International Day of Rural Women - A Harvest of LEADERS

Ireen is very sharp and hardworking, but as a rural woman farmer in Chilenje, Malawi, she wasn’t given the tools or training to be successful in her business.

?Enter THRIVE.

?THRIVE taught women farmers in Malawi new ways to farm — like how to plant beans and potatoes together at the same time. Ireen was trained in soil and water conservation and learned she could grow crops all year long by using water from ponds on her property. And thanks to a small loan from VisionFund, World Vision’s microfinance arm, she could purchase higher quality seeds and fertilizer. Eventually, the community stopped cutting down trees, pruning them for fuel instead, which helped improve the soil.

?The farming group soon recognized Ireen’s gifts and elected her to become their leader. She leads five groups of farmers who cultivate individually but sell together. Working this way turns subsistence farming into a business. The community began to pull together like never before.

?“Everybody had been doing it on their own,” she says. “Now we would do things together.”?

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Ireen is a GREAT example of a rural woman who is a leader and who is transforming her community. We CELEBRATE Ireen and we know that when women like Ireen are empowered there is nothing that can hold them back.

To learn more about Ireen and her story, watch her video, and celebrate this strong woman, visit: Economic Empowerment | World Vision Philanthropy