ABOUT WHOLE WOMAN NETWORK
WWN History & Timelines
December 2010: The first of many WWN Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA), aka “SUSU/ESUSU” groups, was formed. The pooled funds were leveraged as startup capital and to support and empower survivors of domestic abuse within our community.
January 2011: WWN started the โThe Healthy Lifestyle Clubsโ. The inaugural session was held at the Richmond Hill Public Library, Ontario. Subsequent monthly sessions were held at the Meeting Room in Loblaws (Bayview & High Tech Road), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The program includes the Healthy Steps walking clubs and nutrition sessions facilitated by a team of subject matter experts (Naturopaths, Doctors specialized in Women’s Health, Nutritionists, Fitness Experts, etc.)
July of 2011: WWN launched the โInspired Readingโ Book Club, where members recommend & vote on book choices weekly to the community. The Book Club mobilized funds via ROSCA, which provided over 2000 copies of novels, leadership, entrepreneurship and inspirational books (sourced from individuals, libraries and thrift stores in Canada) at discounted rates to women in Lagos, Nigeria and Monrovia, Liberia. This enabled them to kick-start sustainable business ventures as mobile booksellers/vendors, offering affordable fee-based book loaner programs in their communities.
January of 2012: WWN formally introduced their acclaimed Financial Literacy and ESUSU/SUSU* Saving Programs for women and ingeniously delivered these workshops directly in the homes and businesses of their target population, using the popular home party model employed by successful direct sales companies.
July 2012: A few months after successfully running sessions and batches of their Financial Literacy and ROSCA (SUSU)* Saving Programs, respectively, they launched their ROSCA Matching Funds and Peer-to-Peer (P-2-P) Lending Programs for Women.
January 2013: WWN got its first Angel Investor and has 13 Angel Investors to date.
July 2013: WWN began expanding its group coaching and training programs.
January 2014: WWN launched the first group real estate investment club for its members (ROSCAs for Real Estate).
January 2015: WWN obtained its first private partnership grant and completed its first series of international leadership training for 500 women and girls.
April 2015: (On International Poetry Day), WWN launched the Poetry4Change initiative on 105.9 FM, The Region radio station, anchored by one of the Co-Founders.
January 2021: After the pandemic, WWN introduced channel management services to invest in and support women in the food sector by facilitating the distribution of their products to a network of ethnic grocery stores nationwide.
June 2023: WWN piloted its first financial literacy program for Students and Youth (FLY – Financial Literacy for Youth).
CLIC Program
January 2024: WWN formally incorporated a distinct Co-operative entity – Whole Women Network Worker Co-op (WWN Co-op). This federally incorporated non-share Co-operative harnesses the power of ROSCAs (SUSUs) for culturally informed financial literacy, collective investment and economic freedom.
Since its inception, WWN has continued developing proprietary leadership frameworks, blueprints, and training programs based on community research and evidence-based and culturally informed approaches. The focus is to provide a cooperative platform as a bridge and catalyst by engaging, educating & empowering leaders (in particular, equity-denied and underrepresented women and youth at home and in the diaspora) to live with purpose, passion and power and transform their communities with dignity, autonomy and sustainability. s
Our Values
WHOLENESS
โTo drop into being means to recognize your interconnectedness with all life, and with being itself. Your very nature is being part of larger and larger spheres of wholeness.โ โ Jon Kabat-Zinn
INTEGRITY
โWe learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters...that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.โ โ Michelle Obama
ACCOUNTABILITY
โAccountability and self-responsibility are critical to our success in personal, professional and public life. However, we often look for those character traits in others, rather than inculcating them in ourselves.โ โ Vishwas Chavan
COMMUNITY & CO-CREATIVITY
โThe greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. Compassion and courage co-create positive change.โ โ Coretta Scott King
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE & EQUITY
โโExcellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives โ choice, not chance, determines your destiny.โ โ Aristotle
GRATITUDE & PASSION FOR LIFE
โGratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.โ โMelody Beattie