Dana Dakin

Encore.org member Dana Dakin, who helps women in Ghana obtain microloans in her encore career, is featured in an interview posted on VibrantNation.com called “Helping Women Help Themselves.” The online site for women 50 years and older profiled Dakin for its “Vibrant Giver” section about members who have helped make the world a better place.

In the question-and-answer piece, Dakin explains that, like her friend Olga Murray, she would dedicate her life to a new purpose after age 60. Murray, 83, has rescued 4,000 girls from slavery in Nepal.

By the time Dakin turned 60, she had had a successful career in the financial world, and she decided it was time to give back. After reading Muhammad Yunus’ book about microfinance, Banker to the Poor, she decided to apply give small loans to women in Ghana, the country that had been the topic of her senior thesis in college.

Dakin sold her 3-year-old Volvo and founded WomensTrust in 2003. By the end of that year, her organization had made $2,022 in loans to 73 women in Pokuase, Ghana. Today the organization provides loans to more than 1,000 women, offers scholarships to help girls stay in school, and delivers medical care and supplies to local clinics. Its work has inspired other teams in California, Seattle and Pennsylvania to start three WomensTrust affiliate programs serving neighboring villages.

Clients of WomensTrust have proven the benefits of helping women to help themselves. Many have flourishing businesses that have enabled them to raise the standard of living for their families and their community. Some have hired other villagers and some have qualified for larger loans from local banks to grow their businesses.

Dakin is inspired by the progress WomensTrust has made and she’s committed to continuing her encore career. “There is nothing like taking on something challenging after building a bank of wisdom,” she says in the VibrantNation.com interview. “You grow faster than you’ve ever grown before. I believe that we’re in this life to evolve as far as we can, and that means getting over our fears and getting in touch with our generous spirit.”