Carol Schillios has been working in microfinance and development for the past 30 years. She’s worked in villages in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe facilitating cooperative development processes in microfinance to help communities help themselves. The consistent theme is poverty. Self help. Possibilities. Self-sufficiency.
Giving a hand UP not a handout.
While working in Mali, West Africa she and her Malian colleague, Kaaba Soumare formed a school for begging girl children who live on the streets. Carol and Kaaba both work in microfinance and community development so the partnership was inevitable. They saw frequent waste of resources from government and NGO funded projects and decided to demonstrate how people can make a difference. Real people. Grassroots people. No matter what their resources. They totally believed that with commitment and cooperation great things are possible, and they are both full-time volunteers in their Africa project.
What they saw
Mali, Africa is one of the poorest areas of the world; landlocked, with few opportunities for commerce. The area remains largely dependent on external resources ~ in fact, they are 80% dependent on external funds for their economic development.
They discovered incredible talents and resources among the street kids living in slums, begging for food to stay alive. These young people are creative, hungry to learn and want a better life.
What they did
Carol mortgaged her home, and formed the Fabric of Life Foundation with grassroots contributions. At the day school in Bamako, Mali, these young girls go from begging to self sufficient in about 18-24 months. They learn about health and nutrition, they learn how to sew, they learn business management skills and they start a savings account. After graduation, they become part of a marketing cooperative making beautiful products from the fabrics they dye. Carol opened her Fair Trade store in downtown Edmonds in 2008, totally volunteer run, to sell the products from their school.
Hi, I'm Carol. I'm living in a tent on the roof until 1 million people each donate $1 to the Fabric of Life Foundation and share how they are making a difference in their world.
