coco's shop is talking about annie O!

Take a peak at what Heather has to say!

annie O. updates!

Come visit annie O.'s booth at the Green Festival this weekend in Denver!

"For people, business and the environment. Join us at the nation's premier sustainability event in Denver for 2 days filled with the best in green."

When? May 2nd, 3rd
Where? Colorado Convention Center 700 14th St. Denver, Co 80202
www.greenfestivals.org

& check out annie O's latest line of accessories at the Elevision eco fashion show!
When? May 6th
Where? The Boulder Theatre
"Titans of the New Tech: John Friend; Boulder Ballet; Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg; Paper Bird @ Wald the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis."
www.elephantjournal.com

annie O. heads to Rocky Mountain Yoga Conference!

ecco eco writes about annie O!

Impact of Income & Education

*SELF CONFIDENCE IMPROVES "Everybody said, "She's nobody." Today, she feels she is somebody. She can do things. She can take care of herself and her family."
*DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MAY DECREASE "as women earn money and become more confident, they get more respect. Domestic violence can be reduced."
*FAMILY PLANNING INCREASES Women who have bank accounts are twice as likely as the national average to use family planning practices. "When people start making their own decisions about life, they also start making decisions about the size of their families."
*BIRTH RATES DROP "everywhere, economic stability is the major factor that lowers birth rates. If extreme poverty is alleviated, families don't need so many children to earn money."
*INFANT & MATERNAL MORTALITY ARE REDUCED as education increases.
*NUTRITION, HEALTH, and LIFE EXPECTANCY ARE ENHANCED
*HOUSING AND SANITATION GET BETTER
*GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTS GROWS

Women & Poverty

* 1/5 of the world's population, 1.2 billion people survives on less than $1 a day: 70% of those people are women.
*No society treats women as well as it treats men. Women work longer hours than men in almost every country. Women earn less than men and have less access to land, credit, and employment opportunities.
*There are almost twice as many illiterate women in the world as illiterate men
*While more than 300 million low income women run micro businesses, only about 5 million have access to credit form sources other than money lenders.
*Worldwide, the invisible contribution of women is $11 trillion a year
*The number of rural women living in absolute poverty rose by nearly 50% over the past 25 years

Violence Against Women

One out of every three women worldwide will be physically, sexually or otherwise abused during her lifetime with rates reaching 70 percent in some countries. This type of violence and abuse ranges from rape to domestic violence and acid burnings to dowry deaths and so-called honor killings. Violence against women and girls is an an extreme human rights violation, a public health epidemic and a barrier to solving global challenges such as extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS and conflict. It devastates the lives of millions of women and girls--- in peacetime and in conflict --- and knows no national or cultural barriers.

We know that violence against women is an atrocious human rights violation that must be stopped. What many people don't know however, is that violence against women is also a major cause of poverty and a huge barrier to economic opportunity - it keeps women from getting an education, working, and earning the income they need to lift their families out of poverty. In Nicaragua, for example, a study found that children of female victims of violence left school an average of four years earlier than other children. In India a survey revealed that women who experienced even a single incident of violence lost an average of seven working days.

annie O. works with women who are often victims of domestic violence and strive to end violence to escape violence and poverty.