At this point we have learned that philanthropy can be found just about anywhere. Those who care and strive to spread joy and positivity throughout their daily life will find a way to do so no matter where they are financially, physically or even emotionally. But what about creating a thriving non-profit from the seed of an idea to a self-sufficient system? This week’s incredible guest did just that across the world!  Join Michelle and Fatou Doumbia in a conversation about how to turn a simple idea into a thriving reality. 

Fatou Doumbia was born in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and was raised in Ouelessebougou, the biggest village of Mali at the time. Growing up, her favorite thing was to be outdoors, playing in the rivers. She moved to the US in the 90’s with her then husband who had received a scholarship to study in the states. After seventeen years in America, Fatou returned to Mali and saw that it was not the Mali she remembered. Fatou found that women had been pushed out of work, society, and families when large-scale, industrial corporate farms took over. As a result, these women no longer had the means or opportunity to provide for their families. Women were turned away from schools, homes, and villages when they became pregnant or acted in ways believed to be inappropriate. Some were even physically abused by their own family members. It was that guidance that led Fatou to found AGILE International, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to fight injustice by securing land, water and energy for rural women farmers in West Africa. AGILE International was created by a Malian woman for all Malian women providing the means to stand up and provide for themselves.