Uma’s Sweet Success
In the heart of Chennai’s bustling streets lies a vibrant oasis called Nila Ice Cream. The small shop is owned and operated by Uma, 20, who spent weeks painting the walls in fun colors and celestial murals, hand-making decor, and procuring seating. Every detail she selected has intention and purpose. “I chose yellow for the […]
Priya Designs Her Dream
Priya becomes an award-winning designer. Priya was eleven years old when her father died. He had worked a modest job, and while his income had not been substantial, it supported a family of four living in Chennai, India. Priya’s mother stayed home while Priya and her younger brother, Gopi, attended school. After their father’s death, […]
10 Reasons Zoe Empowers is Unlike Other Children’s Charities
Zoe Empowers started as a relief-based organization with short-term, marginal results. In the early 2000s, the AIDS pandemic devastated communities in sub-saharan Africa, leaving hundreds of thousands of orphaned children in its wake. Globally, there was a push to donate to Africa, support orphan charities, sponsor an orphan, and fundraise for an orphanage. Zoe Empowers […]
Sheeja was a Grieving Daughter Looking for Hope
Sheeja was in school when she got the news: Her father had suffered a stroke. At first, Sheeja thought there had been a mistake. Someone had confused her father with another man. Her father was healthy. He had only just turned forty. He worked all-day shifts for as long as Seeja could remember. Sheeja and […]
Reversing a Cultural Narrative
When Sangavi was born, her parents considered her a curse. The firstborn daughter in an Indian culture overly concerned with producing male offspring, Sangavi was a disappointment and thought to be a considerable burden. So, Sangavi’s parents did what most other Indian parents would do: They conceived again, this time saying extra prayers for a […]
The number of orphaned children increases as the pandemic shows no mercy.
She was no longer known as Sangeetha. In the eyes of her “owner”, she was a product, not a human being. It wasn’t until Amara, a courageous and clever Zoe Empowers graduate, learned of Sangeetha and devised a plan to rescue her that Sangeetha became free.
From Lockdown to Enslavement
Although fighting the pandemic is far from over, the conversation within Zoe Empowers has already shifted to questions about the future: What new challenges will the most vulnerable children be facing now and in the future? After implementing a plan to support the children in the empowerment program who have been most impacted by Coronavirus […]
Nowhere to go: Street children cope with isolation orders
To control the spread of the novel Coronavirus, countries around the world have asked its people to stay inside to practice social distancing. Social distancing involves keeping space (6 feet is recommended by the CDC) between yourself and other people outside your home, avoiding large groups, mass gatherings and crowded places. The recommendation to social […]
When “Stay Home” Means Sleeping on a Tree Branch
The concept of staying home is simple—unless you don’t have a home. Then what? As rules and regulations surrounding COVID-19 protection are being issued, children who live in trees, latrines, fields and other public places are being chased away.
The Key to Gender Equality
When you sat down at your computer this morning, you didn’t think twice about typing in the Web address you wished to visit: email, news, social media, Zoe Empower’s blog. You simply typed it in, and within a few seconds, you were there reading, scrolling, clicking your way around. But, you would have noticed if […]