How to Graduate Women INTO Poverty in Africa: Kathleen Colson at TEDxManchesterVillage

A graduate of St. Lawrence University and the Kenya Semester Program, Kathleen Colson is now the CEO and Founder of The BOMA Project, an organization that seeks to implement long-term solutions to climate change and drought in the arid lands of Africa where millions lack food, water, livelihoods, healthcare, and safety from ongoing conflicts. BOMA's Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) replaces food aid with a sustainable income so that women and their dependent children can survive drought, feed their families, pay for school fees and medical care, and accumulate savings for long-term stability. In just four years, The BOMA Project has launched 1380 businesses and 175 savings associations that provide an income for 4668 women and over 23,000 dependent children. Kathleen has worked in the safari business for over twenty-five years and has worked on behalf of numerous African organizations -- from orphanages and water projects to school and elephant conservation programs. She undertakes several extended trips to East Africa every year.

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