Author: African Women's Development Fund

La Floraison ASBL was founded in 2008 to address challenges related to the inability of women to defend their own rights and interests, and the lack of women and girls’ participation and inclusion in local government. The grant awarded is to help support the active and meaningful participation of women and girls in the implementation of the National Action Plan II of resolution 1325 (2019-2022) on women, peace and security along with other laws that promote women’s rights such as the parity law, the new family code, law on sexual violence, and the law on gender equality.

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The African Women’s Development Fund’s team are saddened beyond words at the death of Innocent Chukwuma, former Director of Ford Foundation West Africa.

The Ford Foundation has been a long-standing partner of AWDF, and since 2017 Innocent led his team in numerous engagements with AWDF prior to and after AWDF was awarded a Ford Build grant. He was a highly engaged partner, always ready to provide support and perspective on any initiative. He made a profound impact on our work, going beyond the call of duty to build an enduring rapport that has thrived till date.

Innocent will be most remembered for his fervent belief, not only in the sanctity of women’s rights, but also in the drive for development in Africa, putting this zeal in everything he worked on. His deep understanding of the political context of women’s rights in Africa, and genuine interest in the work made him an invaluable partner for countless civil society organisations in Ghana and across the continent.

AWDF Co-Founder and Board Member Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi says: “Innocent Chukwuma was simply the best. With his sudden passing, African Civil Society has lost a great Thought Leader, the feminist movement has lost an unwavering ally and many of us have lost a dear brother and friend. Innocent always knew what was needed and necessary to strengthen the movements we need for social change. He will be sorely missed”.

AWDF CEO Françoise Moudouthe also recounts: “In the short period that I have worked at AWDF, I have observed the impact of Innocent’s allyship with our organisation and with feminist movements across Africa.”.

Our deepest condolences go to his wife Josephine and the entire family, as well as his colleagues at the Ford Foundation.

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African Women’s Development Fund est profondément attristé par le décès d’Innocent Chukwuma, ancien directeur de la Fondation Ford Afrique de l’Ouest (Ford Foundation West Africa)

La Fondation Ford est un partenaire de longue date de l’AWDF, et depuis 2017, Innocent a dirigé son équipe dans de nombreux engagements avec l’AWDF avant et après que l’AWDF ait reçu une subvention « Ford Build ». Il était un partenaire très engagé, toujours prêt à offrir son soutien et perspective sur toute initiative. Il a eu un impact profond sur notre travail, allant au-delà de son travail pour établir un rapport durable qui a prospéré jusqu’à ce jour.

On se souviendra surtout d’Innocent pour sa croyance fervente, non seulement dans le caractère sacré des droits des femmes, mais aussi dans son élan pour le développement en Afrique, mettant ce zèle dans tous les domaines de son travail. Sa profonde compréhension du contexte politique des droits des femmes en Afrique et son véritable intérêt pour le travail ont fait de lui un partenaire inestimable pour d’innombrables organisations de la société civile au Ghana et sur tout le continent.

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, cofondatrice et membre du Conseil d’Administration de l’AWDF, déclare : “Innocent Chukwuma était tout simplement le meilleur. Avec sa mort soudaine, la société civile africaine a perdu un grand leader, le mouvement féministe a perdu un allié indéfectible et beaucoup d’entre nous ont perdu un cher frère et ami. Innocent savait toujours ce qui était nécessaire et indispensable pour renforcer les mouvements dont nous avons besoin pour le changement social. Il nous manquera énormément”.

Quant à Françoise Moudouthe, PDG de l’AWDF, elle dit : “Durant le peu de temps que j’ai déjà effectué à l’AWDF, j’ai observé l’impact que Innocent a créé en étant un vrai allié avec notre organisation et les mouvements féministes à travers l’Afrique“.

Nous adressons nos plus sincères condoléances à son épouse Josephine et à toute la famille, ainsi qu’à ses collègues de la Fondation Ford.

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KESWA was established in 2010 to facilitate the improvement of the human rights status of all sex workers in the country and address the challenges sex workers faced. The grant will be used to support the work of the organisation including strengthening its financial systems and programmes. The grant will also help them to strengthen their general work around enhancing economic options for sex workers and promoting the recognition of unpaid care work, including sex work as work.

KENWA was formed in 1993 by 5 Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) as a self-help group to support other WLHIV who were facing HIV related stigma and discrimination. KENWA is a national organisation with a mission to improve the quality of life of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The grant awarded will be used to commemorate the 2020 World AIDS Day event to promote the rights of women and girls living with HIV/AIDS including issues of mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Jekesa Pfungwa Vulingqondo (JPV) is an indigenous Zimbabwean non-governmental organisation, working with women’s groups at the grassroots level, for the mobilization and development of women in rural and poor urban areas. The grant awarded is to help improve accountability in governance at community level. This will be led by a group of women and youths who will be trained to articulate and influence policy processes.

L’Initiative Pananetugri pour le Bien-être de la Femme (IPBF) was founded in 2011 to contribute to the promotion of women’s rights and development in legal, socio-economic and cultural areas. IPBF aims to be a feminist organisation supporting leadership and the well-being of young women and women. With the grant, IPBF will build and strengthen the leadership of young feminist organisations and groups in 9 West African Francophone countries to ensure the organisations are better able to effectively amplify their leadership, actions and voices for social transformation in Africa.

The Indigenous Information Network (IIN) was founded in 2001 in response to addressing information through the media about remote rural Indigenous communities who are mainly pastoralists as they struggle to exist. The grant awarded is to help empower indigenous women to stand up for their rights, including their rights to land and also provide them with knowledge on alternative livelihood methods from traditional pastoralism.

Formerly known as the Malawi Human Rights for Women and Girls with Disabilities (MHRWGDs), the organisation was formed in 2008 by women activists living with disability who knew from experience that women and girls with disability in Malawi were excluded from participation in public life, and did not enjoy sexual and reproductive choices. Thus, the group was formed to fight for the rights of women, especially young women with disabilities.

With the AWDF grant, HRWDM will work towards the elimination of all forms of discrimination and abuse against women and girls with disabilities to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are able to effectively participate in the development agenda of the community.

Founded in 2003, Association Horizons Femmes works to contribute to the reduction in gender inequality to achieve an equal, just and balanced society. Horizons Femmes envisions a society in which social relations are based on social justice and equity, bringing about a harmonised human development for the poor and vulnerable groups. The grant awarded is to help contribute to the elimination of violence against women and girls displaced by the Anglophone crisis in Western Cameroon

Groupe d’Action pour la Justice et l’Egalité Sociale (GAJES) was founded in 1990 to fight for social justice, to empower women and to improve women representation and participation within decision-making bodies and entities. The grant awarded is to help change community mindset around violence against women and girls (VAWG), highlight the impact of violence on the mental health and wellbeing of women and draw attention to the need to strengthen interventions around the emotional healing and well-being of women and girls.