Stronger Women, Stronger Nations

In 2006 support from our friends helped us reach a record 30,000 women in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sudan. 

In these places, Women for Women International:

• Distributed more than $8 million in direct aid, microcredit loans, and other program services, increasing the total amount of aid distributed in our 13-year history to $32 million;

• Expanded program services to serve 30,000 women and benefit more than 162,000 family and community members;

• Facilitated the exchange of more than 70,000 letters between sponsors and their sisters;

• And, since 1993, has given more than 93,000 women the tools they need to improve the lives of some 508,000 family and community members.

Building Stronger Nations One Woman at a Time

In 2006, we introduced our most comprehensive monitoring and evaluation program to date.  We surveyed more than 11,000 women upon enrollment in and graduation from our programs. The results were overwhelmingly positive and gave us a better understanding of how our programs are benefiting women’s lives. 

Of the women we surveyed, we found:

• 97% increased their self-confidence
• 96% gained a greater awareness of their rights
• 88% developed better community support networks
• 87% improved their economic situation
• 78% increased their participation in family decisions
• 68% felt that their general health had improved
• 67% felt that their family’s health had improved
• 65% had improved access to healthcare
• 58% reported improvements in their marital relationships

Facing Adversity Head On

In Iraq, keeping the doors open in the face of escalating security threats has not been easy.  Since 2003, however, Women for Women International has been committed to supporting women who survived decades of oppression and violence under Saddam Hussein’s regime.  These women face the prospect of having to support their families in a country struggling to rebuild its infrastructure despite increasing civil unrest and violence.   

As Iraq’s only international NGO focused exclusively on women, Women for Women International has worked with more than 1,700 women in Baghdad and the south-central provinces of Hillah and Karbala since 2003.

In March 2006, the deteriorating security situation forced us to convene our Iraqi staff to determine the feasibility of continuing to work in that country.  Despite the danger, the Iraqi staff was committed to returning to Iraq to administer our programs.  Closing our operations was not an option in their minds – it would be too much like losing hope.  They continue to work every day by keeping a very low profile and their commitment to our women remains strong. 

There are currently 477 women enrolled in our program, receiving direct financial aid and emotional support, rights awareness and leadership education, vocational skills training, and business development services.  Each woman who participates in the program attends bi-weekly rights education classes, which provide information about women’s economic, social, and political rights and their application in everyday life.  Through these interactive sessions, women form a support system for one another to fill the void created by conflict and the loss of family members, friends, and communities.

As there is little to no civil society working with and on behalf of Iraqi women and their communities, particularly in the rural provinces, Women for Women International-Iraq is the only hope many of these women have for rebuilding their lives.  Looking ahead, Women for Women International plans to work with 2,500 Iraqi women by the end of 2007.

Beyond Darfur: Opening our Doors in Southern Sudan

After more than 21 years of civil war, southern Sudan’s infrastructure has been devastated, 90% of women are illiterate and people are hungry for resources, knowledge and skills.  With a fragile peace in place, it is a critical time to help women stabilize their communities. Women for Women International launched operations in Rumbek, southern Sudan in fall 2005; 2006 was our first full year of operations.

The lack of infrastructure and communication networks was a significant challenge to the many groups working in Sudan.  Using our experience in other post-war countries, we spent our first year in Sudan focusing on community outreach and peer networking.  Women for Women International took a lead role within the region to help engage, mobilize, and build the capacity of women’s groups and those addressing gender issues.

During the first year, we also hired and trained key personnel in our Sudan Chapter Office.  Led by the Sudan Country Director, our Chapter now includes a Program Manager, a Finance and Administration Assistant, and a Lead Manual Trainer, all three are of whom are Sudanese nationals.

Last year our programs focused on providing life skills training to more than 300 of the most socially excluded women in and around Rumbek.  We met with women on a weekly basis, raising awareness on women’s rights, the value of their roles and contributions to the family and the community, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and basic nutrition and water sanitation. 

Looking ahead, we are dedicated to working in this extraordinarily difficult environment and helping women rebuild their lives and become active participants in the reconstruction of Sudan.  We aim to triple our outreach to include more than 1,000 women in 2007.

Economic Self-Sufficiency is the Key to Active Citizenship

We believe that as women engage in the economic sector and move toward self-sufficiency, they have greater opportunities to negotiate power within their households and become active citizens with political and social influence in their communities.  Empowering women to become primary breadwinners for their families has been a key element of our work since the beginning. 

Our income generation efforts include vocational skills training, microcredit programs, small business education, and job creation initiatives.  In 2006, we took steps to refine and enhance these programs even further by launching a year-long market assessment initiative in the countries where we work.

We began by creating a market assessment tool that we shared with our Chapter Offices, training them how to evaluate the markets in their communities and then analyze the results of their research to identify the greatest job opportunities for the women graduates.  Each Chapter Office hired an “Income Generation Officer” responsible for spearheading efforts to further align our programs, such as the vocational skills training, with the identified market opportunities. 

By conducting these market assessments, Women for Women International is now in an even better position to provide our program participants and graduates expanded opportunities for employment, self-employment, and sustainable income generation.

Examples of the Chapter Market Assessments include:

• Iraq is exploring opportunities for women to embroider traditional local garments worn by both men and women and to engage in milk production and animal husbandry;

• Bosnia and Herzegovinais looking into enhancing dairy production, berry and medicinal herb cultivation, as well as creating an agency for child and elderly home care;

• Kosovo is investigating building market linkages where women would be trained to raise livestock with the goal of providing raw materials to a local meat processing business. Other women would be trained to work in this business as well as serving to strengthen Women for Women International’s relationship with local enterprises;

• Rwanda will explore ways to create opportunities for the majority of women in the program who live in rural areas through integrated farming. In this model, women would form cooperatives and cultivate agricultural products to sell as well as to provide food security for their families. The Rwandan government is exploring donations of land to women to use as demonstration plots.

Building a Global Community to Support Women Survivors of War

While we work with women at the grassroots, we are also bringing the issues they face to the forefront of public consciousness.  We accomplish this through our outreach and public education activities, as well as the exchange of thousands of personal letters. 

Women for Women International’s Sponsorship Program gives a voice to women and encourages them to share their stories with a network of sponsors who reside in 56 countries around the world. In 2006, Women for Women International facilitated the exchange of more than 70,000 letters between sponsors and their sisters. The stories the women share help to educate sponsors about the dynamics of conflict, injustice, and social exclusion, while inspiring many to become active in their own communities on behalf of the women and the challenges they face. 

In 2006, Women for Women International built on the momentum generated from the unprecedented amount of media coverage we received in 2005 with an enormously successful book tour surrounding the release of President and CEO Zainab Salbi’s second book, The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope (National Geographic 2006).  Zainab and six of our Country Directors traveled to eight cities throughout the United States speaking with a variety of audiences.  While most of the Country Directors had been to the United States before, for many this was their first opportunity to meet individual sponsors and supporters face-to-face.  These personal connections only strengthened the commitment of our friends and helped to garner greater support for women survivors of war as they rebuild their lives.

The Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize

Last year Women for Women International received the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize – an incredible honor for the organization in recognition of our critical work on behalf of socially excluded women survivors of war. Not only are we the youngest organization to receive the award, we are also the first recipient to work exclusively on behalf of women.  The award is a huge boost for us—exposing our work to a larger audience and casting a light on the issues women face during and after war.

Learning from the Past to Plan for the Future

In 2006, we conducted focus groups with our Chapter Office staff and 140 current and past program participants.  The purpose of the “visioning” exercise was to hear from our field staff and the women about how we could enhance our services and make a deeper impact on women and their communities.  We asked for ideas and recommendations regarding several topics, including program structure, training content, participant and graduate expectations, program impact, and program expansion.  Once the data was collected, we analyzed it to identify trends and common themes. 

Some of the key recommendations from the focus groups included:

• Offer greater opportunity to review and reinforce lessons learning during the programs

• Provide additional follow-up and support to graduates

• Expand business and marketing training and increase market-based skills training

• Expand partnerships to provide additional vocational skills training 

• In addition to rights education, include techniques, approaches, and strategies for exercising the rights

• Increase access to health and legal services through partnerships

The focus groups were one of a number of steps we took last year to help inform our strategic planning process as we develop our plans for the next three years. We now have a clearer understanding of how we can refine and expand our programs to make a deeper and longer-lasting impact on women’s lives and the communities in which they live.  In the months ahead, we look forward to updating you on the plan.

With Your Support, We Can Make a Difference

Women for Women International touched the lives of more women than ever before in 2006.  Our commitment to women who survive unspeakable tragedy in war is unflagging.  With our strong foundation, Women for Women International will remain a beacon of hope in this era of conflict and instability.  In 2007, we will continue to help women gain the knowledge and skills they need to rebuild their lives and re-knit the social fabric of their communities. 

Stronger women build stronger nations.