Quota International of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Empowerment Development Program for Disadvantaged Women

Collaboration was the key to Quota International of Kuala Lumpur's successful Club-to-Club project in 2006. The club worked with the Women's Aid Organization (WAO) and capitalized on members' strengths and interests to offer a comprehensive array of services to 65 women in crisis situations: battered wives, unwed mothers, abused migrant domestic workers, and trafficked women.

The activities addressed the needs of both the women and their families, including skills training, building self-esteem, and identifying healthy ways to deal with stress. After hosting a get-to-know-you tea party, Quotarians offered ongoing craft courses, taught the participants to sew and make paper, jewelry, and other crafts that could be sold for a profit, and provided computer courses to teach the women how to write job applications and resumés and build their proficiency in Microsoft Office applications to strengthen their qualifications.

The women also had opportunities to relax and enjoy themselves through workshops on skin care and make-up, yoga, line dancing, and baking. Meanwhile, they could be sure that their children were receiving excellent care—Quota funded training in teaching elementary reading for three WAO teachers. In complementing the WAO's services to the women and their families, this Club-to-Club project provided women not only a refuge but an opportunity to build the skills to transform their lives.

• To read about the Kuala Lumpur club's 2007-2009 Club-to-Club project, click here.

• If you wish to donate to this project, please click here.
  
  
• To learn more about Malaysia, click here.
  
  
• To return to the Club-to-Club World Service page,
  click here.