Outreach

This July was truly a month to celebrate independence.  Americans celebrated 235 years of independence on July 4th.  Only a few days later, women gathered peacefully in Juba and elsewhere to usher in the existence of a new country, South Sudan.

Harriet Dumba, one of our own staff members here at Women for Women International, returned to her home country of Sudan to celebrate the moment with her family and friends.  Just prior to her departure, Harriet and I had the opportunity to speak about the blood that has been shed in Sudan, particularly by women.  When I asked her why she was returning to Sudan during this time of uncertainty and potential violence, she said, "How could I not?"

How can we not support women like Harriet all around the world, who make their voices heard and their presence felt at such critical moments?  This is why we do the work that we do - to give women the tools and resources they need to exercise their leadership.   If we are to achieve the peace and stability we aim for in the world, it is essential that we stand with our sister Harriet and everyone like her.

Recognizing Harriet’s effort is especially important to me at this moment because she represents the work of Women for Women International both inside and outside the organization.  Harriet is a powerful and beautiful leader in her own right who is helping to achieve lasting change in the world. She is proof that, just like the women we serve, our staff and stakeholders must be provided with the tools, training and nurturing to achieve their maximum potential as leaders.

That’s why we at Women for Women International, thanks to a generous grant, recently endeavored to ensure that all of the people like Harriet, who carry out our work every day, have the opportunity and necessary support to strive for four key achievements:  wellness, decision-making, social safety networks, and sustaining an income.

As those of you who are supporters and sponsors already know, the importance of these principles is not one-way and not one-dimensional.  The act of becoming a ‘sister’ speaks to what we believe about what the human spirit can achieve when we decide to join hands and help each other.  Thank you every day for making the decision to join hands with Harriet and all of us here at Women for Women International.

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On a gloriously sunny day, the official opening ceremony kicked off, and the newly appointed Country Director of our Kosovo Office, Iliriana Gashi, was introduced. She was joined by Carol Jackson from the Private Equity Foundation, which generously funded the project, as well as Molly Cronin from Sharon Davis Design Studios which designed the building.

At the ceremony, Ramize Rexhepi, a graduate of Women for Women International’s year long program in Kosovo spoke passionately about her experience in the program. As a participant, Ramize Rexhepi chose to specialize in horticulture and food processing, and she has now set up her own women’s cooperative, producing pickles and other foodstuffs.

"In the beginning, I was only interested in learning about gardening,” said Ramize,”but through the Women for Women course, I decided to take some of my produce to market and on the first try I made 46 euros. It was so good to be able to buy things for my family and now I lead a cooperative of women making food for sale at market."

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In Nigeria, a significant number of women produce poultry, and PMI is the logical next step for them to put their knowledge and skills to work. The model was born out of the belief that socially excluded women can successfully compete in commerce. The PMI builds on women’s production successes and provides fresh, locally produced poultry at lower prices.

The primary goal of PMI is to bring about increased self-employment and income for participants involved in poultry production. Women for Women International envisions PMI as a phased program, in which women move from producers to processors, managers and ultimately, to owners who actively compete in the Nigerian poultry value chain. The initiative focuses on using a strategic agribusiness model that will help train women who are primarily family farmers (subsistence farmers) gain the skills that will further their ability to engage, function independently and profit from the agricultural market by becoming small- to medium-scale poultry producers.

How has PMI succeeded?

Two groups, made up of 500 women, are engaged in small-scale poultry production and are attempting to enter Nigeria’s commercial poultry market. Consumers have responded to the production of fresh and local poultry and frequently travel two hours down dirt roads to purchase Women for Women International-Nigeria’s products. Demand in and around the Nigerian town of Enugu is high: A recent survey of potential market partners demonstrated that large-scale commercial poultry vendors could not supply enough fresh poultry to meet demand. The participants in Women for Women International-Nigeria cooperatives have an advantage over companies that produce frozen, expensive and chemically treated poultry products because they use less advanced technology and take advantage of the low cost of production.

In addition to processing fresh poultry meat, PMI cooperatives have also begun selling poultry manure to use as organic fertilizers in and around their communities. The experiment has shown proven success and may be expanded in the future. The PMI in Nigeria is fast becoming the model for how women in our training program can gain entry and be competitive in the commercial sector.

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The practice, which is explicitly outlawed by both Afghan and Sharia law, is practiced throughout rural Afghanistan, according to a report by the United Nations. One Afghan woman described the effects of baad on innocent women: “Instead of the murderer being punished, an innocent girl is punished and she has to spend all her life in slavery and subject to cruel violence."

Though the decisions of a council of men in a remote province of Afghanistan may seem inconsequential, this development is actually an important step forward in the movement to protect women’s rights and bodies in today’s Afghanistan. Most of all, it demonstrates an important truth that we at Women for Women International have come to understand in our 18 years of experience working with women who have survived conflict around the world: in Afghanistan and everywhere, the fight for women’s rights cannot be successful without the participation of men.

Our primary goal at Women for Women International is to provide women who have survived war with the tools and resources they need to rebuild their lives and communities. Yet we also understand that in order to reach this goal, we must also work with key allies in men who are willing and able to promote the kind of social, economic and political change that is necessary for the advancement of women’s rights. That’s why we developed our Men’s Leadership Program, a training program that educates male leaders from Afghanistan and Iraq to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo on the positive impact that ending violence against women and protecting women’s rights can have on their communities, and what role they can play to help this happen. Through this training a new leader emerges; one that understands the value of women’s contributions to society and is committed to ending violence and discrimination against women in their community.

This is the kind of leadership that was demonstrated by the council of religious leaders and tribal elders in Khost when they voted to outlaw the practice of baad in their districts. Although the province has been a bleak example of the widespread gender inequality that the international community seeks to eliminate in Afghanistan (according to the World Bank, the female literacy rate in the province is just 1.2%), a committed council of male leaders was able to take an important step forward in reversing discrimination and violence in their community. The councilmen who supported the ban argued that baad had led to an increase in domestic abuse and female suicide in the district. And the community members praised the elders’ decision to ban the practice, arguing that baad had been an ineffective and unjust payment for a crime because it punished an innocent woman, rather than her guilty relative. “Every day, we heard that the groom and other family members were beating up my sister” recalled Zenikhil, the brother of a girl given away through a baad exchange, “We have always said amongst ourselves that we turned the life of my sister into hell and buried her alive."

Perhaps most importantly, the Nadir Shah Kot elders’ decision is already causing a ripple effect throughout other districts in the province. Following the high-level encouragement of the Governor of Khost, tribal elders in seven other districts also issued edicts banning the practice.

We have seen similar successes firsthand. In Afghanistan, we have already trained 400 mullahs, or religious leaders, on women’s value to society and the need for community members to end violence and discrimination against them. The mullahs have in turn incorporated these messages into their Friday speeches to their congregations, feeding a ripple effect throughout their congregations and communities. This important step toward eliminating violence against women in one province in Afghanistan underscores how men can be powerful allies in the movement to protect women’s rights. We look forward to continuing to work with all allies—men and women worldwide—to ensure similar successes in the movement to ensure peace and equality for all.

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The live auction of one-of-a-kind experiences and the pledge to raise funds for Sudan was conducted by Lord Dalmeny, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s UK. Guests were moved by the gala film produced by Millie Harvey and also had the opportunity to participate in a silent auction of exciting and exclusive prizes.

Watch the film by visiting our YouTube site: http://www.youtube.com/womenforwomenuk

Guests heard inspiring speeches by Women for Women International Founder Zainab Salbi, Sudan Country Director Karak Mayik, Pamela Stephenson Connolly and Annie Lennox. Harper’s Bazaar Editor Lucy Yeomans, Browns founder Mrs. Joan Burstein, Todd A. Fisher, and Annie Lennox accepted the Making a Difference Award.

We are thrilled to announce that over £800,000 was raised.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor gave a special acoustic performance to close the evening and addressed the crowd, saying, “Today 75% of those injured or killed in war are women and children. As a woman and a mother, I am proud to support the work of Women for Women International; helping women in areas of conflict who have often lost everything, to rebuild their lives and develop skills so they can support themselves and their families.”

To learn more, visit www.womenforwomen.org.uk.

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Since the 2008 launch of 10,000 Women, the Goldman Sachs Foundation has generously supported Women for Women International and helped increase our impact by empowering women as business owners and entrepreneurs in the countries in which we have a presence. 10,000 Women and WfWI programs currently overlap in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Rwanda. Linking our programs has expanded the support available to our participants, and has helped build our capacity to reach more women in the field. One woman from Rwanda, Euphrasie Mukanyarwaya, participated in both the WfWI and 10,000 Women program in Kigali. After graduating from 10,000 Women, she opened her own beadwork shop. Today, Euphrasie is implementing the practical skills she learned through 10,000 Women to grow her business and expand to new areas.

In 2010, 10,000 Women supported WfWI to enable us to develop an innovative technology infrastructure that leverages existing and future connections to people, ideas and resources for even greater grassroots impact.

With Goldman Sachs’ help, we will be able to conduct country-level technology audits, purchase equipment and make upgrades to improve communication and program implementation. Ultimately, this will allow WfWI to save money, serve more women more efficiently and reach its goal of serving 100,000 women annually by 2018, connecting them to the information, resources, and tools they need to enact long-term change.

We at Women for Women International thank Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women for their vision and their generosity.

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It’s not too late to join us this year at one of our upcoming run/walks!

• New York City: September 24, 2011
• Los Angeles: October 2, 2011
• Boston: October 10, 2011
• Tempe/Phoenix: Novemeber 20, 2011

To learn more or to find or host a Run for Congo Women in your area, visit www.runforcongowomen.org

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