2005 Project Independence Update
April 2005

Afghanistan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Rwanda

Public Relations with External and Soroptimist International Audiences
Women for Women International Speaking Events
Partnering with Local Soroptimist Clubs
Newspaper/Media Coverage

• Distributed more than $4 million in direct aid and microcredit loans, increasing the total amount of aid distributed in our eleven year history to $18 million;
• Provided program services to an additional 17,000 women in 8 countries;
• Facilitated the exchange of 44,000 letters between sponsors and their sisters;
• To date, we have assisted more than 33,000 women survivors of war; and,
• Indirectly helped an additional 36,000 family members survive the aftermath of war. To date, our programs have given women the tools they need to improve the lives of some 140,000 family members.

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Afghanistan
Women for Women International’s core program services reached 2,341 women in Afghanistan in 2004. Women for Women International expanded its program to women outside of Kabul, and is now working with 500 women in Wardak and 200 women in Parwan, rural provinces where women are traditionally isolated from such services. 100 of the women are in widows-only groups which address the unique needs of this population; all of these 100 women are being sponsored directly by Soroptimist International and are communicating with women through the Club Group Correspondents program. Women for Women International expects to expand to Herat and/or Mazar-e-Sharif in 2005.

As a part of the rights awareness and leadership training provided to women, Women for Women International has been active in voter education and outreach efforts in Afghanistan. In 2004, we partnered with the Afghanistan Ministry of Women’s Affairs to provide voter education to women through our rights awareness and leadership education classes; nearly 2,000 of our program participants registered to vote for the very first time.

In the Syed Abad District in Wardak Province, women culturally were not allowed to come out of their compound to participate in any social or political matters. We placed special emphasis on this district to increase women’s participation in the national elections. As a result, an amazing 757 women voted. In fact, it was very surprising to us and to the local people that women played a greater role in the election than men – only 625 men voted.

As a result of the voter education efforts, one woman also told our program staff that she decided not to sell her voter registration card to a local warlord – for as much as $US150 – when pressured to so. And, when she found out that her neighbor was going to sell her voter card, she talked to her about the importance of a woman’s right to vote, and convinced her not to sell her card as well.

In order to provide emotional support and encouragement to women in Afghanistan as they went to the polls, Women for Women International set up an online response form that allowed people to send messages of support to women in Afghanistan. Several members of Soroptimist International sent messages. Some of these messages include:

• Dear Women of Afghanistan,
Please know that Soroptimists from around the world are beside you as you go to the polls in this historic election. Your courage and conviction are an inspiration to many and we pray that your futures and that of your country are the brightest possible. -- Jane Z, Past International President, Soroptimist International, George Town, Tasmania, AU

• First elections are never easy and yours certainly won't be. But it is worth the risk to show yourselves, your country and the world that women count. Know that I and many other Soroptimists around the world share your apprehensions, but also your hope for the future for you and for your children. We are pulling for you. We know you can do it. We admire your courage. We will be watching. -- Joy D., Albuquerque, NM US

These messages and thousands of others from Women for Women International’s supporters were shared with women in our program in Afghanistan. Some of the women’s responses include:

• We were all very excited when we went to the polling sites and voted, even our children under the age of 18 who couldn’t vote were waiting impatiently for us to come back from the polling sites and tell them how it was! Although the weather got very cold and windy in the day of election, in some provinces of Afghanistan it snowed, but still people couldn’t stop themselves from going to the sites.

• During the past years we never had presidential elections, every thing was by force and fighting. Today, we have this big opportunity to vote, no one can force us and no one can take this right from us.

An additional area of training in Afghanistan includes basic health and hygiene education provided to 500 women in 2004, expanding to reach a total of 1,000 women in 2005. Training is also provided to create a cadre of traditional birth attendants—crucial in a country with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

Vocational skills training has expanded to focus on skills relevant for more rural areas. These include poultry-raising, jam-making, and a cooperative bakery in Wardak, built and operated by participants, which offers training and employment. In 2004, WWI also launched a microcredit program in Afghanistan, where graduates of the core program and other women are eligible to apply for small business loans. By December 2004, approximately $100,000 had been distributed to 600 clients. Many of the women who received loans are interested in starting or expanding an agri-business; the loans will fund activities such as buying/raising a cow or chickens to sell milk or eggs in the market, or cultivating and selling vegetables. There are also a variety of creative, non-agricultural businesses as well. For example, one woman is using her loan to start a soap-making business, a skill she learned as a refugee in Pakistan. Another is opening a small shop, where she and her son will sell the handmade shoes she has been making for the past 13 years.

Women for Women International -- Afghanistan also operates a cooperative store where women can sell products they have made and a beauty salon that generates income for employees and provides training for women interested in learning how to start their own salons, or provide these services in their homes. Both facilities are operated in an area in Kabul exclusively designated for women and their activities, called the Women’s Park.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina
Women for Women International has expanded its core program services to reach 1,686 additional women in 2004 for a total of 8,090 women served since launching operations in 1993. The core program operates in 32 municipalities across six cantons. In April 2004, Women for Women International expanded its reach to offer program services to victims of trafficking in a shelter in Sarajevo. These participants are women who have suffered severe psychological and sexual abuse and humiliation.

In addition to our core program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have continued to expand our microcredit lending activities. In 2004, Women for Women International distributed 3,369 loans with a total of $2,628,581 disbursed. Although the large majority of these loans were distributed to women in solidarity groups, Women for Women International introduced a new loan product in 2004 -- individual loans to women who have participated in the program for a number of years and successfully completed several loan cycles, but still do not qualify for a bank loan. These individual loans are for larger amounts than available through the peer group, and unlike the group model, require a small amount of collateral. Clients are using the loans to expand their businesses; one client runs a small road-side general store and used the funds to expand her inventory.

After graduating from the core program, participants are eligible to participate in a human rights and leadership training project launched in February 2004 to help women leaders in rural areas take active roles in their communities. The success of the organization's previous project for the European Commission, “Women's Human Rights Training and the Role of Women Leaders in Rural Areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” encouraged Women for Women International to offer further training in women's rights and leadership skills to women in other areas of the country.

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Rwanda
The organization in Rwanda expanded its services to reach 1,150 additional women in 2004. The office also recently completed the transition to a locally-operated and managed Chapter, with a local director taking over office operations in October 2004. This was a key goal of Women for Women International’s partnership with Soroptimist International as outlined in our contract, and was accomplished on a much faster time frame than originally envisioned.

In addition to the core program, malaria prevention training was an important part of Women for Women International’s services offered to socially excluded women in late 2004. Though often avoidable and treatable, malaria is still a major killer in much of Rwanda. Many people spend huge sums on treatment each year that could otherwise go towards much-needed household items, school fees, or savings. The training provides information about low-cost prevention methods, such as mosquito nets, instead of unaffordable medications for treatment.

In 2004, we also focused attention on identifying skills trainings that enable women to produce marketable goods. Durable plastic market baskets were identified as one such item, and a curriculum was developed for teaching the trade, resulting in a six-session course for program participants. Two groups completed this training by the end of August. Our goal is to develop a reputation as a reliable source of baskets so that program “graduates” have a stable market for their product. Knitting machines will be provided in early 2005 to participants trained in this skill area. As the Rwandan government has recently required that all school uniforms be made of knit material, participants plan to take advantage of this considerable market. Solar stove production, shoe-making, and soap-making are other areas being considered for skills training in 2005.

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• Developing a Project Independence link from all pages of Women for Women International’s website to drive external audiences to read about the project. If Women for Women International receives questions regarding Soroptimist International and the project, staff members direct women to contact the appropriate Soroptimist International Federation directly. There was an increase of these types of inquiries following Women for Women International’s appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in January 2005.

• Integrating the option “I am a member of Soroptimist International” on all of Women for Women International’s online and hard copy materials. Not only does this help Women for Women International track input and funds given by current Soroptimist International members directly, but it has also given rise to several questions about Soroptimist International. All people interested in more information about Soroptimist International are directed to their Federation contact.

• More than 100 speaking events have been presented by Dawn Marie Lemonds, the Federation Liaisons (Jocelyn Hanby-SI/SWP, Jackie Paling-SI/GBI, Nordelia Gradowski-SI/A, and Giovanna Catinella Dara-SI/E) and Project Ambassadors for Soroptimist International clubs and external audiences, including churches, other civic organizations and local legislators around the world.

• Project Independence has received several pieces of external media coverage including the following articles. Click on the links to read these articles or visit the News section of the website:

o “Soroptimist Women Work Small Miracles.” Vernal Express, December 1, 2004.
o “Working for the War-Torn: Madcap Soroptimist Jackie Paling Makes Her Political Point with Her Hair.” Slough Express, November 19, 2004.
o “Women Survivors.” New Straits Times (Malaysia), November 9, 2004.
o “Helping War’s Victims: Yuma Club Learns About Project to Assist Women in Bosnia, Rwanda and Afghanistan.” The Sun, February 1, 2004, by Darin Fenger.
o “Zainab Salbi, President and Founder of Women for Women International, Presents Quadrennial Project in Southern California.” Women for Women International Press Release, November 2003.

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Newspaper and media coverage has also included:

• “Soroptimist Women Work Small Miracles.” Vernal Express, December 1, 2004.
• “Environment - Where We Live, Work and Play. Bosnia and Herzegovina Study Tour 2004 - We Were There!" The International Soroptimist, December 2004.
• “Working for the War-Torn: Madcap Soroptimist Jackie Paling Makes Her Political Point with Her Hair.” Slough Express, November 19, 2004.
• “Women Survivors.” New Straits Times (Malaysia), November 9, 2004.
• “Coming Attractions.” The International Soroptimist, September 2004.
• “Healthy Living and Practices: a Priority for Education.” The International Soroptimist, September 2004.
• “Economic and Social Development in Action: The First ‘Project Independence: Women Survivors of War’ Group Has Begun.” The International Soroptimist, June 2004, by Dawn Marie Lemonds.
• “Great Projects in the Works for Project Independence.” The International Soroptimist, June 2004.
• “Soroptimists Visit Women for Women International in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” The International Soroptimist, June 2004, by Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, President, Union of the Netherlands, Suriname and the Dutch Antilles.
• “Project Independence-Women Survivors of War: Soroptimists Are Becoming Aware.” The International Soroptimist, March, 2004, by Dawn Marie Lemonds.
• “Helping War’s Victims: Yuma Club Learns About Project to Assist Women in Bosnia, Rwanda and Afghanistan.” The Sun, February 1, 2004, by Darin Fenger.
• “Women: The Battlefield of War-Peace Ambassadors Needed.” The International Soroptimist, December 2003, by Dawn Marie Lemonds.
• “Zainab Salbi, President and Founder of Women for Women International, Presents Quadrennial Project in Southern California.” Women for Women International Press Release, November 2003.
• “Project Independence: Women Survivors of War.” The International Soroptimist, September 2003, by Dawn Marie Lemonds.

To access any of these articles, visit the "News" section of the Project Independence website.

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