Story highlights UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Connie Britton tells story of two women she met in Africa

Helen was forced to leave her home, child and family to seek work as a migrant worker, says Britton

Marie Claire, with a small loan from a UNDP program, was able to build a life for her family at home, says Britton

Connie Britton an actress on the TV series "Nashville," starred in the series "Friday Night Lights," and is featured in the new O.J. Simpson crime series "American Crime Story." Britton works as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme and recently traveled to Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda on their behalf. She wrote this in honor of International Women's Day celebrated on Tuesday March 8. The opinions expressed here are her own.



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(CNN) A few years ago in Ethiopia, I met a young girl named Helen, who had recently given birth to a daughter.

Helen was an orphan whose parents had died of AIDS. The father of her child was not in the picture. Alone, without family, husband, or money to afford an education, Helen had no resources to care for her baby, or her two younger siblings.

The time I spent with Helen taught me more about the constrictions and hardships of women in developing nations than anything I have ever read, before or since. It was heartbreaking to watch as she tried to take care of her little family.

Seeing no way forward in her home country, Helen eventually left her daughter and younger siblings in the care of others to seek employment as a domestic laborer overseas, putting herself at huge risk of mistreatment as a migrant worker on her own. After that, I did not hear from her again.

Connie Britton

Since becoming a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme , I have witnessed how relentless and harrowing this cycle of poverty is for women and girls around the world. But I have also witnessed instances when the cycle was broken.

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