Bud Lilly's Daughter "Empowers" Kenyan Girls

“Micro finance” is one of the more interesting tools driving local economies in third-world nations, allowing those living without property to borrow money. Anne Pettinger writes about Annette Lilly Russ‘s “Just One Person” program, which uses micro finance and also trains secondary schoolgirls on topics ranging from family planning to computers. “Most of Russ’s clients in western Kenya were women, many of whom were widows struggling to provide for their families. They would receive $100 unsecured loans, and as each loan was repaid, the women, who mostly worked as vendors, were able to borrow more. ‘Micro finance gives women an opportunity to generate income,’ Russ said. ‘It’s a solution.'”