The concept is simple, women get together for a potluck and then donate the money they saved by eating at home to DFW which, according to its website, uses 100% of donated funds for education, health, micro-enterprise, housing and other worthwhile projects benefiting women living in Africa, Asia and Central America.

DFW's report for August 2008 through August 2009 shows that they raised $259,890. This is not megabucks by some funding standards, but just look at what DFW funded:

• educational scholarships for girls in East Africa ($12,660);
• safe housing for exploited children ($13,872);
• micro-enterprise in Kenya ($17,449);
• housing and educational scholarships in Vietnam ($28,022);
• business training in Uganda ($53,143);
• livestock and training in Nicaragua ($16,440);
• obstetric equipment in West Africa ($15,092)
• hunger project in India ($16,562)
• self-sufficiency programs in the Congo ($10,698)
• basic education and vocational training in India ($53,143);
• training in Rwanda ($13,538);
• health services in rural Afghanistan ($15,220).

Keep in mind that these are all places where we don't need a huge amount of money to do a huge amount of good.

The current DFW project is the Darfur Peace and Development Project. According to the DFW, its gift of $15,000 will go specifically to that project's Darfur Women's Center. Imagine what it feels like to have to go outside a camp to collect wood for cooking, risking rape in the process. One inexpensive and immediate solution that has been targeted is buying small, solar-powered stoves for the women.

I am for anything and everything that empowers women. It's not that I have anything against men.  I don't. It's just that it seems that when we help women, we help everyone.

“Empowering women tends to lead to faster economic growth, which in turn tends to undermine extremism and reduce civil conflict. In addition, there's some evidence that countries that marginalize women tend to be more likely to have the macho values of a boy's locker room or an armed camp and are more prone to violence. Bringing women into the picture tends to result in more security.” Nicholas Kristof, co-author with Sheryl WuDunn ofHalf the Sky:Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide in an interview with The Seattle Times, Oct. 9, 2009

Or put more simply as I was taught, "As the women go, so goes the world." 

Jame Dedes