Letter from Zainab Salbi

Where are Iraqi women today?

I am writing from my home country Iraq, where Women for Women International has been operating since 2003. The days here are very much full of stories of death, explosions, soldiers, poverty and too much pain. But even in the midst of that, there are small glimpses of the absolute beauty of life. Even as I listen to one woman's tragic account of watching her husband die in a car bomb explosion, I see a gardener in the middle of the green zone cut a rose, remove its thorns and give it to an old American man. While I learn of a woman whose head was cut off in the middle of another explosion, an older woman who is selling her homemade cheese on the side of the street refuses to accept my money just because I made some conversation with her about her life and her humble business. And as I hear the stories of bodies floating down the Tigris River only couple of years ago, I see the beauty of a fisherman in his boat in the early morning hours as he tries to catch his living for the day.

A Bosnian journalist once said that war shows us the worst acts of humanity, and it shows us the best acts of humanity. I heard this almost 17 years ago, when Women for Women International first started working in Bosnia. Over the years, I have come to realize the truth in these words: with darkness, there is always light. With every story of horror, there is a story of courage. With every misfortune, comes a fortune. With every challenge, there comes an opportunity. And for me, that was the story of 2009.

Like many groups and individuals throughout the world, 2009 was a challenging year for us as a result of the financial crisis. It was a year where Women for Women International was forced to make severe budget cuts, had to lose the valuable contributions of dear colleagues and relied on redoubled efforts and many sacrifices from all in the organization. This was not an easy process. It was a process that created additional challenges and stresses for folks who were already operating in very challenging circumstances, with very limited budgets. It was a process that asked our supporters to please consider continuing their generous donations in spite of the unstable economic environment. Yet at the same time it was a process that revealed the power of sister and brotherhood, of love's ability to triumph over challenges and of our shared commitment to the larger cause of supporting women survivors of war to stand on their feet, speak out, and speak up. Together even in the midst of instability we hold their place for them, for us, for the children, for the men, and for the world to simply be a better place.

As with the rose in the midst of the bombs, this year ended up being a beautiful year where we managed not only to continue our work with every single woman who is part of our program, but, thanks to our 8th appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, in a matter of months we were able to expand our services to 13,000 new women in conflict and post-conflict areas. It was a year that inspired the generosity of major supporters to invest in Women for Women International's capacity to create sustainable income generating opportunities for women survivors of war. Though we started the year with worry, we end it with hope; though we started 2009 with fear, we end it in love. And back in my home country of Iraq, though we started the year with a limited program due to security challenges, we end the year with an expansion of program participants by two-thirds.

With you, with the women we serve, with all women and men, we look forward to starting 2010 with a call for peace, love and a collaborative effort to sustain the best in humanity. We will call for all to meet on bridges of peace, where women will tie white fabrics together in a symbolic call for the end of war. We call for an immediate end to wars. We call for the creation of sustainable peace. Most of all, we call for the world to hear and see women's visions of peace, prosperity and stability. We can make a difference! And on the 99th anniversary of International Women's Day on March 8th, we hope that you can join us on bridges in your communities; we hope you can share with us and with the world your visions of peace. It is time! It is our time; time for the women and men of the world to come together and show the world who we are as we build our bridges of peace.

Read more about Zainab Salbi
Read more about the women of Iraq.

Afghan Election Through the Eyes of the Women

After the August 20, 2009 Afghan elections, there were weeks of uncertainty as allegations of widespread fraud were investigated by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission. Despite a vote recount that discounted nearly 25 percent of the votes cast for current Afghan President Hamid Karzai, he was declared the winner and took the oath of office in November.

While journalists reported extensively on the politics of the recent Afghan presidential and provincial elections, the voices of the Afghan women weren't heard. Women for Women International Afghanistan Country Director Sweeta Noori, however, had much to report on how the women are reacting.

Voter turnout among women was low and women who wanted to vote were disproportionately affected by violence and intimidation. Hundreds of polling places for women (polls were segregated to keep men and women from mingling publicly) did not even open in some areas where Taliban influence is high. Women also suffered discrimination and intimidation in some places in central and northern Afghanistan.

Although, in 2004, Women for Women International staff in Afghanistan made great strides by helping 2,000 women register to vote, Country Director Sweeta Noori told us that during the August election, "the Afghan female electorate had no voice. Women complained but were ignored." Afghan men often took votes from their wives and daughters "on their behalf," disenfranchising them by telling them it was unsafe for them to vote.

Sweeta said she has very little hope that Afghan women's political participation will improve in the next few years. Although there may be changes to election procedures for the September 2010 parliamentary elections, it is likely that women will remain voting "puppets" whose ballots are stolen by male relatives and community members.

Among elected officials, women also face challenges in getting real representation and being heard. Quotas were instituted in the Afghan Constitution to guarantee that women would be included in the process of governance, yet that process is filled with obstacles. Women who run for office on a platform of care for the Afghan people and women's empowerment have traditionally been threatened. Female candidates complained that the insecurity made it impossible in some places for them to campaign. There are also women candidates who are propped up by political parties to simply fill the quota written into the Constitution. These women are not taken seriously as candidates and will not be able to make any legislative impact. Women candidates and topics concerning women's rights received almost no news coverage during the electoral campaign, according to the European Union mission.

Nearly 40 percent of the women surveyed for our 2009 Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Afghanistan report told us that political instability and incompetence of politicians is the biggest political problem facing the country. What we know is that the incorporation of women's views into traditionally male-dominated political processes is vital to achieving sustainable peace, democracy, and prosperity. We will continue to educate women on their rights and help to raise the voices of women in all levels of government. Afghan participant Mah Gul told us, "At the current time I can recognize my rights and also have understood that any who in the future do attack or do cruelty on me, should be referred to my women rights commission and I should defend my own rights."

Learn more about Afghan outreach.
Make a donation and empower women around the world.

To Our New Sponsors:

Thank You for Your Support and Patience!

As you know, we have recently had a huge increase in the number of people signing up to be sponsors as people around the world have opened their hearts to help women survivors of war. This massive increase in support has enabled us to do something that we haven't done in years—expand our programs into new communities where women have never received services from Women for Women International. At Women for Women International, we do not take this process lightly. We open offices in brand new communities only when we know we have the capacity to support not only the first group of women that sign up for our services but also subsequent groups. At the moment, we are trying to expand our programs quickly but without cutting corners that would hinder either the services that we offer or any communication you, as a sponsor, may have with your sister down the road.

For Women for Women International, offering our programs in a new community is an engaging and time-intensive process.

• We must hire local staff who understand the needs of the women and train them in how to operate our programs.

• We speak with community leaders, who in many instances are men wary of our programs. We must educate them about the services we will offer and assess their willingness to partner with us. Without cooperation from the local leaders in these patriarchal societies, we can't have access to the women in need or ensure that our program can operate in a safe environment.

• We must also assess the security situation. For example, the BBC has reported that in one of the provinces in the DR Congo into which we are expanding, girls as young as four are being raped. Sadly, security is especially tenuous in many of the new communities we hope to serve. But the women there are also in great need.

We hope that this helps you understand the process we are going through to enroll women into the program. Your continued support is very important to us and we will do everything we can to honor the gift you have made to the women we serve.

Thank you for your patience and for your commitment to our work. If you have any questions you can send an email to us at sponsorship@womenforwomen.org.

Learn more about our Sponsorship Community.

Sudan Chapter Office Aids 600 Displaced People
After Tribal Conflict

Following a welcomed three-month lull in tribal violence in Lakes State, South Sudan, clashes between two tribes resumed in late May, unleashing a wave of attacks that destabilized southern Sudan for a month. In June, the UN reported that the violence had caused the forced displacement of 8,214 persons in Rumbek and Cueibet in South Sudan, where Women for Women International-Sudan is located. Since it was opened in 2007, the Women for Women International-Sudan chapter office has helped thousands of women, but in early June the staff in Sudan expanded its reach to support some 600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) stranded at the Commercial Integrated Farming Initiative (CIFI) program in Makernhoum.

Although it is far from the humanitarian crisis that ravages Darfur, the Dinka and Wulu tribal conflict of southern Sudan runs deep and threatens the security of Lakes State, which is one of the most dangerous of the 10 states in southern Sudan. Internal clashes threatened the safety of the Sudan chapter's staff and participants in 2009 during a three-month-long conflict that ended in March 2009. Such intra-state tensions are especially disruptive to the greater population—the violence not only threatens the lives of Lakes State residents but also displaces thousands and forces the closure of schools and medical facilities. And as we hear too often in the war-torn areas where we work, IDPs are usually women and children, often forced into vulnerable situations with no food, water, or shelter as their villages and households are destroyed.

When the women of the CIFI farm arrived for work on June 3, 2009 they saw what one Women for Women International-Sudan staff member described as a "sea of humanity." The fighting had driven 600 people from their homes to find a safe place—at the gates of the Women for Women International CIFI farm. According to the staff, the IDPs "were desperately in need of water, food, cooking utensils, clothes, blankets, medical services." When the staff driver rushed back to town to inform the local authorities and the Women for Women International office in Rumbek of the situation, Karak, the Women for Women International-Sudan Country Director, organized part of her staff to rush to the site and estimate the gravity of the situation. As staff members told us, "it was a total human catastrophe and there was nobody on site to help."

The Sudan chapter's resources are meager and were stretched thin before the June outbreak of violence. Taking on the added responsibility of assisting 600 IDPs was a major task, one not even the local state government was capable of addressing. The government sent word that it was unable to help. Lacking resources and infrastructure, the local authorities are frequently unprepared to address the humanitarian crises that arise after conflicts in the region. Nevertheless, in the face of such a humanitarian crisis, The Women for Women International-Sudan staff made the collective decision to take the lead in assisting the 600 IDPs. They enrolled some of the displaced women in the sponsorship program to be matched with a sister and receive training and emotional and financial support. For others, the staff pooled resources out of their own pockets to purchase 80 bags of sorghum, six bags of used clothes and 10 plastic sheets. They also opened the gate to the farm to allow the IDPs access to the water well. Karak took the initiative to contact the local UN office and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission to request assistance for the IDPs. Happily, the UN agencies responded swiftly and were able to provide additional food and medical services.

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome was the relationship the participants in the Women for Women International-Sudan program forged with the women IDPs. Once stranded and hopeless themselves, the women in our Sudan program were now in a position to help other survivors of conflict. The women in the CIFI program, some of whom earn much more than the national average by selling the fruits and vegetables they raise, added their money to the money contributed by the staff to help the displaced families. The money the program participants provided helped IDPs buy basics like food and clothing. With the knowledge they had gained from their training, program participants were able to spread the word of the Women for Women International program and even help to enroll some of the internally displaced women.

For now, peace has returned to the Lakes State region. At a moment of extreme need, Women for Women International-Sudan assumed responsibility for a humanitarian crisis that was beyond the capacity of the local authorities to address. Even more powerful, the women in the program were able to rise up and help other women who were in the same place that they once had been.

Learn more about the CIFI
Watch Zainab Sablis Field Report on Southern Sudan.

Pennies for a Cause

In Franklin County Virginia, a suburb in the western part of the state, a school full of children emptied their pockets and their hearts to women survivors of war in Africa .

Mother and daughter Kay and Erin Saleeby were not new to giving back and helping others. Through her school, Erin had volunteered in South Africa. She had helped school children and came away with the understanding that we are global citizens. Back home in Franklin, her mother was shaping the world through her elementary school students. Kay had been operating a giving program for her students for years. But after listening to her daughter speak of her travels in Africa, Kay wanted to help the women and children of the continent. Together they looked for ways to serve others.

After seeing the October 1 Oprah Winfrey Show featuring Women for Women International, the Saleeby women looked at each other and said, "This is the way we can make a difference."

They signed up to sponsor women, but that didn't feel like enough. So Kay decided to make Women for Women International the focus of her Annual Penny Wars at her school, Rocky Mount Elementary School.

The object of the project is for the children to bring in their spare change and support a nonprofit. Each classroom competes to see who can raise the most money. The winning class gets a prize. This year's prize: a cupcake party.

Erin and Kay, who both work at the school, went to each class and explained to the children what was happening to women and children in the African countries where Women for Women International Works, Nigeria, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda.

After hearing about the conditions that the women that we serve live in, the children were dumbfounded. They couldn't imagine that life outside of their small town could be so hard for so many people. They asked questions. The best question they asked: "What can we do to help?"

Each classroom was given a glass jar to fill with loose change. Occasionally there was a dollar but for the most part it was all pennies. Kay, Erin and volunteers counted the money everyday and updated the students on how much each classroom had raised.

Penny by penny, the students at Rocky Mount Elementary School contributed $1,063.77 to help women Sudan. It was an amazing effort for a school with less than 500 students! But as Kay recounted, the children were committed to helping women and children in Southern Sudan live a better life.

The contributions will allow the students to sponsor women in Southern Sudan. They are already excited to get the photos of the women, learn their stories and exchange letters.

And the Saleebys' feel like they are genuinely changing lives. Erin said, "Giving to Women for Women International is not just giving money and you don't know what happens. But with this organization, you sponsor this women and you touch their lives."

The students at Rocky Mount Elementary proved that it doesn't take a lot to help women survivors of war. And maybe what they learn from and about the women we serve will change their lives as well.

Have a creative idea to help women survivors of war? Get involved!

London Fashion Show Raises $145,000 for Our Programs

On November 18th, Browns fashion boutique in London hosted an exclusive catwalk show and auction in conjunction with the Canadian High Commission to support Women for Women International. Amber Le Bon, Pixie Geldof, Daisy Lowe and Stella Tenant took to the catwalk to model some of the stunning creations that had been specially donated to help Women for Women by some of London's coolest designers, including Mark Fast, Erdem, Jason Wu, and many others. After the show, guests were treated to a live auction of the donated pieces, each designer having added a money-can't-buy experience to their donated item, including front row seats to their next show and afternoon tea with the designer. The auction was conducted by a top Sotheby's auctioneer, who succeeded in driving up the bids to such a point that one dress alone raised £4,500 ($7,317). The catwalk show and auction raised £44,890 ($72,995), which an anonymous donor doubled the next day, raising to £89,780 ($145,991) the total amount contributed by the event to Women for Women International's life-saving work.

Host your own fundraising event.

Save the Date for Our Spring Events

Join Women for Women International atÊtwo exciting events this spring. In New York on May 12, join us for our Annual Luncheon and Panel Discussion, moderated by Leslie Stahl, and featuring Zainab Salbi and Robin Wright.Ê

In Los Angeles on April 16, Children Mending Heart's Annual Gala will benefit Women for Women International, with a portion of the event proceeds supporting our work with women survivors of war around the world.

Annual Luncheon and Panel Discussion in New York
Children Mending Heart's Annual Gala in Los Angeles

"Join Me on the Bridge" for International Women's Day

We are very excited about our "Join Me on the Bridge" events planned in conjunction with International Women's Day on March 8, 2010. On that day, we united women in the Congo with women from Rwanda between their countries, and together they delivered an important message to the world about their shared desire for an end to war.

In solidarity, we brought women and men together on bridges around the world, creating a truly global movement and turning the world's attention to our collective goal of peace and development in Africa and around the globe. We thank you for being a part of our movement.  Nearly 9,000 women gathered in New York, London, Denver, Canada - just to name a few of the places where we had events. All together we celebrated at over 100 different events around the world.

Go to our media gallery to see images of celebrations from the countries where we work and our supporters around the world.