Jeannie Burns Buckner, a member of Alternative Worldwide’s Board of Governors, has lived all around the United States and Canada; she is a seasoned traveler; she studied sociology and anthropology. Because of the miles she’s clocked and her innate drive and curiosity, she has made connections—and commitments—throughout the globe that can influence generations to come back.
Associates of Jeannie’s first launched her to Alternative Worldwide. She was drawn to Alternative’s mannequin of figuring out these most in want, listening to their particular challenges, and providing options that create sustainable change—entry to coaching, monetary providers, and help. She and one among her daughters first traveled to Ghana to expertise the life-changing initiatives that allow folks residing in poverty to create a path ahead; since then, she has visited at the least eight Alternative international locations: “[Opportunity] helps folks enhance their lives [so they can attain] what’s essential to them,” Jeannie feedback—an announcement that underscores what we’ve realized over the past fifty years of service: as an illustration, microloan shoppers desperately wished to ship their kids to high school—training being a bedrock of transferring out of poverty—so Alternative launched our work in training finance to allow entry to high quality training.
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As her relationship with Alternative deepened, she grew to become a passionate advocate for our work in Nicaragua, serving on the Alternative Nicaragua board of administrators and training committee. With seemingly limitless power for tackling new initiatives, Jeannie expanded her work to incorporate supporting refugees in Uganda.
Uganda hosts the best variety of refugees in Africa and the third highest on the earth. About 94% dwell in settlements alongside native communities. Alternative works within the Nakivale Refugee Settlement, supporting applications that create financial empowerment and self-livelihood. We provide custom-made monetary training and work with refugees to safe formal financial savings accounts and dealing capital loans. To this point, over 7,000 folks have benefited from monetary literacy coaching; over 4,000 people have financial savings accounts or microloans.
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Jeannie acknowledged each the necessity and the potential for extraordinary influence in Uganda. She reached out to buddies and colleagues with a mission: a bunch of dedicated donors elevating funds for a particular space of want—the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Christened “Crew Buckner,” Jeannie began the group with 15 buddies—all ladies—and her workforce dedicated to elevating an formidable $896,500 over three years. Crew members launched the chance to their buddies, increasing outreach and welcoming others to hitch the initiative. The workforce held occasions each small and huge, and traveled collectively; throughout a visit to Uganda this spring, the workforce met with HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, who serves as Patron of Alternative Worldwide UK, and celebrated the opening of the Alternative Worldwide financial institution department within the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Alternative US augmented Jeannie’s management by offering property and digital connections together with a custom-made donation web page; Alternative UK supplied mission management and raised funds. As of the writing of this text, Crew Bucker has achieved 99% of their purpose.
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Jeannie has taken the time to develop her world view, “trying past” her life to households all over the world, different ladies working diligently to help their households below difficult situations. Jeannie has discovered such pleasure doing this work, connecting her family and friends to households which will look and dwell very in a different way than we do, however share the identical hopes, goals, and longings for wholesome, steady households. We’re deeply grateful for Jeannie’s imaginative and prescient—underscored by motion—to create influence in tangible and lasting methods.