Author: African Women's Development Fund

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE LIVELIHOODS OF WOMEN: THE AWDF AND GRANTEES APPROACH

Climate change is the global or regional shift in climate patterns due to the high emissions of greenhouse gases produced by human activities. Rising levels of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases) in the atmosphere have warmed the earth and are causing wide-ranging impacts including rising sea levels, melting snow and ice; extreme heat events, fires and drought, extreme storms, rainfall and floods.

These climatic events impacts negatively on areas such as agriculture and food security, biodiversity and ecosystems, water resources, human health, settlements and migration patterns. Women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change because they constitute majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on natural resources that are threatened by climate change for their livelihoods. More specifically in the field of agricultural and food security, women constitute about 90% of the labour force in Africa.

Notwithstanding their vulnerability, women’s strong knowledge and expertise in managing natural and household resources make them effective actors of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation.However, grassroots women whose activities are negatively impacted by the adverse effects of climate change are not part of policy discourses and have no access to climate information, technology and the requisite resources to strengthen their coping capacity.

In the light of the above, AWDF supports women to respond to these challenges by supporting women to adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change through its grant making and technical support activities. AWDF works with smallholder women farmers to improved food security through the preservation of indigenous seeds; to undertake land conservation practices that will help to improve crop yields; provides alternative sources of income such as bee keeping to maintain and improve livelihood; use of solar energy; water harvesting and irrigation technology for dry season agriculture among others. AWDF has also been supporting small-scale industries and agro processing activities to diversify and strengthen women’s income earning opportunities. It also strengthens women’s advocacy on land and food sovereignty.

In 2013, AWDF committed an amount of $623,200 which is 27% of its annual grant making budget ($2,232,250) to 46 women’s groups and organizations within 21 countries in Africa to undertake innovative projects which improve women’s livelihoods and also support them to adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change. The various interventions reached over 18,700 African women.

 

Examples of Climate Change and Adaptation Initiatives by AWDF Grantees

– Restoration of forest cover and regeneration of soils through Agroforestry systems (CAEPA-Cameroon)

The Community Agriculture and Environmental Protection Association (CAEPA Cameroon) is an education and a research body set up in 2007 and legally registered in 2009 with the mission to enhance health, agriculture and environmental protection within Cameroonian communities and beyond.

CAEPA Cameroon through the support of AWDF trained 200 rural women farmers in techniques of nursery creation, seed collection, storage and pretreatment as well as the development of agroforestry systems. CAEPA also provided the women with indigenous tree seedlings. As a result of the project, 50 small holder women farmers from 5 communities in Bamumkumbit Subdivision have incorporated agroforestry into their farming systems. The women also now have the skills to check soil erosion using sustainable cropping systems in addition to wind and fire outbreaks.

CAEPA Cameroon through the support of AWDF has organized series of educational activities in schools. The educational activities were to make students more sensitive to environmental issues.

 

 

– Use of environmentally friendly agricultural production systems (organic agriculture: Children With Future in Zambia-Lumwana project)

Children with Future in Zambia (CwFiZ) is a local NGO established in 2006 to promote the welfare of the vulnerable in society with emphasis on women and orphans. CwFiZ works in the Copperbelt, Northern Province and North-western Province of Zambia.

With AWDF’s support CwFiZ has been able to train 225 women as smallholder groundnut farmers in improved peanut farming and processing. The training covered topics such as climate and soil requirement, varieties of peanut, crop rotation, land preparation, planting, spacing, weeding, diseases and crop protection. In addition, they were also trained in quality processing and packaging of peanuts. The project has enabled the trained women farmers to adopt organic farming methods and to cultivate 9 hectares of peanuts. They have acquired and installed a processing machine to process the harvested peanuts to enhance the crop’s market value and increase income.

 

 

 

– Water harvesting and irrigation for dry season agriculture (Uluntu Community Foundation-Zimbabwe)

Uluntu Community Foundation (UCF) was registered in 2008 by a group of development professionals in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, to spearhead development in Zimbabwe using the Matabeleland region as an entry point. UCF was set up to provide a people-centered mechanism for community development and empowerment.

Food insecurity is a major issue in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. The Foundation as a result of AWDF’s support has provided two women’s groups with water harvesting systems for watering 2 community gardens in Njabulo, Qedudubo in Sinkukwe and Zhokwe and Gwanda North and South. This has facilitated dry season gardening for the women who now produce vegetables throughout the year for household consumption and sale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Advocacy by traditional women leaders to protect Sacred sites (Mupo Foundation-South Africa)

The Mupo Foundation was established in 2007 by Mphatheleni Makaulule, a woman from Venda who was inspired to empower women in her community to protect their environment and livelihoods. The purpose of the organization is to empower women and girls to secure their livelihoods and participate in decision making processes that affect their lives. The organization operates mostly in Vhembe, a district of Limpopo Province of South Africa. The Mupo Foundation plays an active role in the activities of the African Biodiversity Network (ABN), a regional network into environmental activities.

Through AWDF’s support, Mupo has empowered 109 Makhadzi (women elders young and old), 6 chiefs in Vhembe district (Tshidzivhe, Vhutanda, Mphaila, Tshiendeulu, Tshivale, Ramunangi and Khwevha) to become the voices of their communities, asserting their territorial, environmental and human rights. Traditionally, women in Venda had very specific roles that gave them status and recognized their leadership role in communities and they were respectfully called Makhadzi. The Makhadzi (women elders and community leaders), the custodians of the sacred natural sites (SNS) that play a central role in maintaining the health and cohesion of the community governance system. These sacred forests, lakes, waterfalls and other sites are now critically threatened by the push for tourism development, plantations and mining.

The unravelling of these threads that held communities together and gave them autonomy and resilience, is something that must be urgently addressed as environmental and economic pressures escalate. One of The Mupo Foundation’s (Mupo) priorities is to support the Makhadzi, empowering them to become effective community leaders. MUPO Foundation want to deepen the women local leaders’ empowerment to a point where they can consolidate their constitutional rights to all areas of ecological, spiritual and cultural importance. This will enable them to secure and diversify their livelihood systems.

 

– Women into agro processing activities (Manchie Women Cassava Processing and Marketing Group-Ghana)

Manchie Women’s Cassava/Food Processing Group is a cassava farming and food processing group in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The group was formed in 2002 by Hon. Comfort Zormelo the Assembly woman of the area to economically empower the rural poor women. The group is made up of 20 women involved in the gari processing business. The group in addition, supported the construction and setting up of a school where women could leave their young ones while they make an income.

The group as a result of AWDF’s support has been able to purchase cassava processing equipment to support their processing activities; they have been able to rent a 50 acres farm land which they have cultivated. The produce from their farm feeds the processing facility. This has greatly enhanced their processing and marketing activities and has also improved income levels of women, many of whom are single mothers and widows.

Madam Comfort Zormelo, the leader of the group as a result of all the work the group is doing with AWDF’s support, was nominated from the Greater Accra region of Ghana with other nine women from the rest of the country and given an award of excellence for their work on the economic empowerment of women by development partners.

 

– Food storage using traditional silos and integrated pest management (KOWA Farms-Ghana)

The Kobo No. 3 Awoma Co-operative Food Farming & Marketing Society (KOWAFARMS) was formed in 2005 to empower women and the youth in crop production using organic methods to ensure food security in its operational areas. The group operates in the Volta Region of Ghana and its beneficiaries are women and the youth. KOWAFARMS has in the past trained women and youth in its targeted communities in integrated pest management, land conservation, grass-cutter, rabbit and snail farming and has also undertaken anti-bush fire campaigns in some traditional areas within the Volta Region of Ghana.

AWDF’s support enabled the group to empower women small-holder farmers to find and disseminate solutions that will reduce waste from postharvest losses of grain and tuber crops and turn typically discarded by-products into something of increased value. By addressing food security, creating demand for grain and tuber crops and improving efficiency at all stages along the value chain. The project has introduced new locally made silos that are designed to keep harvest in a low-oxygen atmosphere at all times in order to prevent the onset of mud and decay. This unique and innovative project has greatly improve the livelihoods of women farmers with low incomes. KOWAFARMS is piloting traditional granary and metal silo technology in the four district of Volta region of Ghana and expected to be rolled out by 2015 countrywide to help farmers to cut the 30 per cent post-harvest losses (PHL).

 

– Environmental sanitation activities (Women’s Leadership and Training Program (WLTP-South Africa; SOS Addis-Ethiopia, collects plastic waste, recycle to generate income and ameliorate environment)

Women’s Leadership and Training Programme (WLTP), was initiated in 1985 by the Grail, an international women’s movement active in South Africa since 1950. WLTP is an integrated leadership and development programme for girls and young women that analyses gender and cultural practices that demean women and make them subordinate to men, it also empowers women and girls to be more conscious of the threat pose by environmental degradation.

WLTP through AWDF’s support was able to educate over 200 women and young women on environmental sanitation and waste management. WLTP’s waste management activities are in four local Municipalities, Kwa Sani, Ingwe, Umzumbe and Ubuhlebezwe.Hlokozi falls into 2 local Municipalities, Umzumbe with 19 Wards stretching inland from the South Coast of KZN, and Ubuhlebezwe, in the Highflats/Ixopo areas, with 12 Wards.

WLTP in a bid to reduce the threat posed by indiscriminate dumping of waste and to ameliorate the environment, embarked on a community sensitization drive on the negative impact of environmental degradation. Community members were also educated on how to use waste to create livelihood opportunities for community members.

SOS ADDIS, is another organisation based in Ethiopia that is supported by AWDF. It mobilizes women to protect the environment from pollution through the collection of plastic waste; the women collectors of the plastic waste sell them to recycling companies to generate income to meet their social needs. AWDF over the years has supported SOS ADDIS to train some of the women collectors to use the waste SOS ADDIS was supported by AWDF to advocate for better practices of plastic bag use. Their advocacy for recycling reform turned into a real policy, Proclamation 513, which bans the manufacture or import of plastic bags less than 0.33mm in thickness.

 

– Research: African Biodiversity Network (ABN)-Kenya

The African Biodiversity Network (ABN) was first conceived in 1996 in response to growing concerns over threats to biodiversity and community rights in Africa and the need to develop strong African positions and legal instruments at the national, regional and international level. The overall purpose of ABN is to ignite and nurture a growing African network of individuals, organizations and communities working, with capacity to resist harmful developments and to influence and implement policies and practices that promote recognition and respect for people and for Nature. The ABN has developed into a regional network which now consists of 36 partners in twelve African countries: Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Though AWDF’s support, ABN researched, produced and launched a report on women’s knowledge systems and their critical role in seed selection, household food and nutritional sovereignty as well as climate change resilience. This is an evidence based document to be used for advocacy.

 

 

– Environmental Film Festival of Accra-Creative Storm- Ghana

As part of the advocacy efforts, AWDF supported the Creative Storm to organize the 2012 (second edition) State of the Environment Forum. The forum brought together over 200 participants from across Ghana to deliberate and report on progress towards environmental sustainability in Ghana. The 2012 forum highlighted issues that inform the role of women in the environment. AWDF support enabled Creative Storm to bring more women participants and presenters to the forum. This enriched the sessions and turned out to be a much welcomed initiative. Presentations were made in three thematic areas: climate change, degraded environment & flooding; water and sanitation; natural resources.

Environmental Film Festival of Accra (EFFA) was founded in 2005 as a non profit project to raise awareness of environmental issues through the powerful medium of film and related platforms. EFFA has been described by Times Europe in its March 2006 edition as “the stellar festival of Africa.”

 

– AWDF’s EEL Convening in South Africa

To strengthen women’s role in advocacy, AWDF in 2013 organized an Economic Empowerment and Livelihood (EEL )convening in South Africa that created the platform for women experts and practitioners in the EEL to brainstorm and discuss current and emerging trends in women’s livelihood and environmental issues. At the end of the workshop a statement was issued which was used to further highlight the impact of climate change on women’s livelihoods during the World Economic Forum in South Africa.

 

– Sustainable Livelihoods and Natural Environment Conservation through Beekeeping and agroforestry (Kawuku Women’s Group-Uganda)

The Kawuku Women’s Group is a local women’s group that was formed in 1998 by some women in the local church parish of the district. The purpose of the group is to improve the standard of living of women in terms of increased incomes, improved general health and improved nutrition in the communities. The group operates in Kawuku village, Gaba Parish, Makindye Division of Kampala District. The group was supported by AWDF to undertake beekeeping activities to provide income to women and also to cultivate trees to restore degraded farm land. The group members as a result of the project have experienced increase in incomes. This is because among the 40 beehives, they have been able to harvest honey from 36 hives. Each hive produces a minimum of 1 litre, meaning that from the 36 hives we are able to get 36 litres every 3 months. The income generated has been used to acquire an office at Lubaga and purchase of office equipment. The next money earned will be given to women as revolving credit. The group was able to heat and make 8 packets of 15 candles every week. The degraded land used for the apiary is now vegetated.

 

 

 

– Movement of Women Farmers/Farm Workers Participating in a Food Sovereignty Campaign: Surplus Peoples Project-South Africa

Surplus People Project (SPP) was formed in 1985 by researchers who documented forced removal during apartheid in an effort to address lack of land and housing for black people. The purpose of SPP is to build and support social movements in its struggles for food sovereignty and agrarian transformation. To achieve this, SPP facilitates pro-poor agrarian transformation and food sovereignty. It supports and promotes the implementation of agro-ecological practices as an alternative to the dominant forms of production. The organization currently works in two provinces in South Africa (Northern and Western Cape). SPP’s programs are targeted at small-scale farmers, farm workers & dwellers (women and youth in particular).

The Rural Women’s Assembly is a space where women from the Food Sovereignty Campaign share their struggles for land, water and development resources. Through AWDF’s support, SPP was able to provide spaces where women can strategically engage on issues of natural resource rights. SPP also developed the skills of rural women to build solidarity and to effectively participate in political spaces such as the Food Sovereignty Campaign.

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]During my time here at AWDF, I have learned what it is to be a fragment within a functioning organization that has an aim to promote and create access for women within multiple facets of society. While editing various works, I have had the pleasure of reading a multitude of narratives on and by women who are not only creating space for their voices to be heard and bodies noticed; but I have also learned what a dream, funding, and drive can do to create sustainable change. These stories not only opened my eyes to the realities of the persistent gender based barriers still present in society; but also the women who are making it their mission to dismantle the systems in place that impede the progress of, and deny access to, women across the continent of Africa.

 

It has been a privilege to be able to work with an organization that not only seeks to provide funding, but also finds it integral to sustainable growth that their grantee organizations are provided with knowledge and skills to build and further develop their capacity.

 

While working as an intern for the Capacity Building Unit, I have been afforded an education that I doubt I would have been able to attain within the four walls of a classroom at my university. This hands-on experience has not only expanded my views on organizations that function like AWDF, but it has also provided me with comprehension on resource mobilization that will prove useful for organizations I am involved in at home.

 

I know without a doubt, that my time here at AWDF has now become a cardinal element of not only my academic growth… but also my ability to lead and work within organizations seeking to promote equity and empowerment.

By: Avatara Smith – Carrington, Rutgers University, USA[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Pendant mon temps ici à AWDF, j’ai appris ce que c’est d’être un élément d’une organisation dynamique qui a un but de promouvoir et de créer l’accès des femmes au sein de multiples facettes de la société. Lors de l’édition de divers travaux, je l’ai eu le plaisir de lire une multitude de récits sur et par les femmes qui ne sont pas seulement de créer un espace pour que leurs voix soient entendues et leurs organismes remarqués; mais j’ai aussi appris ce qu’est un rêve, le financement, et le lecteur peuvent faire pour créer un changement durable. Ces histoires non seulement m’ont ouvert les yeux sur les réalités des obstacles persistants entre les sexes sur des bases encore présentes dans la société; mais aussi les femmes qui font leur mission de démanteler les systèmes en place qui entravent le progrès, et refusent l’accès aux femmes à travers le continent de l’Afrique.

 

Cela a été un privilège de pouvoir travailler avec une organisation qui cherche non seulement à fournir des fonds, mais qui se trouve aussi partie intégrante de la croissance durable que leurs organisations bénéficiaires ont fournis avec les connaissances et les compétences nécessaires pour construire et développer davantage leurs capacités.

 

Tout en travaillant en tant que stagiaire pour l’Unité de renforcement des capacités, je me suis donné une éducation dont je doute que j’aurais pu atteindre dans les quatre murs d’une classe à mon université. Cette expérience pratique a non seulement élargi mon point de vue sur les organisations qui fonctionnent comme AWDF, mais elle m’a aussi fourni la compréhension sur la mobilisation des ressources qui se révélera utile pour les organisations dans lesquelles je suis impliquée à la maison.

 

Je sais sans aucun doute, que mon temps ici à AWDF est devenu un élément cardinal de non seulement ma progression académique … mais aussi ma capacité de diriger et de travailler au sein des organisations qui cherchent à promouvoir l’équité et l’autonomisation.

Par: Avatara Smith – Carrington, Rutgers University, USA [/ tp]

As the African Feminist Forum Working Group we are distressed to hear that nine women human rights defenders were arrested on 21 June 2014 in Cairo after participating in a peaceful protest against the Protest and Public Assembly Law[1]. The nine women are: Yara Sallam, Sanaa Seif, Hanan Mustafa Mohamed, Salwa Mihriz, Samar Ibrahim, Rania El-Sheikh, Nahid Sherif (known as Nahid Bebo) and Fikreya Mohamed.

 

As Africans and as feminists we have witnessed the tremendous leadership of Egyptian women before, during and since the 2011 revolution and in organising for democracy, including taking to streets where they have continued to mobilize despite facing violence and harassment for being women. We know that this is the continuation of a legacy of brave and important activism that Egyptian feminists and women’s rights activists have made across history towards shaping freedom in Egypt.

 

As the African Feminist Forum Working Group we send out solidarity to our fellow activists and sisters.

 

We also add our support to the following six demands made by Nazra for Feminist Studies, to the Egyptian authorities:

 

1. Drop all charges directed at the women human rights defenders and effectuate their immediate and unconditional release;

 

2. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all the aforementioned women human rights defenders;

 

3. Cease the harassment and persecution of human rights defenders and ensure that all human rights defenders in Egypt are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities free from persecution, arbitrary arrest, judicial harassment and physical violence;

 

4. Ensure that the Protest and Public Assembly Law is revised to be fully compliant with relevant international standards and the newly passed Egyptian constitution;

 

5. Guarantee the right of women human rights defenders to engage in human rights work and take measures to ensure their protection before the law and in society;

 

6. Quash the convictions of other human rights defenders that are based on a Protest and Public Assembly Law and drop all charges stemming from the legitimate exercise of the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

 

Signed,

African Feminist Forum Working Group

Date 24th June 2014

 

[1] Law No, 107 on the Right to Public Meetings, Processions and Peaceful Demonstrations, passed in 2013

Introduction

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant making foundation that supports local, national and regional organizations working towards the empowerment of African women and the achievement of gender equality on the continent. The vision of AWDF is for women to live in a world where there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilize and disburse financial, human and material resources to support positive transformation in Africa. We believe that If women are empowered with skills, information, sustainable livelihoods, opportunities to fulfil their potential, plus the capacity and space to make transformative choices, then we will have vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities.

To achieve its vision and mission, the African Women’s Development Fund provides grant and technical support to women’s groups and organizations in Africa working on issues in line with the following themes:

• Women’s Human Rights (WHR)
• Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods (EEL)
• Health and Reproductive Rights (HRR)
• Governance Peace and Security (GPS)
• Arts Culture and Sports (ACS) and
• HIV/AIDS

The current call is opened from 18^th June to 19th September. Applicants are to send in proposals with innovative but effective strategies to address issues relating to the specified focus areas under the various listed themes: The areas of focus are as follows:

 

Women’s Human Rights (WHR)

In the area of promoting Women’s Human Rights, priority will be given to projects that enhance

• Women and girls access to justice especially around land and property rights
• Policy engagements on women’s rights
• Addressing violence against women

Supported projects will target key populations such as indigenous women, rural women, commercial sex workers, women of different sexual identities and orientations, women with disabilities, women living with HIV/AIDS; female migrant workers; women working in quarries, mining areas, cocoa growing areas and other socially disadvantaged groups.

 

Governance, Peace & Security (GPS)

To enhance women’s participation in decision making and peace building, projects that will be supported would focus on

• Enabling women’s voices to be heard and their interest represented at all levels of decision making
• Building women’s leadership capacities
• Facilitating women’s participation in the democratic processes

 

Economic Empowerment & Livelihood (EE&L)

To increase income earning opportunities for women, projects to be supported should seek to

• Work with smallholder women farmers
• Work on climate change and food security issues
• Build micro enterprises and strengthen cooperatives

 

Health & Reproductive Rights (HRR)

In the area of HRR the proposal will seek to minimize maternal and infant mortality rates and to address some urgent health issues affecting women and girls. Projects to be supported will target;

• Improvement in maternal and child health
• Prevention of breast and cervical cancer
• Strengthening women’s voices to advocate for the implementation of National health policies
• Training and equipping traditional birth attendants
• Improve access to family planning information and services
• Promote the reproductive health and rights of women

 

Arts, Sports & Culture (AS&C)

Projects to be supported under this theme will use arts, sports and culture to help address the negative images of women, by building women’s talents and skills as well as to build their capacities to lead the advocacy for the promotion of the rights of women. The support will cover:

• The use of arts and popular culture to disseminate information on women’s rights and other key issues affecting women, to new and hard to reach audiences
• Raise the voices and profiles of women in all sectors of leadership on the continent using media such as music, films, documentaries, TV and radio productions, and national and regional film festivals.

HIV/AIDS

Projects that will be supported under this theme will be centered on:

• Fighting stigma and discrimination against women living with HIV/AIDS
• Promoting the rights of women living with HIV/AIDS
• Building the capacities of women living with HIV/AIDS to take leadership positions and to lead the advocacy for the promotion of the rights of women living with HIV/AIDS
• To facilitate the inclusion and participation of women living with HIV in decision making forums at the community, national and international levels
• Innovative HIV prevention activities and programmes
• Economic empowerment for women living with HIV

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant organisation must have been in existence for at least 3 years
• The organization must be duly registered, at least with its local government structure
• The organization must be led by a woman
• The organization must have the needed organizational structures
• The organization must have an appreciable financial management system
• The organization must be capable of reporting back on the outcomes of the project
• The organization must be highly recommended by a donor agency, a grantee or partner of AWDF or the local government office
• The applying organization must complete the necessary application forms

 

Grant Size

Eligible projects should have a budget ranging from $10,000 to $20.000.

 

Grant Period

The grant period will be for one year from the date of award.

 

Expectation

The grantee is expected to send in 2 reports. An interim report and a final comprehensive report detailing the various activities, lessons learnt and clearly defined achievements at the end of the project. The organisation must be capable of measuring the results of the project and must be able to document stories and lessons learnt for sharing with AWDF

How to apply

Interested organisations should send in their proposals to the AWDF secretariat in Accra, Ghana, using the required grant applications guidelines which include a financial management assessment form.

For more information, please visit the following links:

AWDF Grant Application Guideline

Financial Management Assessment Questionnaire

Framework for Measuring Outcomes

 

The African Women’s Development Fund

Office: Plot 78 Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon

Post: P.M.B CT 89 Cantonments, Accra, Ghana

Email: awdf@africlub.net/awdf; grants@africlub.net/awdf

Website: www.africlub.net/awdf

Tel : + 233 289669666

 

NOTE: Please note that this is a very competitive process and it is only organizations with innovative but effective strategies who will be supported. Again, organizations must clearly demonstrate their ability to communicate their achievements.

African Grantmakers Network Call for Nominations 2014

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Grantmakers Network (AGN) celebrates individuals and organisations who demonstrate excellence and innovation in philanthropic practice in Africa. The AGN African Philanthropy awards recognize African philanthropists who show a tangible commitment to lasting and institutional change, are committed to genuine partnership with local, national or international communities, and who advance a vision and voice of African agency and self determination.

The AGN invites the public to nominate individuals and organisations to be considered as recipients of the 2014 African Philanthropy Awards at the AGN Assembly in Accra, Ghana in November 2014.

DOWNLOAD the guidelines and fill out the nomination form by clicking that link.

 

Link to their website posting and online nomination form: here.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Réseau des subventionneurs africains (AGN) célèbre les individus et les organisations qui font preuve d’excellence et d’innovation dans la pratique philanthropique en Afrique. Les prix AGN de philanthropie africaine reconnaissent les philanthropes africains qui montrent un engagement tangible et durable et le changement institutionnel, ils se sont engagés à un véritable partenariat avec les communautés locales, nationales ou internationales, et ils avancent une vision et la voix de l’agence de l’Afrique et de l’autodétermination.

L’AGN invite le public à la candidature de personnes et les organisations à être considérés comme des bénéficiaires de African Philanthropy Awards 2014 à l’Assemblée AGN à Accra, au Ghana en Novembre ici 2014.

Téléchargez les directives et remplir le formulaire de candidature en cliquant sur ce lien.

Lien vers leur site web et affichage formulaire de candidature en ligne: ici.[tp]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]06 May 2014

An open letter to African Leaders and Global Opinion Leaders

Written by the Positive Women’s Network

ACT NOW IN DEFENCE OF AFRICA’S GIRL CHILD

We, Women in the Positive Women’s Network appeal to you to hear the 239 families, who have lost their daughters, whilst they were at school, and were abducted by vicious men, as punishment for pursuing education- a basic and universal right for children of the world, and now we are told the girls will be sold into slavery. We appeal to you to intervene in order to secure their immediate and safe return to their families.

By now it is known that on 15 April, 2014 230 young girls were abducted from Chibok Government School by Boko Haram Terrorists, under the cover of darkness. Since then, more than 21 days and nights have passed, there has been no indication of where the girls are, nor the conditions under which they are being kept. As women we know and share the debilitating anxiety and pain which comes from not knowing where or how our loved one’s might be. We are concerned that the shared hope we hold, that seeking the education that was to transform their lives has led into this unimaginable horror and nightmare.

We urge that it is of utmost importance that the girls are found and restored to safety, for the future of all young girls in the Continent. We believe that unless the perpetrators of this vile act are apprehended and brought to justice, the right of every young women, to education, is at stake.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Prudence Mabele

Executive Director

 

Positive Women’s Network

Suite 2

2 Hood Avenue

Rosebank

2196

Tel: +27.11.447.7063

Fax: +27.11.447.7313

Email: pmabele@pwn.org.za

Email: pmabele@mweb.co.za[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]6 mai 2014

Une lettre ouverte aux dirigeants africains et aux leaders d’opinion mondiaux

Rédigé par le Réseau des femmes séropositives

AGIR MAINTENANT POUR LA DÉFENSE DES PETITES FILLES D’AFRIQUE

Nous, les femmes du Réseau des femmes séropositives vous appelons a entendre les 239 familles, qui ont perdu leurs filles, alors qu’elles étaient à l’école, et ont été enlevées par des hommes vicieux, en punition, car elles poursuivaient leur éducation- un droit fondamental et universel des enfants dans le monde, et maintenant on nous dit que les filles seront vendus en esclavage. Nous vous demandons d’intervenir afin d’assurer leur retour immédiat et en toute sécurité dans leurs familles.

A présent, il est su que le 15 Avril 2014, 230 jeunes filles ont été enlevées à l’École Gouvernementale de Chibok par les terroristes de Boko Haram, sous couvert d’obscurantisme. Depuis lors, plus de 21 jours et nuits ont passé, et il n’y a aucune indication de l’endroit où elles sont ou sur les conditions dans lesquelles elles sont maintenues captives. En tant que femmes, nous connaissons et partageons l’angoisse et la douleur débilitante due au fait de ne pas savoir où ni comment notre bien-aimé peut être. Nous nous sentons concernées par cet espoir commun, cette recherche d’éducation qui était sensée transformer leur vie et qui a conduit à cette horreur inimaginable et ce cauchemar.

Nous demandons instamment, car il est de la plus haute importance, que les filles soient trouvées et mises en sécurité, pour l’avenir de toutes les jeunes filles du Continent. Nous croyons que si les auteurs de cet acte ignoble sont appréhendés et traduits en justice, le droit de toutes les jeunes femmes et l’éducation, seront en jeu.

 

Sincèrement votre,

 

Prudence Mabele

Directrice exécutive

 

Positive Women’s Network

Suite 2

2 Hood Avenue

Rosebank

2196

Tel: +27.11.447.7063

Fax: +27.11.447.7313

Email: pmabele@pwn.org.za

Email: pmabele@mweb.co.za[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]On the 22nd of May 2014, I had the pleasure of delivering a session on ‘Leveraging digital technologies for fundraising success’ as part of Fundraising Online 2014. I shared case studies from The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo, Spectra Speaks and the Korle Bu Family Fund.

For those who missed the session please see the power point below. Do share your tips of successful fundraising using digital technologies in the comments box.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le 22 mai 2014, j’ai eu le plaisir de donner une session sur «Capitaliser sur les technologies numériques pour la réussite de la collecte de fonds» dans le cadre de la collecte de fonds en ligne 2014. Je partageais les études de cas de The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo, Spectra Speaks et de Korle Bu Family Fund.

Pour ceux qui ont manqué la session s’il vous plaît voir ci-dessous le power point. N’hésitez pas à partager vos conseils de collectes de fonds réussies en utilisant les technologies numériques dans la boîte de commentaires.

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is looking for an experienced consultant with demonstrable expertise on women’s rights work in Africa to undertake a formative evaluation on one of its thematic grant making areas – Health and Reproductive Rights (HRR).

The overall objective of the HRR thematic area program review is to identify current and emerging issues of focus under the health and reproductive rights of women in Africa to inform its grant making work. It is also to assess and document the work AWDF has done under this thematic area over the past twelve years including examining the relevance of the newly selected priorities in advancing women’s health and reproductive rights on the continent. The evaluation will also look at the major challenges that is associated with the low patronage of the thematic area and the areas AWDF needs to bring on board to strengthen the scope and coverage. The full terms of reference are attached.

The time frame expected for the execution of this study is four weeks between the months of August and September, 2014.

Interested applicants are encouraged to send their expression of interest including CVs and proposals (Technical and financial) to the following address:

zeytuna[at]awdf dot org and copy yengsaanchi[at]yahoo dot com

The deadline for submission of applications is by close of work on Friday July 11,2014. Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted. Applications from women consultants based in Africa are especially welcome.

Please see link to the Terms of Reference for this consultancy below:

Terms of Reference, Thematic Evaluation

In 2013, I was leading a gender and peace building workshop in which the organisers intuitively built in institutional work as an essential part of creating peaceful and holistic societies. Organisations present were asked to look inward at their personal and institutional practices and values on gender. As part of institutional reflection, we invited three organisations in the host country to speak about the meaning of building gender equitable organisations. Two of the presenters highlighted their activities and achievements. The final presenter focused on the sweat, blood and tears that her organisation had gone through in its close to fifteen year journey of working to end gender based violence. She did this through illustrations[i] that highlighted six major moments in her organisation’s growth cycle.

 

It was a presentation that was cited repeatedly during the workshop because it did two things. First, it told the story behind the story. This is the story behind activities, staff qualifications, experience and strategic plans which could be found on the website but which do not tell us what it means to do the work and live the values. Second, it challenged the workshop participants who had hitherto declared that their organisations were very gender sensitive, to re-examine the true state of their institutions beyond the value statements on banners and websites.

 

What does the above have to do with results based programming (RBP)? RBP contains sometimes confusing terminology – outputs, outcomes, results, indicators and targets, which are accompanied by multiple ways of thinking, writing up and collecting evidence to support each. It is a received framework – World Bank derived – which makes institutions and individuals that want to build organic processes that speak to their contexts reluctant to use it.

 

However, in my view, RBP is simply a process that enables us to tell a compelling story about why we do the work we do. This is a story that does not start with the strategic plan, priority areas and activities, however critical they are in the later stages of an organisation’s planning process. It starts withcontinuous reflection on the vision for change we desire in our communities and why we are best positioned to deliver it. Second, RBP as a framework asks us to take a step back to assess whether the change we desire is supported by a sound analysis of the root causes of the problem and its current manifestations. Third, can aspects of the change we desire be achieved through the set of priorities we have identified and the constituencies we have targeted? Fourth are we realistic about our ability to deliver what we plan for with our communities. Fifth, how do we know when change is happening and our role in it?

 

In May 2014, at a workshop on RBP with twenty small to medium sized organisations that are AWDF grantees, 10 lessons emerged about the meaning of creating and articulating innovative programmes within our communities:

 

1. Clarity: RBP terms can be confusing but it is a process that begins with clarity of purpose. We may all want “happy, healthy societies for women” – but each organisation wants it for a different reason. The need to be clear about what you believe “happy, health societies” will achieve and how you realistically propose to get there is an essential part of the programming journey. Clarity about who you are working with, where and why you are doing a specific activity/project/programme will make the process of planning for reporting and tracking much simpler especially when you are a small organisation
2. Identifying our strengths: Most of our work is driven by compassion, personal experience and the failure of the state to deliver services amongst others factors. As a result, we do not create time to reflect on our capacity to drive the change we seek. It is important to identify where our strengths lie and build on those as well as identify our weaknesses and plan to improve on them. This process facilitates effective and efficient programmes and allows us to identify where additional resources need to go to in order to strengthen our organisations as vehicles for movement building.
3. Root cause analysis: The absence of “happy, healthy societies” is caused by a number of factors, some of them decades in the making. Do we have a sense of what the causes are and the factors that prevent these causes from being resolved? Mapping our understanding of the state of affairs, why we believe it persists and how to transform it offers a good foundation for reviewing our journey towards changing the status quo. Sometimes, our analysis of root causes, are found in broad statements such as “poverty”, “lack of policies”, “culture”. While valid, it makes it difficult to make a case for how training 6,000 rural women in business skills in a remote village in Namibia will resolve poverty and the lack of enabling government policies in that village. Making a clear (even though life is complex) link between the activities you propose, your target groups and how the changes you envisage contribute to resolving what you have identified as the problem is a useful element of RBP.
4. Responding to causes and consequences: How much of our work is geared towards dealing with the causes of the problem? How much work deals with the factors that sustain the problem? How much of our work responds to other things that are remotely related to the problem? Continuously developing clarity about how your work contributes to resolving the factors that cause as well as enable the problems you are responding to, facilitates a more thoughtful mapping of who else is working on the issue, why you need to work with them (and sometimes against them), at what level and how – as allies, influencers, power brokers, gate keepers and direct constituencies who sustain movements for change.
5. The value of numbers: The pressure associated with raising funds to sustain organisations means that we articulate our work as sets of activities and the immediate results. We focus less on how those activities contribute to the broader change the organisations were set up to achieve. For example, a report that begins and ends with 6,000 women were trained in business skills, effectively shows how 5000USD was spent. However, when we think beyond shillings and cents, speaking about what why that training was useful in the first place is a more useful story about impact. Articulating the value of training 6,000 women and gathering evidence to show what the training has facilitated in real terms, is the next layer – medium term – of thinking about results within the RBP framework. How many of the women who were trained are using those skills, in what areas, with what effect on their livelihoods and that of their communities. RBP pushes us to think about the transformative intention of the numbers.
6. Plan and write for you: when we are accountable to ourselves and not to the next reporting cycle that releases funds, then our commitment to planning for and reflecting on the work becomes part of movement building and creating institutional memory. The identification of sign posts of change – indicators, developing simple mechanisms to collect information regularly and building memory through reports, discussions, debates, videos, becomes part of a learning journey for the organization and not a process initiated for funders.
7. Proof: There is immense anxiety around proving to donors that work is being done. When focus is placed on proving to donors, the last minute collection of proof to show impact follows. This proof is often in the form of quotations from beneficiaries – “we are very grateful for the training X gave us”, case studies and pictures. While all of this is important, this proof is often used for “show and tell” purposes. It is evidence that we were here and a workshop was done. It is proof that we met the Y ministers we said we would meet. The pictures and videos should not be seen as proof of work done but as the illustration of how the change (impact) process is unfolding.
8. Honour the experiences: Always remember that one size does not fit all. Interventions and subsequent reporting mechanisms need to suit the constituencies you work with and honour their agency. While stories about an individual in a community are powerful, stories about communities and their journey with you are equally compelling. It enables us see the connections in peoples lives and the process of change. In the era of social media, we should not always be pressured to find the perfect quote that can be re-tweeted or blogged about. We must remain authentic to the essence of the message/story/testimonyshared with us. We are entrusted with stories by virtue of our work, honour them as part of us but also as part of the lives they speak about.
9. Reflect and review: The process of implementing programmes and writing about failures and successes is ultimately a process about studying our environment and how it is adapting to and/or resisting change. Challenges and obstacles are an essential part of understanding the environments we operate in, the new dynamics that shape our work and the lives of our constituents. Do not lose the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of those challenges in order to emphasize how successful you are. Challenges enable us review our approach to the change (impact) journey and keep us alert to mapping the state of affairs, our responses and the new barriers that block change.
10. The soul: Always remember the passion and purpose that drove the work when it all begun. Organisations must grow, however, it is important to focus on what you know best and strengthen how you deliver it in response to new challenges and innovations. The pressure to take on new areas of work because of funding opportunities should not drive how our movements grow. Always remember the story behind the story. The spirit that started the journey.

 

[i]Start and launch; grow and deliver; delegate and evaluate; specialize and control; renew and rebuild; envision and commit

 

Dr. Awino Okech is a programme development and management specialist with 10 years experience in the delivery of social justice programming in Eastern Africa and the Great Lakes region.

 

 

Master Class on Writing Children’s Stories and Young Adult Fiction with Mamle Wolo, June 14 in Accra

This coming Saturday, award-winning author, Mamle Wolo will be teaching a writer’s master class focusing on children’s stories and young adult fiction. Many of her short stories have been published in several journals and anthologies. Also, her young adult novel, The Kaya Girl, won the Burt Award for African Literature in 2011.

If you are a man or a woman interested in participating in the workshop, please send a short bio and a sample story or article to info@mbaasem.net by Tuesday, June 10. Successful applicants will be notified by June 12. The workshop will take place from 9:00-4:00 on June 14. It is organised by the Mbaasem Foundation and the Golden Baobab Prize. AWDF and the Royal Bank are sponsoring. We hope you will apply!

Link to Mbaasem Foundation’s post: here.