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News and Updates
WE NEED AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR WOMEN An Oxfam Paper
Achieving women’s economic empowerment in an increasingly unequal world Women’s economic empowerment could reduce poverty for everyone. In order to achieve it, we need to first fix the current broken economic model which is undermining gender equality and causing...
Current updates
Great efforts to help the youth in Uganda
Great efforts to help the youth are coming out of compassionate hearts following the pandemic in Uganda. The pandemic caused a lot of changes in the lives of so many millions of people. In Uganda, they closed borders, schools and activities in an effective effort to...
Burkina Faso: nearly 2 million people displaced amid worst food crisis in a decade
Nearly one in ten people in Burkina Faso are displaced by conflict. Even more worrying, the rate of severe food insecurity has almost doubled compared to last year, with more than 600,000 people in a food emergency in this lean season, alert 28 international aid organizations. An urgent increase in funding for humanitarian assistance is needed to respond to the current situation which equals the severity of the emergency in Ukraine.
Meet the Billion Acts Heroes Who are Changing the World
The Billion Acts of Peace award winners who are working to better the world and making a difference for marginalized people, those in poverty, political issues and more.
Rural Women and the Millennium Development Goals to Alleviate Poverty and Hunger
Initiatives to Establish When Alleviating Poverty Successful economic empowerment - the kind that generates an income, builds self-worth and hope which improves the quality of life - requires understanding and commitment to the work. It includes new approaches to...
Aiding Women and Girls in Burkina Faso
Women and Girls in Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked, Sub-Saharan country in West Africa. Of the 20 million people residing there, 50.3 percent are female. Women and girls in Burkina Faso are likely to suffer from sexual or violent assault, experience forced...
Ballwin resident receives global award for nonprofit work
Local Ballwin, Missouri resident receives the Global Hero Award for her humanitarian work empowering women westnewsmagazine.com/2016/06/17/68200/ballwin-resident-receives-global-award-for-nonprofit-work In 2011, after leaving a missionaries’ conference in Africa,...
When God Calls You, Trust that He will Equip You
The rain was beating against the window and as I squinted looking through I could see the trees bending in the storm and I wondered what damage may remain once the storm passed. It was Good Friday, 2012 and I was getting the last laundry and packing done for the...
Life in African villages. Even the youngest have work to do.
Life in African villages. Even the youngest have work to do. Western life is often far removed from what most of the rest of the world experiences. It is easy to think of other people's lives being similar to our own until we really see how they live. I would like...
Small Business School Classes on hold
We are looking at options for Lighting the Path to offer additional business classes to assist people who would like to learn how to start their own small business. With COVID and restrictions, we are not doing classes at this time, but will resume at some point....
The Story of Benkadi
Lighting the Path has educated these women in business and production skills to form a small enterprise. They learned how to make soap, how to market and sell and then formed the Benkadi Women’s Association. The word Benkadi is the Jula word for “sisters working together in harmony”.
The Women’s Aid Fund
The Women's Aid Fund was established when one of the women we were working with needed a prosthetic arm. There was no way she could afford this and we saw that this would make a huge difference in her quality of life. Medical and special needs hinder the quality of...
The Moringa Tree Project in Kimini
11/18/20 Update - Due to the terrorist activity in Burkina Faso, travel to the region is banned and this project is on hold. 11/2/17 Update - Still looking to acquire land11/16/15 UPDATE - Three additional water wells were...
St. Louis Projects
Lighting the Path is helping individuals explore their talents and teaching skills to immigrants, refugees and marginalized populations to provide a product or service to market.
Yaya’s Story of the Walker
You do not always see the benefit of your work, but sometimes you do get that joy! In my experience, most times in life you let God lead and you follow trusting that you are doing His will and other rare times it becomes so obvious that God used you for a specific...
The School for Young Women and Teens in Niangaloko, Burkina Faso Update
Update 9/24/2021! The walls are going up on the Tech center building! We are fundraising for the sewing machines, weaving looms, soap making supplies, and furnishings! If you are inspired to help these girls, please consider supporting these efforts! A Sewing...
THANK YOU FOR JOURNEYING HERE
It is 9:30 am and already close to 100 degrees with the hot sun beating down. We shade our eyes to watch our foot placement as we walk the rough dry terrain of the paths to the remote huts where the people live which make up the members of the village. We...
THE FEET OF A WOMAN NAMED POKO
Venturing out to the villages in Africa reminds me of the scriptures describing Jesus and the disciples walking from city to city. You are walking in the hot sun with little or no water available. The hot wind blows dust and sand into your eyes and it sticks to any...