Beverly Ott standing with women from Togo.

By ANNE GREGORY
Media Relations, Manchester University

NORTH MANCHESTER — The public is invited to hear a Manchester University alumna who has been working for more than 25 years in Togo, Africa, to break the cycles of poverty through supporting individual initiatives for economic improvement and social growth. 

The Beulah E. Book Lecture Series presentation by Beverly Ott, “Poverty is Not Destiny,” is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in Room 101 of the Academic Center on the North Manchester campus.

She will talk about the mission of the nonprofit Exchange for the Organization and Promotion of Small Entrepreneurs, current events surrounding ECHOPPE and the history behind it. Afterward, there will be a small reception with the speaker.

Ott has spent her life reflecting the mission and values of Manchester University by improving the human condition, developing an international consciousness and strengthening communities.

Ott grew up in the Huntertown area. Her sister resides in Columbia City and serves as the main contact for ECHOPPE in the United States. You can find more information about ECHOPPE, here.

In 1990, Ott and her husband, Olivier Hauville, co-founded the nonprofit organization. ECHOPPE continues today, establishing financial stability and cooperative empowerment for more than 25,000 women in rural and urban Togo.

Currently, the two live and farm in Angers, France. While seeking ways to expand the mission of ECHOPPE, they operate a small enterprise, Terre et Terroirs. That project creates a parallel program with ECHOPPE as they work to get the products of small farmers into the hands of local entrepreneurs, which in turn helps protect local economies. They also graciously host current Manchester students in France.

The Manchester departments of modern languages and social work, the Peace Studies Institute and Program in Conflict Resolution, and the Office of Alumni Relations are collaborating to feature the 1980 Manchester graduate.

The presentation is free, but those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP here.

The “Beulah E. Book Lecture Series” is made possible by the generosity of Beulah E. Book, who established the I. Bruce Book Memorial Endowment Fund to further the study of language at Manchester. Book earned her bachelor’s degree from Manchester in 1939 and her master’s degree from Indiana University in 1952. She was an art teacher in Muncie schools for 40 years, retiring in 1978. She was a founding member of Art Education of Indiana.