Year: 2017
Building Organisational Resilience. Profile of Wangechi Wachira, Executive Director of Centre for Rights Education and Awareness
Building Organisational Resilience. Profile of Wangechi Wachira, Executive Director of Centre for Rights Education and Awareness
In 2013, the Centre for Rights, Education and Awareness (CREAW) in Kenya was facing closure. Nearly 5,000 cases affecting women that CREAW was overseeing were still within the legal system but the organisation — like many in the country — was in the midst of a funding crisis. CREAW is a national, women’s human rights nongovernmental organisation based in Nairobi, whose vision is “a transformed and just society”. Its mission is to champion, expand and make real women’s human rights with programmes grounded in core values of integrity, professionalism, passion, innovation, and synergy. It is headed by leading woman’s activist, Wangechi Wachira. CREAW’s relationship with the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) started in 2007 when another leading women’s organisation and grantee partner, FEMNET, suggested the organisation apply for funding for their women’s programmes.
“By the time we started the relationship around 2007, Kenya was going into a general election. AWDF funded a programme that worked to support women to be able to participate in decision-making processes,” recalled Wachira. “Before the election, things were fine but after the elections, things went south. We were able to play a role in peace building during that process. We went back to AWDF and said that women had come out in big numbers to vote but in the aftermath, women had been abused and violated. We wanted to go back to the communities and document the stories of the women we had worked with,” she explained.
“The country has made a lot of strides since 2007. In 2010, Kenya passed a Constitution and women were able to push for their issues at a constitutional level. Since then a lot of laws have been passed that deal with the issues of women. What remains, however, is to make sure that they are finalised, implemented and that the relevant government institutions take responsibility for them to be enacted,” said Wachira.
Sierra Leone Landslide: AWDF Condolences and Solidarity
Sierra Leone Landslide: AWDF Condolences and Solidarity
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) extends condolences to the people of Sierra Leone for the devastating landslide in Freetown on 14 August 2017. This has affected thousands of people, including several grantee partners.
Experiences from across Africa and from different types of natural or human made disasters has shown us that women’s community responses and leadership are central to effective responses to disasters. The courageous actions of multiple Sierra Leonean women’s organisations during the recent Ebola crisis is just one example of this. The strength and resilience displayed by the people of Sierra Leone in the wake of disasters has been amazing and will be a key factor in the current recovery process.
As we hear the updates of this humanitarian crisis, we are concerned in particular about the condition of women and of girls who are now in precarious housing and economic situations. In that light, we affirm the need for a humanitarian response that takes into account the specific needs of women and of girls.
Our hearts and our thoughts are with the people of Sierra Leone and with women’s groups responding in this period of recovery and rebuilding.
CALL TO ACTION: Mobilising Resources for Sierra Leone
CALL TO ACTION: Mobilising Resources for Sierra Leone
22nd August 2017
Following the recent disaster that struck Sierra Leone, the African Philanthropic Network is working with the African Women’s Development Fund to mobilise resources in support of initiatives to mitigate the devastating effects of this disaster.
You can be part of this initiative by donating in one of the following ways.
To donate by expresspay, go to
https://expresspaygh.com/services.php
Select AWDF and follow the online instructions
To make a donation via wire transfer from anywhere in Africa, please use the following information:
Account Name: AWDF/Fundraising
Account Number: 064/1008737
Bank Name: Barclays Bank Ghana Limited
Bank Address: P O Box 2949
High Street Branch: Accra
Swift Code: BARCGHAC
Individuals located in Ghana can make a deposit into our cedi account:
Account Name: AWDF/Fundraising
Account Number: 048/1014077
Bank Name: Barclays Bank Ghana Limited
Bank Address: P O Box 2949
High Street Branch: Accra
Please refer all enquiries to Abigail Burgesson, Special Programmes Manager
Email: abigail@africlub.net/awdf