Many of our graduates would not have had the opportunity to study at Coady without the support of donors. By giving these community leaders an opportunity to study at the Coady Institute and share their experiences with other development professionals from around the world, they are able to enrich their own ability to make a difference in the lives of their fellow community members.
1999 Coady Graduate
Smruti Shaw
Community leaders like Smruti Shaw have been able to attend the Coady's campus-based programs because of the generous support of donors. Smruti graduated from the Coady Institute in 1999 with a Certificate in Community Community-Based Microfinance. She is now the manager of rural operations at the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad, India. Each day, she works with some of the poorest women in her country. The organization she works with supports the struggle for basic rights and the social and economic development of India's poor, self-employed rural women. Smruti is responsible for helping SEWA expand its services into several rural areas. As a result of her work, more and more impoverished Indian women benefit from programs dealing with such things as savings and loans, housing finance, life insurance, work security and maternity benefits.