When Leslie Sager visited Kenya in 2012, she learned of an unhealthy, dangerous practice known as female genital mutilation. Incredibly, almost every young girl in Kenya is subject to this unnecessary practice.

 

“In Kenya, the belief is that you’re not a woman until after female genital mutilation,” says Sager.

 

In subsequent trips to Kenya, Sager vowed to help inspire an alternative right of passage for these girls, but it would take education and resources. With her background that includes an undergraduate degree in social work and a Master’s in design, Sager helped develop a program to promote the sale of baskets made in Kenya. In 2016, she began marketing the baskets, providing a stream of revenue for these families that leads to better education and no unnecessary surgery!

 

The organization is known as Merry-Go-Strong via https://www.merrygostrong.org.

 

The Tenant Resource Center distributed $8 million dollars in rental assistance in 2023. Those federal funds helped people stay in their homes by getting apartment owners paid. The non-profit organization provides services both to tenants and landlords.

 

There are a great many issues related to housing disputes, with the TRC fielding 11,000 calls in 2023. In addition, there were 4,800 drop-in visits to the Center.

 

Mary, who is president of the Board, says there are a variety of ways to help the TRC accomplish its mission of serving people’s housing needs:

For more information, see https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/