Sister Table Talk

Resilience is the ability to recover from adversity. For women facing economic instability, it’s not just about bouncing back; it’s about rising stronger, becoming more determined, and having a clearer vision for the future. The SOFEI Group knows firsthand how resilience transforms lives by empowering women to overcome challenges and redefine their success stories. The Power of Resilience in Overcoming Economic Instability Women facing divorce, spousal abandonment, job loss, domestic violence, and health decline often experience economic instability, which can be overwhelming. However, resilience is the foundation for recovery and growth. It empowers women to adapt, learn, and persevere - even with insurmountable challenges. Consider Monica (name changed for privacy), a participant in one of our workforce development programs. After losing her spouse during the pandemic, Monica became the sole provider for her family without support and a safety net. With resilience and a readiness ...

The landscape of social policies, government programs, and the intersection of reproductive rights and economic assistance has become increasingly complex. The adjustments in the Farm Bill , which affect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, spotlight a paradox that significantly impacts women, particularly those of lower socio-economic status. Two significant policy shifts have emerged that disproportionately impact poor and low-income women and children: the reduction of their reproductive rights and the elimination of SNAP benefits. This paradoxical approach undermines their autonomy and heightens economic and social inequalities. The Right to Choose: A Fundamental Freedom Under Threat The right to choose is fundamental for women's health and autonomy. Restricting this right forces women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, which can have severe implications for their physical, emotional, and economic well-being. For many women, especially those in ...

Financial literacy is an economic empowerment mechanism for women and families vulnerable to the cycles of poverty. As an FDIC Money Smart Alliance Member, The SOFEI Group equips women and adults with resources and knowledge to help them make informed financial decisions to create their pathway to financial independence and stability. When women learn how to budget, save, manage debt, and invest, they will make informed financial decisions that will crush the growing trend and cycle of poverty that limits their economic mobility. Please visit Moneyed Women to learn more and share with women who want to take control of their financial futures.

Divorce can be one of life's most challenging experiences for women, but it's also an opportunity for growth, self-discovery, and starting anew. For many women, navigating the aftermath of a divorce can feel overwhelming; however, with the right mindset and support, women can emerge and be ready to embrace a new chapter in their lives. In this blog post, we'll explore empowering steps to help women rebuild their lives after divorce and embark on their journey of healing and personal reinvention. Allow Yourself to Grieve - The end of a marriage is a significant loss, and it's essential to permit yourself to grieve. Allow yourself to feel the full range of emotions that come with divorce, whether it's sadness, anger, or confusion. Seek support from friends, family, or a therapist who can provide a listening ear and help you navigate this emotional journey. Focus on Self-Care - During this challenging time, self-care becomes more important than ever. Make time for...

Love is a powerful force that can infiltrate light in the darkness and melt the hardness of a cold heart. It is a force that is supposed to represent God's love on Earth through relationships. However, when people do not understand the purpose of love, they abuse it! They ask people to do things to prove their loyalty and love that is contrary to God's purpose and His love. On the other hand, when Jesus died on the Cross, He did so to express His unconditional love for humankind. He knew the shedding of His blood on the Cross would be the final time blood would have to be shed for our redemption from sin. Jesus did not shrink or go into hiding. On His journey, He would step away for restoration to continue his ministry and mission. But Jesus never went into hiding because He was clear about who He was, who He was serving, and why He was serving. Today, many women are in relationships where they have chosen to shrink instead of allowing their love to illuminate b...

An increase in cyber attacks validates the growing need for skilled cybersecurity professionals. And hiring cybersecurity experts to mitigate cyber attacks is not a budget item for many businesses. However, helping employees gain cybersecurity skills (i.e., protecting people from harm and tracking the culprits who compromise their data) and certifications may be an effective way to address cyber attacks when they emerge. The online CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway Bundle with Labs course is a building block to earning cybersecurity certifications. Employers like the federal government and Fortune 500 companies value CompTIA as an authority in cybersecurity certifications, and upon successful completion of this course, students can sit for the following exams: CompTIA FC0-U61: IT Fundamentals CompTIA A+ 220-1001 (Core 1) and CompTIA A+ 220-1002 (Core 2) CompTIA N10-007: CompTIA Network+ CompTIA SY0-501: Security+ CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CSA+) CompTIA CAS-001: Ad...

A husband would never have to ask his wife to submit if he’s submitting his will to God. And, it’s quite challenging to surrender your will to a man who doesn’t know his mission for God, his life, and family. God called man to be the head (leader) of his family; not the boss! There is a difference. When husbands recognize and acknowledge God’s will for them to lead like Jesus led, (i.e., without coercion, but by example), their family will follow with honor and respect; without resistance.

Having access to statistics about the status of women (especially minority) is great. However, it would be even better if women of color would use data to collaborate and harness their power to change the trajectory of the economic conditions that lingers among women of color. Over the next few months, The SOFEI Group will host community forums addressing the question, How We Get Here? to discover the underlying causes that negatively impact the lives of women throughout the Washington region. We will seek and encourage input from the community-at-large, social change agents, politicians, spiritual leaders, and subject matter experts. Following are topics we will discuss during the forums: How We Get Here? – Why black women and their issues are ignored in politics? - Source: Status of Black Women in Politics How We Get Here? – Black women 16 years and over has experienced the highest unemployment rate among all other ethnic groups since 2007. - Source: The African American Labo...

Women of color spend a great deal of time tending to the needs of immediate and extended family members to prevent them from dealing with the consequences of their choices. Women will: Mortgage their homes to prevent a loved one from going to jail. Expend their retirement to prevent foreclosure or pay for college. Become a custodian to their abandoned or neglected grandchildren. Decrease their savings to pay their children’s expenses to keep their lives afloat. Stepping in to tend to the needs of family members every time they experience a set-back, doesn’t help them become accountable or responsible for their choices. It teaches them to stay on the path of self-destruction because they know they have access to a reliable source that will catch them before they fall. Every one can’t be saved from the consequences of their choices. Part of the growth and healing process is to learn from the error of our ways. So if they’re old enough to get into a ‘pickle’ let them grow up to get...

When you hear the word poverty , what's the first image you see or your first thought? Women and children in an impoverished country or women with polished nails holding a sign for help? If you could help a group of women living with poverty, which group would you choose and why? Poverty is more than having more bills at the end of the month than money. It's extreme, situational, institutional, or generational; making it difficult to create pathways to economic independence, wealth, and stability. When we seek support or investment in our work to decrease the trend of poverty amongst women throughout the Washington region, we often receive a plethora of reasons of why we shouldn't help them because their level of poverty isn't as severe as women experiencing poverty in other countries. A local pastor stated, You haven't seen poverty until you've been to a country where people have to drink and bathe in dirty water. Now, that's poverty. What we have h...

When women stop seeking validation and approval from men, their equity will grow. Some women dress seductively for men. Wear heels for the approval of men. Buy hair and make-up for men. Quit their jobs for men. Surrender their will to men who don't surrender their will to God. Live under the pretense that man knows what's best instead of God. Should women who live subjectively to men expect equal treatment? According to Genesis 1:26, God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and to let them have dominion over every living thing that creeps on the earth . And, according to Genesis 1:27 , "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." These verses share how God equally created men and women in His image to have dominion over the earth in our own distinctive roles. If women grasp hold of this knowledge, maybe women will seek equality through the Image of God instead of man.

A fourteen year-old boy was stabbed to death in an effort to protect his mother from her live-in boyfriend. According to numerous sources, Prince George’s County has the highest rate of domestic violence cases in the state of Maryland; despite its recognition as one of the most affluent counties for African Americans. The mother praised her son for his efforts to protect her when she spoke outside Potomac High School – where her son attended. She described her relationship with her live-in boyfriend as a friendship and stated, “I think sometimes you never think that helping someone will end up in this matter.” Our paraphrase, she never thought her efforts to help someone would result in her son’s death. John Chapter 5 talks about a pool called Bethesda where sick people laid in wait for an angel to stir the pool water and whoever stepped in first would get healed from whatever disease they had. A man lying by the pool with an infirmity for thirty-eight years caught Jesus’ attent...

In 1996, The SOFEI Group started in the apartment living room of its current Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO) under the umbrella of Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. The organization’s foundation was spiritually and biblically-based because the CEO discovered the challenges many women faced stemmed from how they viewed themselves and their lack of faith and belief in a Being higher than themselves; not because of limited access to resources. We set our heights to empower women to transform their lives by transforming their minds through biblically-based fellowships and our quarterly newsletter - Inspirational Expressions. As we evolved, we realized we lost focus on our spiritual core. What was true at our origin stands true today; women cannot achieve or be their greatest without knowing their true power. Unfortunately, this power has been decreased to sexuality and looks, and this power isn’t sustainable like our innate power during seasonal challenges. Oprah Winfrey states, “Everyo...

God instructed The Prophet Elijah to travel to Zarephath (a city of Sidon) and dwell with a poor widow to escape drought and a grievous famine in Israel. When Elijah arrived in the city, he saw a widow woman gathering sticks and he asked her, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.” And while she was going to get the water, he asked her to bring him a morsel of bread. Her response, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah’s response, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’” The poor widow woma...

"I only take classes my job pays for." "If my company wants me to stay, they should pay for my training." "As soon as I get my MBA, I’m out of here!" "I only enroll in workshops or classes that are free." If your company pays for training, who’s investing in your professional development, you or your company? If your company pays, what do they get in return? If you pay, what’s the ROI (Return on Investment) for your growth and development? Imagine hiring a contracting company that specializes in home renovations showing up at your doorstep without the skills, tools, or resources to perform the job. Would you pay for the training and resources the contracting company needs to complete the job? Or, would you hire another contracting company equipped with resources and expertise to meet your requirements and deadline to renovate? Corporations are discovering better ways to yield returns on their resources and investments. And unfortun...

Two homeless women contacted The SOFEI Group for housing assistance after eviction from an area shelter. Housing homeless women and their families is not part of our mission; however, we sought assistance (temporary housing, food, and pampers) from area organizations, churches, and people on their behalf. Following are responses to our request: Why were they evicted? Are they tithing members of a church? They must be irresponsible women to be evicted from a shelter. Why can't they move to another shelter? I don't believe in giving my money to people that don't want to help themselves. Why can't they go and stay with relatives? All responses were valid and The SOFEI Group decided to provide temporary housing and food for these women because they were wandering the street with their children in tote. And, it was discovered their eviction wasn't a result of their carelessness, but their refusal to attend substance abuse (alcohol or drugs) counseling sessions manda...

Right into doing something we’ve never done before – host a Zumbathon® Charity Event! Since we’ve been out of the lime-light, we thought hosting a Zumbathon® would be a fun way to reconnect with friends and supporters, and make new ones. We’ve supported Zumbathon® events to benefit heart disease and ovarian cancer. And one-year later we’re hosting our own to benefit women experiencing poverty in the Washington region. The Zumba® Corporate Office approved our Zumbathon® Charity Event within two-hours of submission - a process that normally takes two-business days, and within four-weeks, only 10% of our desired participants have registered. Lesson learned, we’re doing something we’ve never done before and its success can’t be measured solely on who showed up; but, on our commitment to work and move the weight of poverty off the shoulders of women who live with it daily right in our backyard. Not achieving the desired results from this plunge will not stop us from doing it agai...

My parents raised me different. My parents told me, "Make sure you can take care of yourself," and I do. These women need to stop lying on their backs, making babies they can’t take care of. I’m not giving my money to support lazy women that don’t want to work. These statements are from single mothers who were approached by The SOFEI Group to help us achieve our mission of empowering women to economic independence. The single mothers were divorced, widowed, and a sole parent with a strong support system. What’s interesting is how proud they were to share their distinction without knowledge of our current and prospective clients. It will be impossible for women to thrive as a cohesive unit when we’re moved so swiftly to divide. Why talk about the wage gap between men and women or any other gaps that supposedly prevent women from progressing, when women allow social, political, financial, or ethnical differences create wedges? Many women who have experienced or are ...

Okay, it’s been weeks, months, maybe a few years and you still haven’t found a J.O.B. If your job search strategy has primarily been behind a computer pushing emails and electronic resumes, your resumes are probably being added to thousands of job seekers in a virtual recruitment center being daily purged by the delete button. Which means your livelihood is somewhat in the hands of a virtual recruiter with the power to move your resume forward or prevent it from reaching your desired destination – the decision maker who can hire you. Let’s face it, unemployment can stink, but it can also be a sweet aroma when you decide to use this experience as fuel to take charge of your life in spite of the economy! You’ve heard the saying If It’s Going to Be, It’s up to Me. That’s right; it’s going to be up to you to create your own path to financial freedom. Not the government, politicians, Mama, Daddy, Pookie – You! Here are a few suggestions to make it happen: Develop a winning attitud...