OIC International is announcing staff additions and is excited to introduce two new members to our organization, Dewardric L. “D. L.” McNeal and Christina Yantis.

Dewardric L. “D.L.” McNeal joins the Executive Office of OIC International as the Director of Global Strategy and Policy.  He will be responsible for evaluating market size, competitors and industry structures, and making recommendations to senior management to assist in the development of OICI’s goals and priorities. In addition he will be responsible for managing the development of OICI’s strategic plan, in collaboration with McKinsey and Company, and ensuring its implementation.

Before joining the senior staff at OIC International, Mr. McNeal served three years as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia and China Country Director at the United States Department of Defense.  He was appointed to this position by President Obama in May 2009 after serving on the 2008 Obama for America Campaign’s Asia Advisory Team.  Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he spent four years as the Assistant Director for International Programs at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies from Morehouse College and also studied Chinese politics, culture, and language at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Nanjing University in China.

Christina Yantis joins the Finance team as the Grants and Contracts Compliance Specialist.  Christina is responsible for overall support for general grants and contracts administration, including grant/contract data management for field offices and financial reporting for the Ghana office and programs, among many other duties within the Finance Department.

Prior to joining OICI, Christina spent four years with the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA).  At CEDPA, she worked as a Senior Accountant in the Finance Department, and later as a Grants and Contracts Specialist.  She provided financial and compliance technical support to all staff engaged with a project’s lifecycle.  She also developed cost proposals for USAID and other funders in collaboration with program and business development staff, prepared internal and external project financial reports, monitored and revised project budgets and ensured compliance with donor requirements.  She was responsible for a range of cash management functions, along with providing financial and operational support to field offices.  Christina holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Gettysburg College.

I appreciate you joining me in providing a warm welcome for D.L. and Christina.

With excitement,

Crispian Kirk

Dear OIC International Supporter,

A young woman in Ghana sees a magazine cover. She sees Iman in a business suit, and it inspires her to be a strong woman like her. But she knows her family can’t afford to send her to train as a seamstress. This is where the power of OIC International begins.

This young woman wants to study textiles and sewing and maybe even own her own small sewing business. She’s dreaming big. She even dreams of sewing for the next inspiring African supermodel. But she can’t without your help.

Put power in her hands right now. In Ghana, our trainees in our textiles classes learn to make beautiful, quality clothes. Literally $100 helps us provide a sewing machine and sewing classes for a young woman to help her provide for herself and for her family. Imagine giving this gift of power.

Help us help her dream big.

Sincerely,

Cripsian Kirk

Dear OIC International Supporter,

In 2010, OIC International President & CEO, Crispian Kirk, and a group of OICI team members spent four weeks in Africa with a camera crew and filmmakers. Their mission was to capture the OIC International story: who are the people behind the projects? Who is OIC International?

The people they encountered and the stories they brought back were truly breathtaking. From the remarkable perseverance of Sam Boateng in Samsam, Ghana, to the spirit of Pindavi Chiduwa and the women of the Tagona Peanut Butter Factory in Zimbabwe, the stories they were told spoke of endurance and strength, compassion and commitment.

The unifying message of everyone they met was: Tell our stories. Tell what we’ve been through, what we’ve accomplished—and how OIC International has helped.

These faces, these stories, these people are OIC International.

In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be sharing their stories with you and soon, you’ll be able to see them yourselves with the release of the incredible footage Cris and his crew caught.

Keep an eye out—these are stories you have to hear.

Sincerely,
OIC International

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mrs. Grace Banks Sullivan, who passed away peacefully on March 15, 2011 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mrs. Sullivan was the wife and life partner of OIC International’s founder, Reverend Leon H. Sullivan.

In his book Moving Mountains, Reverend Sullivan described his wife as thus:

My wife “Amazing Grace” whom I could never credit or thank enough shared my vision and my struggles, walking with me every step of the way. As a mother, wife and helper, she has no equal… For all important things achieved in this world, there are those who pay a special price, and this is true for Grace Sullivan. No one will ever know the sacrifices she made in standing by me and helping me with all the things I have attempted to do. As I zigzagged across America and the world it was Grace who maintained a home, cared for our children, and in untold ways made it possible for me to continue on… Neither I nor the world will ever be able to repay the debt that we owe to Grace Sullivan. Without her, the things we were able to achieve would never have been done.

Born in Maryland in 1924, Mrs. Sullivan graduated from Beaver College with a B.A. in Government and History and an M.A. in Education and Leadership. She founded and developed the Philadelphia Miniversity, an education program for adults that required no educational prerequisites, and also served on the boards of the Public Broadcast System, the William Penn Foundation and the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH).

Mrs. Sullivan is survived by her three children, Julie, Hope and Howard, as well as seven grandchildren, Charlie, Leon, Chelsea, Elisabeth, Grace, Matthew and Saige.

On behalf of OIC International and our affiliates around the world, we are deeply saddened by the loss of Mrs. Grace Banks Sullivan. Please join us in remembering and honoring Mrs. Sullivan, who as an initial and longtime supporter of self-help was integral to OIC International’s mission and work.

Sincerely,

Crispian Kirk

After 14 years of civil war, Liberia is in a serious food crisis. Seventy percent of the population is solely dependant on agriculture for their food production, but even 5 years after the war has ended, Liberia’s infrastructure and economy are still feeling its devastating effects.

Women and children feel the brunt of this crisis as the struggle to provide food and sustainability for the households becomes increasingly difficult. Pregnant women are especially in need of nutritional aid, but 85 percent of Liberians have no access to healthcare.

OIC International has developed the Health, Agriculture and Nutrition Development for Sustainability Program (HANDS) to try to eliminate the current food gap and nutritional deficit—greatest among women and children–in the most food insecure parts of Liberia. This program will achieve long-term benefits as it helps Liberian women and men to help themselves with training and vocational programs, business development, and the distribution of soy flour and soy beans.

As we attempt to grow these struggling economies, we ask for your help to support our efforts and campaigns like HANDS, a program that will benefit over half a million Liberians, many of them women and children, over the next five years.

To learn more about this crisis and see how you can help, visit oici.org.

Sincerely,

Your OIC International Team

P.S. Women and children are feeling the largest effects of a food crisis brought on by 14 years of civil war in Liberia. Support our efforts to help these communities thrive again by visiting oici.org today.

2010 was truly a remarkable year. Women-farmers around the world, in Haiti, Ghana, Liberia, and dozens of other countries, took a stance to change their lives and the lives of their families. Many of them had the opportunity to do so because of the support you gave to OIC programs in these countries—opportunities these women-farmers took full advantage of.

Now, at the beginning of a New Year, we have an even bigger resolution: to make 2011 the Year of the Women-Farmer. That means giving more Women-Farmers the Opportunity for Ownership, the Opportunity for Empowerment, and the Opportunity for Change. Many of us made resolutions on January 1st. While these resolutions might fade, we’re asking you to follow the example of the Woman-Farmer: 365 days of resolution.

What exactly do we mean by that? With your support, Women-Farmers can achieve their resolution to better their families, farms and lives. Not just on 1/1/11, but every minute of every day. With your support, we can truly make 2011 the Year of the Women-Farmer. That means redoubling our commitment and our efforts to help Women-Farmers gain the skills, knowledge and resources to help themselves, their families, and their communities. In Liberia, we are helping women-farmers commercialize their soy produce through HANDS (Health, Agriculture and Nutrition Development for Sustainability Program), an initiative that will benefit over half a million Liberians over the next 5 years. In Haiti, we are reaching out to women-farmers who lost their homes and farms in the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the island in January.

With your continued support, we will be able to maintain and expand our skills training programs to teach Women-Farmers innovative growing, processing and marketing techniques, helping them generate more product and profit.

All they need is a chance. Your donation today will help us give it to them.

Thank you for your consideration,

Your OIC International Team

PS—Women-Farmers have resolve. All they need is an opportunity. Make it your resolution to give them the Opportunity to create real Change in their lives. Donate today .