Articles
Client Feature: Freedom from Hunger
Posted: 12.04.07 by to HP/HP
Freedom from Hunger, founded in 1946, is most famous for creating the groundbreaking Credit with Education model of self-help. The Credit with Education model pairs microlending with in-home learning; granting loans, and providing health and small-scale business training to impoverished entrepreneurs in the developing world.
More than 1.2 billion people currently live below the international poverty line — and most suffer from chronic hunger. By providing sustainable self help, Freedom from Hunger is working to end chronic hunger. And that is a side that Worldways is proud to take.
In 2005, Worldways helped Freedom from Hunger re-explore its brand potential. By working through the Healthy People/ Healthy Places Framework, we determined that Freedom from Hunger was in need of a brand that could appeal to vastly different audiences. Soon, two complementary brands began to evolve: the public brand, and the technical brand.
“Part of our work has included helping Freedom from Hunger develop its strategic plan,” says Mark Marosits, co-founder of Worldways. “Empowering women to help themselves and their families is only part of it. The lessons learned from their collective courage — and extensive technical documentation — helps other organizations replicate the work, ultimately reaching millions of women throughout the world.”
By producing brand materials in a variety of media, we’ve helped Freedom from Hunger connect with cause partners, donors such as the Gates Foundation, and others. We’ve also worked closely in developing an inventory of technical content, readily accessible from the Internet.
Currently, Freedom from Hunger is in a period of significant growth, which includes introducing two innovative self-help models. The Reach Initiative is a sustainable distribution model that scales up the range and quality of financial and non-financial resources available to self-help groups. MicroBusiness for Health will launch women in rural villages in a micro-enterprise to distribute high-impact affordably priced health-promoting products, like mosquito nets. The two models will expand in Mali, Ghana, Mexico, Peru and India over the next few years.
“Freedom from Hunger is a program innovator, synonymous with progress in women’s self help,” says Marosits, who currently serves on the Board of Trustees. “Our two organizations have a shared vision of a better world achieved through self-help and smart, creative solutions. We’re proud to take their side.”
Visit Freedom from Hunger at freedomfromhunger.org.