Support Global GAIN This Giving Tuesday

Help me celebrate my birthday & #GivingTueday and meet some of the Rwandan Akilah Institute Intwari Women of Global GAIN. Join us on Facebook Live and YouTube Live Event November 30th at 8:00 am or watch after if you can't join live to see how inspiring they are and why I'm raising money to expand our programs there.

A message from GAIN Power founder, Amy Pritchard:

I love birthdays because I hear from family and friends all over the world. I also enjoy them because they are an excuse to draw attention to issues I care deeply about, hoping my friends might support them. My birthday, November 30th, falls on Giving Tuesday this year, so I have double the reason to bring attention to Global GAIN today.

Global GAIN (not to be confused with GAIN Power*) is a small nonprofit I started a few years ago. It was formed to support women leaders and projects in East Africa and engage my incredible network in international women's political representation and leadership. Our programs and contributions focus on gender equality, girls' education, women's leadership programs. We work to support women in civic life, democracy-building, and esp to encourage women to aspire to run for public office. Our pilot programs have been in Rwanda and Congo - and here in the US. We encourage feminist thought leadership. We fight misogyny, gender-based violence online. We build networks through mentorship, education, and leadership exchanges. Our board leaders are amazing women who do this full work time too. Here at home, we strive to connect women in politics and advocacy with like-minded women in the world to build a real and meaningful genuine relationship.

We have several small programs but two are incredibly close to my heart.

In Rwanda: Intwari Women are a group of self-named courageous young Akilah Institute students and graduates. Our program focused on giving young Rwandan women practical internships. We work to develop confidence, discover professional passions, promote political and civil participation in decision-making positions, create professional networks, and become global citizens.

Our first cohort completed, and several members are working to make these sustainable women's leadership programs. They are organizing the second cohort and creating a new local NGO called Ndoto Za Kike (Feminist Dreams). Several of them will join me for a live event on Tuesday, November 30th, at 8 am ET. It will be recorded for those who wish to watch it later.

The Ndoto Za Kike organization will create a regional hub for global women's leadership that showcases the Rwandan examples. Rwanda has become famous for its commitment and success with gender parity in political life. Ndoto Za Kike will be a physical and virtual center to encourage feminist thought leadership. Ndoto Za Kike will host international leadership retreats and exchanges online and in person.

In Congo: Monique's Children is our program to support DRC Home, a group home for single women and orphaned children in Beni Congo at DRC Home. You might wonder how an orphanage, gender equality, and democracy-building are connected. Five years ago, I had the privilege of working with the McCain Institute in Congo, training women to run for office. This particular group of women ran to bring attention and essential support to abused, abandoned, and indeed orphaned children due to ongoing war … a war few in the world pay attention too closely. Life in Beni Congo is like nothing most of my friends could imagine. I don't like to sensationalize things - and more importantly, I don't like to perpetuate negative images of Africa. I don't want to present myself as a white savior nor turn any friends into them. For these reasons and more, I'm conscientious and cautious about what I post about our work there. But sadly, Beni is worse than most places you can imagine, and the needs of the children there and the women who fight so hard to protect them are massive. Helping feed, house, and educate young children, especially the girls and the women who support them and work to change their circumstances through advocacy and politics, is a core program of Global GAIN.

My heart and work are focused on East Africa. Still, the Global GAIN network, social media accounts, and other programs/projects are global and engage women "GAINing" both here at home in the world. I'd love to have more friends a part of it. Thank you for your friendship & consideration! - Amy

Visit our website and follow our socials to learn more:

*GAIN Power is my similarly named but legally independent organization that focuses on supporting people who work in Democratic politics & Progressive advocacy and is not connected to Global GAIN.