Nick Kristof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times wites of BOMA: “The Power of Hope is Real.” Mr. Kristof’s column summarizes a comprehensive, independent research study published in this week’s Science magazine and is summarized and linked by Kathleen Colson’s blog below:
“The Power of Hope is Real”
Just a couple of weeks ago, in honor of Mother’s Day, I wrote to you about BOMA delivering hope to 1,050 women living in extreme poverty in the drylands of Northern Kenya by enrolling them in BOMA’s high-impact poverty graduation program. Today, I am writing to share an aptly titled column by Nick Kristof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times: “The Power of Hope is Real.” Mr. Kristof’s column summarizes a comprehensive, independent research study published in this week’s Science magazine that underscores the importance and effectiveness of poverty graduation programs in successfully breaking the cycle of extreme poverty for those living on less than $1.25 a day. We are thrilled that Mr. Kristof and one of the authors of the Science magazine article, Dean Karlan of Innovations of Poverty Action at Yale University, identified BOMA as one of the key organizations successfully implementing a poverty graduation program. We are honored by this validation of our approach and our commitment to graduating women out of extreme poverty. Through our unique poverty graduation program, the Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP), we have been delivering hope to some of the poorest women on the planet in some of the hardest to reach areas in Africa. REAP helps these women acquire new skills and establish a sustainable business and savings so they can feed their families, pay for medical care and send their children to school. To date, you have helped us lift more than 50,000 women and children out of extreme poverty! Join us as we deliver hope and a pathway out of extreme poverty to 100,000 women and children by 2018.
In gratitude,
Kathleen Colson Founder and CEO