Women’s Empowerment International (WE) will host a community-wide event to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and the achievements of first-generation women entrepreneurs in San Diego on March 10 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave. One of thousands of IWD celebrations being held worldwide, this event is free and open to the public. Attendees can register, get directions and more information at www.womenempowerment.org.
Brandi Powell, multimedia journalist at NBC-San Diego, will serve as guest mistress of ceremonies. Attendees will meet recipients of microfinance loans and business consulting services provided by WE, the International Rescue Committee, Accion San Diego, ErasePoverty and PCI Global. They will learn how microfinance moves women toward financial self-sufficiency in San Diego and internationally.
There will be samples of delicious ethnic dishes prepared by first-generation women chefs from East Africa, Mexico and Iraq, and a fresh-produce market of sustainably grown vegetables and fruits grown by local urban women farmers, many of them refugees. There will also be an international bazaar with unique imported jewelry, fashions and decorative items. International entertainment will be provided by the San Diego Women’s Chorus and more.
IWD has been observed since in the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.
Principal event sponsor, San Diego’s Women’s Empowerment International, is a 501(c)(3) organization that works in partnership with nonprofit agencies and “banks for the poor” with the goal of helping the 2.5 billion people in the world who live on $2 a day or less. Founded in 2003, WE has engaged in five partnerships and is currently working with Grameen de la Frontera in Sonora, Mexico; Adelante Foundation in Intibucá, Honduras; and WomensTrust in Ghana. It also partners with the International Rescue Committee to provide business loans and services for low-income women through the WE Center for STAR Women in City Heights, and with PCI Global in the creation of a new village savings program in San Diego.
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