From South Africa to Appalachia, The Power of Resilience and Community

University of Kentucky News
Nov. 13, 2014
From South Africa to Appalachia, The Power of Resilience and Community

(excerpt)
Across continents, she's witnessed resilience in the face of hardship and the transformative power of community. In 2013 in South Africa, Newman worked with Black Sash, originally an anti-apartheid organization that now focuses on "know your rights" education. Working with the three national directors of the organization in a tiny, shared office, Newman helped with a little bit of everything -- from social networking to donor compliance -- and gained a broad view of non-profit management.

More recently and much closer to home, Newman worked with the UK Appalachian Center to arrange an internship with the New Opportunity School for Women (NOSW) in Berea. NOSW works to improve the financial, educational, and personal circumstances of low-income, middle-aged women in the Appalachian region. Twice a year, the school hosts a three-week residential program for 14 women, offering extensive career exploration and leadership development. Each participant completes an internship on Berea College’s campus or in the community, identifies job skills, builds a resume, and practices job interview and technology skills.

"It was one of the most powerful things I'd ever seen because just two weeks before, many women wouldn’t look you in the eye, and by the end they were giving speeches to 100 people," she says. "I think it's what happens in a lot of situations -- women have had their own hope and self-confidence taken away from them by events or abusers or society. At NOSW, we not only give them support and let them know we believe in them, but then in the classes they get to see for themselves that they really can do it. They see reasons to feel confidence in the themselves."

George Ann Lakes is a testament to the impact that the NOSW can have in the lives of the women it serves, and the generations that follow them. She graduated from NOSF in 1992 after her husband passed away and she wanted to earn her GED. Within a few years, Lakes had earned her bachelors degree and, at age 61, her masters degrees from the UK College of Social Work. Today, at age 71, she works part-time at NOSW....

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