Dana Dakin

2006 Winner – Economic Category
Age: 63
Hometown: Wilmot, NH

Inspired by the adage, life comes in thirds: the first third you learn, the second you earn and the final third you return, Dana Dakin, to commemorate her 60th birthday, traveled to Ghana to adopt a village and “return” by aiding women and girls with a microlending program. As a result of that trip, in 2003 she founded WomensTrust (www.womenstrust.org), a non-profit organization created on the belief that sustainable microenterprise, education and health programs focusing on women and girls, are the key to lasting change. Dakin engaged her community of Wilmot, N.H., in a grassroots, bottom-up approach to sharing their resources with the women and girls of Pokuase, Ghana, West Africa. She developed a new approach to address women’s poverty and illiteracy and connected two communities from different worlds, educating the members of those communities and stimulating a spirit of generosity and cultural exchange between the two. Today, the WomensTrust loan program provides small, four-month loans of $55-$222 to groups of four female entrepreneurs who are held accountable by each other and their commitment to the Trust for repayment. Repayment rates are nearly 90 percent with women eager to repay their loans in anticipation of the next, bolstering their small businesses and immediately using the profits to feed, clothe and educate their children. In its three years, WomensTrust has built a replicable model with microenterprise for women and scholarships for girls at its core that supports entrepreneurship, effectively and measurably impacts poverty, and builds relationships. The program began with 72 in 2003, and now serves nearly 500 women. It is expected to double by August 2007. Dakin has proven that any community has a chance to make a difference, one village at a time. As winner in the Economic Category, she embodies the spirit of Stand On A Better World.