Women Who Hope: April

April is the Director of Others Trade for Hope, USA Eastern Territory. Having spent 29 years living and working internationally in health, education, community development and women’s empowerment in Jamaica, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, she has seen the strengths of women in many different cultural contexts and is privileged to be in partnership with them to fulfil their dreams. April has a Bachelors Degree and a Master’s Degree in Education, but her most valuable education has come from living and learning from others.

I lived and worked with The Salvation Army in Kenya for 20 years. An African proverb that I came to understand and love says, ‘If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with others.’

I have always found that hope shows up when people, especially women, gather together. I have learned from so many wise women, who through many difficult circumstances show a resilience and determination to not give up. I’ve been in the presence of great suffering, but also great joy and women have always been at the heart of it.

A wise woman in Kenya once told me, ‘my basket may look empty to some, but it’s actually very full – full of love, full of faith, full of friendships.’ So, I have tried to learn to walk slow, and walk with others!

Others is a Salvation Army initiative using fair trade principles to create jobs and contribute to empowerment and poverty alleviation. In work lies hope for a better future, a pathway to independence, and – not least – dignity and pride. Others is one of the ways in which the international Salvation Army today continues to create employment opportunities for people who would otherwise be at the back of the queue.