Ready to Binge Watch Solutions? See Women in Action!
Ripple’s creative team of topflight photographers and filmmakers has produced more than 50 short videos featuring innovative solutions for women and their children. We are honored to work with aid organizations that are truly changing the world.
© Lynn Johnson | Ripple Effect Images
The Ripple Effect
Women in developing countries are the best investment the world can make. Ripple Effect Images is a team of world-class journalists working to document the programs that empower women and girls around the globe.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Mapping Survival
Against the wishes of tribal elders, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim’s mother made enormous sacrifices to send her daughters to school in the capital city of N’Djamena. They regularly returned to work the land with the nomads, learning their centuries-old culture, caring for cattle, and helping women and girls move from one settlement to another in search of water and good pasture.
Over the years, she observed Lake Chad, once one of the largest lakes in Africa, shrinking significantly and threatening the livelihoods and survival of more than 30 million residents. Access issues were further exacerbated by ongoing conflict and insurgency, and land grabs by farming and fishing operations.
Moved by the suffering and uncertainty experienced by her people –the Mbororo pastoralist community of Chad– she leveraged her education to become an environmental activist and geographer. Today, she brings together farmers, fisherman, and herders from more than a dozen African ethnic groups, to capture their ancestral knowledge and spatial information in an attempt to bring peace to the region.
This is the story of how a nomad in Chad, while advocating for the rights of her community, has become a leader in the fight against climate change and a voice for Indigenous people across the planet.
Program: Piplantri | India
For Every Girl, a Forest
A decade ago, the village of Piplantri, India, was barren, denuded by open-pit mines. But a community promise to plant 111 trees for every newborn girl has led to mass reforestation and a promising future for girls. In return for the trees planted, each girl is promised education and security in a region where historical prejudice against infant girls too often led to infanticide.
Program: Pardada Pardadi | India
Fly Like a Bird
When she was growing up, Shaheen Bano always wanted to pursue education, but community pressure forced her away from school. Now that she has daughters of her own, she is determined to give them the opportunities she was denied. They will join thousands of other girls in Anupshahar, India, as students at Pardada Pardadi Educational Society. There, every girl receives quality education, nutritious food, and a savings account to help them jumpstart their lives after graduation.
Made possible through the generous support of Ripple donors
Program: Fundaeco | Guatemala
Free to Dream
In Guatemala, 1,500 underage girls are married every day. Mayra Maquin Pop was one of them. Because of her forced marriage, she could not graduate from school, and was constantly denied opportunities. But she stood up and got help from FUNDAECO. Now that’s she’s free, she is helping educate the next generation about their fundamental right to be free from violence and abuse.
Made possible through the generous support of the Summit Foundation
Program: Coincidir | Guatemala
Out of the Darkness
For Damaris Lopez, school was the worst part of her day. A shy girl, she was relentlessly bullied and eventually dropped out. She’s not alone – over two million in Guatemala do not attend school, mostly girls. Fortunately, COINCIDIR works locally to empower young girls and get them invested in their education by tackling the root problems of Guatemala’s dropout rate. They focus on girls who feel excluded and provide education on self-esteem, reproductive health, and financial independence.
Made possible through the generous support of the Summit Foundation
Program: GoJoven | Guatemala
Let Girls Be Girls
Guatemala’s underage pregnancy rate is so severe that a quarter of all children are born to adolescent mothers. What follows is chronic poverty, lack of education, and abuse. GoJoven, an organization advocating for adolescent reproductive health, uses grassroots organizing to advocate for changes to Guatemala’s child marriage laws and to educate young women about their rights.
Made possible through the generous support of the Summit Foundation
Program: PACT | Myanmar
We Can Do It Too
Achieving financial independence is an uphill battle for women in rural Myanmar. But women are teaming up in extraordinary ways to lift themselves out of poverty and invest back into their communities. Working with the award-winning micro banking program, WORTH, a subset of PACT Myanmar, they gather in groups to start communal savings banks, elect leaders, receive financial training, and start small businesses, all while strengthening their social connections and ability to bring about change.
Made possible through the generous support of Sony
Program: Operation ASHA | Cambodia
The Last Mile is the Longest
In Cambodia, the monsoon season can isolate entire communities on islands for months at a time, cutting them off from medical services. In a country dealing with an alarming tuberculosis crisis, this is a recipe for disaster. Thankfully for the people of Cambodia, the dedicated health workers of Operation ASHA travel by foot, by motorcycle, and even by boat to bring cutting-edge tuberculosis care to the most isolated communities.
Made possible through the generous support of Sony
Program: Solar Sister | Tanzania
Light. Hope. Opportunity.
In Africa, women are using business and clean energy to transform lives. These women are Solar Sister entrepreneurs. Three quarters of Africa’s population live without access to modern energy, but by helping local women launch clean-energy businesses, more women in more places have the opportunity to bring energy to their communities.
Made possible through the generous support of The George Family Foundation
Program: UNHCR | Jordan
The Water Wheel
Syrian-American composer and pianist, Malek Jandali, created a beautiful piano solo to draw attention to the plight of Syrian refugees everywhere. Portraits by Ripple photographer, Lynn Johnson, accompany this inspirational piece that has been performed at Carnegie Hall and at the Skoll World Forum.
Made possible through the generous support of THe Hunt Foundation
Program: Stoveteam International | Guatemala
Estufa Mejor, Vida Mejor
The single biggest killer of women and children under age 5 is indoor smoke from heating and cooking fires. StoveTeam International works with rural communities to provide safe cookstoves and job opportunities, saving lives with each unit sold.
Made possible through the generous support of The George Family Foundation
Program: Solar Electric Fund (SELF) | Benin
My Fat Baby
Women in rural Benin used to watch helplessly as food sources dwindled and children went hungry during the annual dry season. The Solar Electric Fund (SELF) taught them how to move water from wells to gardens, using solar power and drip irrigation, creating gardens year round. The work is hot and backbreaking, but there is so much joy in these gardens and the results are worth it—health, independent means, security and community.
Made possible through the generous support of Ripple Donors
Program: Solar Sister | Tanzania
Sister to Sister,
Stove by Stove
Smoke from cooking fires causes more than four million deaths per year and is the single leading cause of death for women and for children in the developing world. Over 2,000 Solar Sister entrepreneurs sell clean cookstoves and solar lights, helping in the fight to eliminate millions of deaths each year due to indoor smoke inhalation.
Made possible through the generous support of The George Family Foundation
Program: Mothers2Mothers | Kenya
HIV-Free Generation
Mothers2mothers (m2m) is an African-based organization at the forefront of global efforts to eliminate pediatric AIDS. Through one-to-one counseling and health education, mother2mothers has had tremendous success in creating healthy futures for mothers, their families, and communities.
Made possible through the generous support of Ripple Donors
Program: BRAC | Uganda
I Am Fine
BRAC’s program in northern Uganda offers education and a safe haven for women and girls in rural Uganda, especially those who are victims of early marriage and abuse. Tapaje Primary School helps to nurture them and their children back to confidence and independence.
Made possible through the generous support of The George Family Foundation
Program: WaterAid | Uganda
WaterAid Uganda
Lack of clean water is a devastating health issue in urban east Africa. Through a system of wells and women-run distribution centers, Water Aid is easing the burden.
Made possible through the generous support of Ripple Donors
Program: TIST | Kenya
5 Million Trees
TIST empowers a rapidly expanding group of women farmers in Africa to counteract the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation, poverty and drought through an innovative yet simple solution: planting millions of trees.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Church World Service | Kenya
Holding Water
Of the 1.1 billion people worldwide who lack clean water, 300 million live in Africa. Collecting water becomes a tremendous burden for women and girls. Church World Service’s Water for Life program alleviates this need by installing sand dams, an inexpensive solution for drought-stricken communities.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Friendship | Bangladesh
On the Fringe
When Runa Khan saw that climate change was eroding away land in Bangladesh, she decided the best way to help people was to outfit a ship as a floating hospital. But that was only the beginning…
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Church World Service | Kenya
State of Grace
Mary Okeyo is a saint. On behalf of Church World Service, she visits the neglected in Kenya dispensing food, pain medicine, and intimate care for women who have been largely forgotten.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
In the Hands of Women
It’s been proven that, when poor women are provided any opportunity, they will pay it forward to benefit their children, families, and communities. Acclaimed Ripple photographer Lynn Johnson shows us how she uses photography to honor and give back to the women she documents.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: CARE | Peru
480 Votes
CARE Peru taught Lourdes Pilco the veterinary skills she needs to sustain her livestock through extreme temperature changes now a part of reality in the high Andes. Lourdes can now afford to give her children the most precious gift of all: an education.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Solar Sister | Rwanda
The Business of Light
In sub-Saharan Africa, only 5% of the rural population has access to electricity. Solar Sister is teaching women in Rwanda to become solar saleswomen, creating a brighter future for all.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Jal Bhagirathi | India
A Drink in the Desert
The Marwar desert of India is one of the driest places on earth. Jal Bhagirathi’s mission is to reintroduce ancient, renewable water systems that are cleaner and more bountiful through the driest seasons.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Pardada Pardadi | India
Ten Rupees
In much of India, girls are undervalued and are often not educated. Pardada Pardadi has come up with a unique and powerful way to encourage families to send their daughters to school.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Rwanda Girls Initiative | Rwanda
The Girls of Gashora
When a girl spends 7 or more years in school, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children than those less educated. An educated girl invests in her family, community, and country. The Rwanda Girls Initative has created a state of the art secondary school, The Gashora Girls Academy, empowers girls with leadership skills that will have a lasting impact on their world.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Under Water: Climate Change in Bangladesh
Women in Bangladesh are watching their homes and land literally fall into the sea, as climate change causes oceans to rise and populations to flee urban areas. In this powerful film, award-winning photographer Ami Vitale shows the very real consequences of global warming.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Help a Woman, Help the Planet
Multiple studies have some that, when poor women and girls are given an opportunity, they will pay it forward to their families, communities, and countries. They are part of a Ripple Effect that can save the planet.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Heifer International | Peru
Bit by Bit
Heifer Peru taught Elizabeth Villanueva Diaz, a single mother in the highlands of Peru, how to transform her experience herding alpacas into a new opportunity – one that she has paid forward to the women in her community.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Chintan | India
The Pile
Chintan’s mission is to provide support for the thousands of poor Indians who survive as trash pickers. Chintan has helped them organize, receive government support, and, most importantly, get children off the pile and into schools.
Made possible through the generous support of The Harbers Family Foundation
Program: Heifer International | Peru
In this House
Heifer Peru’s Healthy Homes program gave Sofia Arivilca the tools she needed to build the first home of her life in the highlands of Peru. Sofia has gone from being homeless to being a leader among other women in her community.