Right Sharing of World Resources
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) is an independent Quaker not-for-profit organization sharing the abundance of God’s love by working for equity through partnerships around the world. RSWR gives grants to groups of marginalized women in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and India to fund individual micro-enterprise projects. Right Sharing’s work is grounded in a sense of stewardship for the world’s material, human, and spiritual resources. Website: rswr.org.
- Right Sharing of World Resources October 2024
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) builds global equity by offering educational opportunities focused on sustainable and just life choices and by partnering with womens’ groups in Guatemala, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone to support group members’ micro-enterprises.
The women’s groups that partner with RSWR name and define their own goals for both their individual businesses and their communities. With support from RSWR country coordinators, these groups often seek to build stronger communities for all, not just those in their group.
In late October, several country coordinators and U.S.-based team members will travel to the East and West coasts of the United States to visit among Friends. RSWR’s social media and emails will contain further details.
In January 2025, RSWR will convene their team in India for a Country Coordinator Consultation. This is an opportunity for the RSWR team to learn from one another and continue to refine RSWR’s programs.
RSWR is transitioning to new leadership, as the outgoing general secretary, Jackie Stillwell, steps down at the end of 2024 after serving for ten years. The new general secretary, Traci Hjelt Sullivan, will begin her term in January 2025 with an opportunity to meet the entire RSWR team in India.
Continue reading → - Right Sharing of World Resources April 2024
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) builds global equity by offering educational opportunities focused on sustainable and just life choices and by partnering with womens’ groups in Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Sierra Leone to support group members’ micro-enterprises.
Key in the administration of RSWR is the work of the country coordinators who support the women’s groups in naming and defining their own goals. RSWR partners often emphasize the goal of sharing and building a stronger community for all.
The RSWR grant program is evolving due to shifting needs in partner communities. To better respond to the changes, RSWR country coordinators will spend more time training individual groups prior to applying for funding and will provide more technical support after women have started their businesses.
RSWR’s new program in Guatemala, started in 2023, trained four groups on group dynamics and self-esteem, as well as financial concepts such as savings, interest, and loans. They will receive intensive training from COOSAJO—a credit union and RSWR’s partner in Guatemala—that will go in depth on how to run a business.
Continue reading → - Right Sharing of World Resources October 2022
Right Sharing of World Resources (RWSR) offers microgrants to women’s groups in Sierra Leone; Kenya; and Tamil Nadu, India. The women’s groups offer training on small businesses before each woman receives a loan. As the women pay back their loans, with a low rate of interest, the money is kept by the group to loan out to other women.
Following discernment, RSWR has decided to expand into Guatemala as a new partner country. According to the World Bank, the level of poverty in Guatemala is great, at 59.3 percent. There is a strong Quaker presence in Guatemala with some 20,000 Friends. The three yearly meetings and the FWCC coordinator for Latin America (Karen Gregoria) are centered in Chiquimula. Local Quaker women are forming women’s groups and wanting to organize for social action much in the same way when RSWR began partnering with women in Kenya.
General Secretary Jackie Stillwell has been visiting with yearly meetings both in person and online. This summer she gave the plenary online at the Friends General Conference Gathering and attended Ireland Yearly Meeting in person. This fall she will lead “The Power of Enough” workshop online. This workshop asks: How is my use of time, energy, and things in right balance to free me to do God’s work and to contribute to right relationships in our world?
Learn more: Right Sharing of World Resources
Continue reading → - Right Sharing of World Resources April 2022
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) has been working to redistribute resources to women’s groups in India, Kenya, and Sierra Leone. The three-year Match Challenge, which welcomed over 450 new donors into the Right Sharing family, was a resounding success. It has made it possible for Right Sharing to expand into a country in Latin America, while partnering with more women’s groups in India and Africa. The countries of interest for program expansion are Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Peru. The RSWR board is meeting in person at Quaker Hill in Richmond, Ind., this spring for the first time since October 2019. At that time, the board will discuss which new country will be RSWR’s new partner, hopefully deciding by October 2022. RSWR general secretary Jackie Stillwell will be a plenary speaker at the Friends General Conference Gathering. She will share her spiritual journey of resistance and obedience, reflecting on the Gathering’s theme, “…and follow me.”
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Continue reading → - Right Sharing of World Resources October 2021
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) works to redistribute resources to women’s groups in India, Kenya, and Sierra Leone.
When the Board expanded its strategic planning this year, it discerned that RSWR is clearly inspired to work in another country, probably in Latin America. RSWR will soon be seeking letters of interest from nonprofit groups that would like to invite RSWR to partner with their current programs.
General secretary Jackie Stillwell has continued her virtual visits with yearly and monthly meetings and hosted a workshop called “The Power of Enough” at the FGC Gathering. This workshop asks the question: “How is my use of time, energy, and things in right balance to free me to do God’s work and to contribute to right relationships in our world?”The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact partner countries, particularly India, where the second wave resulted in another economic shutdown. In response to the advice of Indian field representatives Dr. Kannan and Mr. Purushotham, the Board agreed to send another round of food aid to help 3,000 RSWR partner women in India. It was distributed by partner NGOs directly into the women’s bank accounts, so they could shelter in place during the lockdown.
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Continue reading → - Right Sharing of World Resources April 2021
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) works to redistribute resources to women’s groups in India, Kenya, and Sierra Leone.
In 2020, the board began strategic planning by exploring the legacy of empire and colonialism in RSWR’s work at home and with partner countries. With the guidance of Lisa Graustein, a New England Yearly Meeting Friend with experience in noticing patterns of oppression and faithfulness, RSWR staff and board members examined: “What are our values and core beliefs? What have our actions been? In what ways might our core values be in conflict with the way we facilitate our programs?” Through self-inquiry exercises, staff, field representatives, and board members are noticing invisible cultural habits and finding new ways of moving forward together.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit RSWR partner countries very hard. RSWR projects carried on by being as flexible as possible. As partner women’s businesses were affected by lockdowns and economic restrictions, RSWR donors responded with food aid for all 2018- and 2019-funded groups to carry them through the quarantine months. Later, additional funding was provided to women’s groups that needed help restarting their businesses after the lockdown was lifted. COVID-19 training was added to the business training offerings in all partner countries.
RSWR hired a new assistant field representative in Sierra Leone, a position that will allow more time for monitoring and supporting funded groups.
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Continue reading → - Right Sharing of World Resources October 2020
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR), while continuing to provide business grants to women’s groups during the global economic downturn, has pivoted to respond to the changing needs caused by the pandemic. When lockdowns were instituted in partner countries, field representatives partnered with the board and donors to send emergency food aid to more than 2,500 women. Additionally, masks and sanitary supplies were sent to remote villages in response to local needs.
In October 2019, RSWR celebrated a historic moment with its first Field Representative Consultation. Field representatives from India, Kenya, and Sierra Leone were able to attend a board meeting and meet with the board and staff in Indianapolis, Ind. They also visited several monthly meetings and individual Friends on both American coasts and in the Midwest. The consultation provided a valuable opportunity for field representatives to share best practices, challenges, and successes from each of their distinct countries, and to envision the future of RSWR programs.
This year RSWR is visiting Friends virtually. General secretary Jacqueline Stillwell is offering a “Power of Enough” workshop, as well as sharing information about RSWR programs overseas.
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