide range of miscellaneous businesses. She is a member of many professional organizations and has achieved the prestigious professional certifications of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and Certified Risk Manager (CRM). Linda is on the Board of Directors of The Miracle League of the Triangle, currently serves her church First United Methodist Church of Cary on the Board of Trustees, and is a group leader in the Western Wake Bible Study Group in Cary. Over the years, Linda has served on the Zoe Empowers Team at First United Methodist Church of Cary, organizing fundraising breakfasts and traveling to Africa on five occasions to visit Zoe Empowers groups. Linda Is married to Cleve Folger and has one grown daughter and a 10 year old granddaughter.
Mark McAndrew
Mark McAndrew
Mark McAndrew was raised in Kahoka, Missouri. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia, with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He is the retired CEO and Chairman of the Board of Torchmark Corp. Additionally, Mark serves on the Boards of The Samaritan Inn and the McKinney Education Foundation, both non-profit agencies.
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson is passionate about helping children “trapped” in generational poverty see themselves as change agents in their communities. He has been fortunate enough to make several trips to India and Africa to encourage kids and finds himself changed and challenged even more after every visit. Michael worked with PepsiCo for 22 years in a variety of management/leadership positions and is now working as a Client Alignment Executive for Netsmart Technologies in Overland Park, Kansas. He is very involved in the local community and also serves on the Board of The Kansas City Rescue Mission. Michael is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri State.
Stan Bradshaw
Stan Bradshaw
Stan Bradshaw serves as the Lead Director of First Busey Corporation, the holding company of Busey Bank, which serves markets in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Florida. He also serves as the principal of Bradshaw Capital Management, LLC, an asset management and advisory firm serving institutional investors and eleemosynary organizations since 1998. After 40 years in banking, Mr. Bradshaw has diverted much of his time toward charitable organizations, and in so doing, serves as the chair of the Bradshaw Charitable Foundation, which provides funding for empowering individuals via religious, educational, scientific research and social stewardship organizations.
Mark Konen
Mark Konen
Mark Konen has 35 years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to his retirement in February 2017, Mark Konen was President of the Insurance and Retirement Solutions division of Lincoln Financial Group and a member of the company’s Senior Management Committee, reporting directly to the CEO. Under Konen’s leadership, the life and annuity businesses realized record growth, achieved industry-leadership based on third-party rankings, and became recognized for product innovation and responsiveness. Additionally, as a member of Lincoln’s Investment Committee and Enterprise Risk and Capital Committee, Konen helped guide and monitor the Company’s $100+ billion investment portfolio, as well as the $140+ billion of assets managed by outside mutual fund companies within the variable annuity and RPS platforms. He resides in Texas.
Rev. Matthew Williams
Rev. Matthew Williams
Rev. Matthew Williams’ chief desire is to assist others in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. As a follower of Christ and an elder in the United Methodist Church, Matthew has served churches in Tallahassee and Pembroke Pines. He is presently the Senior Pastor of Lighthouse United Methodist Church in Boca Grande, FL — a hallmark congregation for missional involvement internationally, regionally, and locally. Upon answering the call to a vocation in ministry, Matthew quickly was drawn to missional initiatives. Matthew and his wife Joy are personally active in international and local missions both in and outside of the church. Under Matthew’s leadership, Boca Grande UMC has entered into a partnership with Zoe Empowers and Matthew visited Zoe Empowers Rwanda in June of 2017. He resides in Florida where he is viewed as a visionary leader in the Florida United Methodist conference.
Mike Mandl
Mike Mandl
Mike Mandl is Executive Vice President of Piedmont Healthcare, a private, not-for-profit organization serving nearly 2 million patients across Georgia. Mandl retired in 2016 after 13 years as Executive Vice President for Business and Administration at Emory University. He began his accounting and finance career at KPMG Peat Marwick, followed by positions at Duke and Penn. Mandl is a passionate supporter of Zoe Empowers, having seen the program in Zimbabwe and committed financially through his church. He has extensive board experience throughout his career and has already brought in a new partner to ZOE. He resides in Atlanta, GA.
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As a young child in rural Malawi, Suki Makalani had a good life. Her mother was a housewife, while her dad worked hard to provide for the family. She attended school with her three younger siblings. The family could afford to eat regular meals, wear clean clothing and maintain a fine home.
Life changed in the blink of an eye when Suki’s father fell ill. After a two-month stay at the local hospital, he passed away. Not long after, her mother also became sick, forcing her to become the head of her household at age 14. In an effort to make ends meet, she dropped out of school to sell vegetables in the marketplace. “Community members use to mock me at the market,” Suki recalled. “They’d say things like, ‘Look at her. Her dad died and now she has to sell vegetables’. It hurt me to hear those things.”
Despite feeling alone and discouraged, Suki kept working. Her bravery and strong will to persevere powered her through the dark times, times of uncertainty and pain. She prayed for a better life, the one she remembered before her father’s passing. In 2013, she received the opportunity to create the life she envisioned when she was accepted into the inaugural Zoe Empowers Malawi program.
Suki excelled in the program curriculum and quickly bonded with her empowerment group. Her charisma and bubbly personality began to surface. One year later, in 2014, she started her hair salon naming it ‘Aunt Yankho Salon’, meaning ‘the aunt with the answers’. Her maternal nature and desire to help has led her to be a mentor to many children in her community and in the Zoe Empowers program. Profits from her salon allowed Suki and her siblings to go back to school and invest in pigs and tobacco.
Suki stands proudly in front of her salon and cosmetic shops.
By the time she graduated from the program in 2015, Suki had saved enough money to construct a new home for her mother, whose health had improved, given Suki’s ability to provide regular nutritious meals and medication. She completed her secondary education and went on to college at Lilongwe Technical College, in the country’s capital city located about one hour from her home village. To avoid the cost of on-campus housing and to keep her salon business growing, she commuted back and forth for two years.
Suki working in her salon.
Suki received a degree in Rural and Community development in 2019. She is proud to now call herself a college graduate. In the same year she also added onto her business by opening a cosmetic accessories shop right next door to her salon business. Her two businesses require the help of one full-time employee and all three of her siblings.
Suki’s sister helps manage the cosmetics shop.
In 2019, Zoe Empowers Malawi staff agreed to bring Suki on as an intern. Her outgoing, positive spirit and love for life is apparent in every ounce of her being. The continuous cluster of community members gathered around her salon or shouting their well wishes as they pass by are a testament to their respect and admiration for her. As a 22-year old business woman and primary school dropout turned college graduate, she aims to be a source of light and voice of encouragement to children in the program and in the community.
“I want to remind them to not see themselves as down. They should see themselves as high, that they can do whatever they want,” said Suki. “Since I have suffered and changed, I want to encourage others to do the same.”
When she sees other orphans in her community, she prays that they, one day, can testify the way she can now testify. It is her wish to help more orphans by providing business capital. In the meantime, she will continue to run her businesses, intern for Zoe Empowers and seek out career opportunities in social work.
380 million children living in extreme poverty will rely on charity forever.
$8 a month can change that.
A monthly gift of $8 over 3 years empowers one orphan out of poverty. How many children like Suki can you give lasting sustainable change?
As a young child in rural Malawi, Suki Makalani had a good life. Her mother was a housewife, while her dad worked hard to provide for the family. She attended school with her three younger siblings. The family could afford to eat regular meals, wear clean clothing and maintain a fine home.
Life changed in the blink of an eye when Suki’s father fell ill. After a two-month stay at the local hospital, he passed away. Not long after, her mother also became sick, forcing her to become the head of her household at age 14. In an effort to make ends meet, she dropped out of school to sell vegetables in the marketplace. “Community members use to mock me at the market,” Suki recalled. “They’d say things like, ‘Look at her. Her dad died and now she has to sell vegetables’. It hurt me to hear those things.”
Despite feeling alone and discouraged, Suki kept working. Her bravery and strong will to persevere powered her through the dark times, times of uncertainty and pain. She prayed for a better life, the one she remembered before her father’s passing. In 2013, she received the opportunity to create the life she envisioned when she was accepted into the inaugural Zoe Empowers Malawi program.
Suki excelled in the program curriculum and quickly bonded with her empowerment group. Her charisma and bubbly personality began to surface. One year later, in 2014, she started her hair salon naming it ‘Aunt Yankho Salon’, meaning ‘the aunt with the answers’. Her maternal nature and desire to help has led her to be a mentor to many children in her community and in the Zoe Empowers program. Profits from her salon allowed Suki and her siblings to go back to school and invest in pigs and tobacco.
Suki stands proudly in front of her salon and cosmetic shops.
By the time she graduated from the program in 2015, Suki had saved enough money to construct a new home for her mother, whose health had improved, given Suki’s ability to provide regular nutritious meals and medication. She completed her secondary education and went on to college at Lilongwe Technical College, in the country’s capital city located about one hour from her home village. To avoid the cost of on-campus housing and to keep her salon business growing, she commuted back and forth for two years.
Suki working in her salon.
Suki received a degree in Rural and Community development in 2019. She is proud to now call herself a college graduate. In the same year she also added onto her business by opening a cosmetic accessories shop right next door to her salon business. Her two businesses require the help of one full-time employee and all three of her siblings.
Suki’s sister helps manage the cosmetics shop.
In 2019, Zoe Empowers Malawi staff agreed to bring Suki on as an intern. Her outgoing, positive spirit and love for life is apparent in every ounce of her being. The continuous cluster of community members gathered around her salon or shouting their well wishes as they pass by are a testament to their respect and admiration for her. As a 22-year old business woman and primary school dropout turned college graduate, she aims to be a source of light and voice of encouragement to children in the program and in the community.
“I want to remind them to not see themselves as down. They should see themselves as high, that they can do whatever they want,” said Suki. “Since I have suffered and changed, I want to encourage others to do the same.”
When she sees other orphans in her community, she prays that they, one day, can testify the way she can now testify. It is her wish to help more orphans by providing business capital. In the meantime, she will continue to run her businesses, intern for Zoe Empowers and seek out career opportunities in social work.
380 million children living in extreme poverty will rely on charity forever.
$8 a month can change that.
A monthly gift of $8 over 3 years empowers one orphan out of poverty. How many children like Suki can you give lasting sustainable change?
Group for group match extended until September 15th.
Partner or fundraise 1 full empowerment group ($8,000/year for 3 yrs.) + match = the lives of up to 200 orphans permanently transformed
Partner or fundraise ½ an empowerment group ($4,000/year for 3 yrs. + match = the lives of up to 100 orphans permanently transformed
Partner with an ENTIRE orphan family ($38/month) + match = 2 orphan families impacted (as part of a crowdfunded group)
Partner with ONE orphan ($8/month) + match = 2 orphans impacted (as part of a crowdfunded group)
“I am happy to give part of what God has blessed me with through ZOE. I am now empowered to help others in my community and beyond. I have learned that it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
As you may have heard, young entrepreneurs in the Zoe Empowers program in Kenya are determined to pay it forward and empower other orphans and vulnerable children through ZOE. These young people were living in desperate conditions themselves not too long ago, and now they have become financial partners!
We would like to introduce you to one of ZOE’s newest financial partners, Margaret. Margaret is a 21-year-old member of a third-year group in the Kenya program who donated to Zoe Empowers during the Thanksgiving celebration. We met Margaret in 2016, and she quickly impressed us with her joyful personality. She owned a hair salon at the time, and since then has opened a clothing boutique. Both businesses have grown since our visit.
What impressed us most about Margaret was her inner strength as a young woman. Her face lit up the room as she spoke with immense confidence. She shared that her parents died when she was only nine years old and she suddenly became the mother to her two younger siblings. She said, “I was always praying for someone to come and hold my hand.”
Margaret proudly noted that Zoe Empowers was instrumental to transforming her health and giving her confidence. Through ZOE’s program, she learned about her rights as a young woman and how to enforce them – this seemed to be especially important to her. One can only imagine how difficult it was for her to protect herself and her siblings while living on the street. Today, Margaret feels strong and she is respected in her community. She holds her head high and is so proud of her accomplishments.
Land Rights Matter
How Maggie found the strength to keep going is a miracle. After the death of her father, it seemed every day brought another hardship. First, it was simply getting enough to eat. Soon, her four siblings stopped attending school. Then the family’s shelter collapsed and an uncle took their ancestral land. No one was able to assist them as they spiraled downward. Living in a “house” they constructed from tattered cloth and working for nominal wages they merely existed.
Fortunately, those days are behind her, and Maggie offers this advice to those who want to help others: “Do not focus on our poverty but focus on our future.”
This is ZOE’s approach. First, guide the children to create a vision of their future and then provide tangible support so that vision becomes a reality.
ZOE taught Maggie about her land inheritance rights and helped her regain ownership of her property. She has learned the power of sharing her blessings and now employs a widow to help farm the land. She also raises pigs, chickens and rabbits. With supplies from Zoe Empowers and help from her working group, Maggie constructed a new home. By the end of her second year, she had three businesses: a barbershop, a salon and a grocery stand. This enables her to employ several young people from her community. Her siblings have returned to school and one sister will soon attend university.
Maggie is grateful for the resources and training, but she reflects, “The biggest thing the Zoe Empowers program has given me is respect and confidence.” Assets she will never lack again.
Henry – Zoe Empowers mentor and 2016 graduate. Trainer to countless orphans in Liberia.
“I am thankful to now know my rights so I can be equipped to stand up for myself and teach others.”
How do you measure empowerment?
There have been 72,270 children impacted by the Zoe Empowers empowerment model since it began in 2007. That number represents individual lives — lives that have been transformed in ways you and I can only try to imagine.
ZOE is deeply thankful to all of you who have helped transform 72,270 lives!
One of the greatest parts of my job is meeting the Zoe Empowers children and hearing their stories. They share stories of hope, transformation and incredible perseverance that inspires me. Zoe Empowers kids are seriously strong.
The part of their story that will forever bring me to my knees in humility is when they share what they are grateful for. They are most thankful for simple things I take for granted. They are thankful for the things I just plain miss as I go throughout my day. I will forever choke up each and every time I sit in front of a young man or young woman and watch their eyes light up as they express their gratitude.
Farming for a Better Future
With the help of a small micro-loan from Zoe Empowers, group members purchased rice seeds from a rural farmer and got to work – planting multiple plots of land they had acquired. Growing rice not only fulfilled their need for a staple food product, but it also served as a reliable source of income.
With each growing season came more confidence. And with more confidence came the ability for these young people to assert themselves into the community that once marginalized their existence. The community’s acceptance of their gifts and talents wasn’t instant, but as the rice farm continued to turn a profit and group members ventured into starting new businesses that catered to local needs, the concept of empowerment began to catch on. Respect for group members as leaders in the community began to take hold.
Today, the Ibyishimo Group’s rice farm operation employs more than 50 community members. Some of the Ibyishimo Group members still work their own plots, while others proudly hire out help for a fair wage.
When asked about the success of the rice farm project, Samuel said, “When we stand on our plots of rice, we feel resurrected. We thought we were going to die, but now, we are alive.”
Through the energetic demeanor and glittering eyes of Samuel and his group members, it’s clear the rice farm has produced much more than food, it has created purpose. And with purpose, has come both hope and expectation for an even better future.
Consolee's Story
“The happiest day of my life was meeting the Zoe Empowers staff and my group because that is the day I began to become human again.” – Consolee, Zoe Empowers Rwanda
You will find Consolee and her empowerment group in rural Rwanda once a month working the soil at their vast banana farm. The formal training from Zoe Empowers is now a thing of their past for the Igihozo Empowerment Group since graduating in 2015. What remains strong is their bond as a family along with the massive banana farm they have cultivated together as a group. The farm is so massive in fact that a private company built a banana manufacturing factory directly across the road.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Consolee and her three younger siblings were living on the streets begging for food not far from where they now harvest bananas yielding them about $800 USD each year as a family. Although they are now empowered leaders who are respected in their community, they will never forget where they once were. The memories of exploitation and abuse from their desperate need for a single meal will be etched in their memory forever.
Today Consolee’s dreams have become a bigger reality than she even dared to hope for. Consolee is the proud owner of a large restaurant and coffee shop in the busiest area among her urban community. Her prime location earns her a monthly profit of about $250 USD. She is also a newlywed and beams with pride for her siblings.
The success of Zoe Empowers graduates long after they complete their three-year program prove the lasting results that empowerment brings.
ZOE taught Maggie about her land inheritance rights and helped her regain ownership of her property. She has learned the power of sharing her blessings and now employs a widow to help farm the land. She also raises pigs, chickens and rabbits. With supplies from Zoe Empowers and help from her working group, Maggie constructed a new home. By the end of her second year, she had three businesses: a barbershop, a salon and a grocery stand. This enables her to employ several young people from her community. Her siblings have returned to school and one sister will soon attend university.
