via SavvySugar.com

Yesterday’s Oprah show featured authors Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, authors of “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.”

The state of women internationally is a key focus of Anne of Carversville. Our concerns go far beyond the moral questions of allowing 40% or more of the world’s women to languish in the most unbelievable poverty and degraded, abusive, hopeless situations.

We also believe that empowering women is a positive step against terrorism and international security challenges. The Taiban and Al-Qaeda openly argue that women belong under burqas. For certain, millions of women will return to a life worse than that for women of the Dark Ages.

We know that women’s economic progress and education are deeply tied to progressive thought and moderate political/religious views in the developing world.

Go to Oprah.com’s new For All Women Registry, to find organizations referenced in “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.”

Listen to America’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Oprah.com.

One note about Kiva.org. The very successful organization previousy promoted the idea that the donor and recipient were directly tied in a one-on-one relationship, similar to those promoted by organization that focus on “saving the child”.

A recent blog article and followup piece by the NYTimes shed a spotlight on Kive.org, who has since changed its message so as not to suggest that we are choosing the exact project that is funded. In “Half the Sky” Kristof references the specific projects he and WuDunn have funded through Kiva.org, but this is an illusion.

To date Kiva has lent $100 million and insists that their project hasn’t been negatively impacted by the scrutiny spotlight. Read: Confusion Over Where Money Lent on Kiva Goes NYTimes

Anne of Carversville supports the Grameen Foundation, as the most trusted microloan giver with a long track record of success. Go to Grameen Foundation to read about the fantastic work of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the father of microfinance and social entrepreneur in Bangladesh. Grammen is now global, even opening two offices in America, one in Queens, New York and the other in Omaha, Warren Buffett’s hometown.

Almost a year ago, we first posted this amazingly simple video “The Girl Effect”. Without a single photo, only words and symbols, it’s one of the most effective videos I’ve ever seen. Please watch. Anne

The Girl Effect