Category: News

by Gertrude Bibi Annoh Quarshie

“Giving”- in its purest form includes using our hearts, our minds, our talents and other resources in ways that enrich the lives of all people whether poor or rich. It is simply being conscious about the problems around us and taking purposeful action to solve those problems. “Giving” is a dignified selfless act of passion and compassion!

As a staff the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), I am very passionate about what we are doing to transform the lives of African women. More often than not, people are interested in how they can also support activities or initiatives that promote or uphold women’s rights. The workplace-giving programme is one of the channels that any group of people can use to raise funds internally. In fundraising, individual efforts are important but the synergy from a group is usually worth the investment and that is why I love the principle of workplace giving.

Workplace giving is an initiative in which employees raise money internally by donating a certain amount from their monthly salaries, deductible at source. The contributors then decide on which project(s) to support with the fund.

The AWDF workplace giving programme was inspired by a donation received from the Hewlett Foundation’s staff workplace giving programme 12 years ago. Since then, the fund has grown in size and in reach, supporting various initiatives that have put smiles on many faces. The Fund is managed solely by staff, with a three-member executive committee. Interested staff members complete a form instructing that a certain amount of money be deducted from their salary each month. All the contributions go into a fund administered by the committee.

Some of the initiatives the fund has supported include the provision of a water tank at the maternal and child centre at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital Ghana, provision of various sewing equipment to the Nsawam Female prisons and a donation to Operation SMILE. We recently supported the establishment of an innovation lab for students of the Africa Science Academy as well as the provision of equipment for PAYPD Kayayie centre for porter girls.

Having been associated with the workplace-giving programme over the past decade, I have become a stronger advocate of the phrase “don’t just complain about the state of affairs, take action”. GIVING is one way of taking action.

We are all capable of giving. If we can create a movement of individuals committed to donating a percentage of their resources to champion women’s social, economic and health rights, we will be helping to solve many problems. For more information on starting your own giving circles contact awdf@africlub.net/awdf.

From September 13^th – 15^th, 2018, AWDF convened 27 activists, academics, development workers and knowledge producers to strategise and prioritise African women’s economic futures. This convening culminated from AWDF’s fourth strategic plan Shaping the Future, and the accompanying Futures Trends Analysis Report which highlighted the socio-economic implications of anticipated trends in Africa for women and girls. Over three (3) consecutive days, we had extensive conversations, workshop and group activities that helped us build sound advocacy strategies for African women’s economic futures. As an institution committed to resourcing African women’s movements, AWDF believes that this convening was the first step in a journey to better support future-oriented strategies to engender African women’s economic justice and security.

Bread and Butter is the post-convening knowledge series which aims to document the dynamic, critical and radical perspectives of African women thinking about their economic futures. The expression “bread and butter” refers both to the ways in which individuals come to sustain themselves usually through paid work and individuals’ practical, every day needs and concerns.

We understand this series as our reflection of both the subsistence and practical, every day needs and concerns of African women oriented to the future. We believe that African women’s economic issues are both internalised and challenged in every day acts of resistance and solution-building. We also aim to demystify economics as a white, male and Western concept out of reach for African women.
Indeed, we believe that all African women understand the consequences and solutions for oppressive neoliberal capitalist economic models and we seek to encourage their voices as economic actors, thinkers and shape shifters. We aim to get to the real “bread and butter” issues that women and girls face on this continent, and envision a future Africa that ensures women’s and girls’ sustainable livelihoods, meaningful labour, and full socio-economic autonomy. The series will feature a range of opinion pieces, research essays, poems, stories and narratives of and by African women, with a future-focused feminist economic lens.

We hope that this series will engender new conversations about how we support African women to pursue economic justice and security. We also hope to contribute to a larger conversation about how philanthropic institutions regionally and globally can better support African women’s economic interests, as described by African women, themselves.

Are you passionate about African women’s economic futures? Would you like to contribute to our Bread and Butter series? Are you interested in being a media partner for our series? For details or to pitch a concept, please email our Knowledge Management Specialist, rita@africlub.net/awdf.

Please click on the titles below, to read the knowledge products that were developed as a result of this convening.

AFRICAN WOMEN ECONOMIC FUTURES CONVENING REPORT

A chapter closes as the well acclaimed CEO Forum of the AWDF Leadership and Governance Capacity building Programme draws to an end in its final convening held in Accra from 4th till 6th October 2018.

The Leadership and Governance Programme of AWDF has been an integral part of our grantmaking process for the past 4 years, having impacted dozens of women-led organisations across Africa. The CEO forum, the flagship of the Leadership and Governance programme, has also provided the opportunity for many women leaders to see themselves and their shared power as the propellant for sustainability for their organisations.

The CEO forum has continued to bring African women leaders together to help foster solidarity, sisterhood and true community. Through the Leadership and Governance Programme , we at AWDF have seen many women leaders truly blossom both personally and in their organisations and we are proud of the work that we have accomplished together.

For our grantees, the Leadership and Governance Programme provides a rare opportunity to engage with and develop feminist leadership. Our wonderful coaches, Hope Chigudu, Paula Fray and Yene Assegid have led each forum and coaching session with warmth and wisdom and provided an environment that allowed participants to grow and to bring others along with them on the journey. Although the programme is ending this year– its necessity is clear when you speak to any of the women who have participated in it, and we hope to be able to restart it in the near future.

Hear some of our wonderful women leaders speak on the programme and their experiences on the journey:

The African Women’s Development Fund believes that feminism is a strong backbone for any women’s organisation just as networking is key to movement building. Our coaching programme has always reflected this belief in the tenacity and ingenuity of African women and our grantees to take tiny seeds and grow them into mighty trees.

The Manda Coaching programme has been a hub for the development of many young leaders across the continent. The aim of the coaching programme has been to nurture and support the continued evolution of African feminist leaders and to support them in their growth.

The coaching programme starts with what has come to be known as the ‘Directors/CEO Forum’ which brings selected grantees together and facilitates exchange among them, develops capacity using different strategies and provides professional and technical skills.

Then follows face-to-face sessions, in addition to social media sessions, where coaching continues for a specified period. The coaching process includes practical assignments that are conducted in between sessions, with coachees putting into practice new ways of seeing and doing things, and also reflecting on experiences in each coaching session. So far, 60 leaders/activists have been coached.

This CEO forum marks the last forum in its four-year cycle, and signals the beginning of a period of reflection and evaluation, both for our coaches and our participants. We’re excited to sit, reflect and learn together as elected coachees, coaches and AWDF staff gather in Accra Ghana, on the 4-6th October 2018.

Track the tags #CEOForum #ShapingAfricasFuture and get involved in the conversation, and also meet some of our wonderful participants.

Background

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a pioneering grant-making foundation headquartered in Accra, Ghana. AWDF was founded by and for African women. It aims to support the work of the African women’s movement for peace, equality, sustainable development and social justice. Since its founding in 2001, AWDF has continued to support a growing portfolio of grants to leading women’s rights organisations and feminist movements across Africa, while also supporting knowledge generation, capacity building, and donor advocacy around African women’s activist histories, movement resourcing needs, and more recently, feminist futures.

ME&L is a key function of AWDF’s work. It entails constant review and updating of data to reflect and accommodate changes the organisation might undergo as well as to practicing and incorporating globally accepted ME&L standards. The volume of data generated by departments on programme areas for various purposes is huge making the collation and analysis of such data time consuming. AWDF is therefore looking to engage the services of an individual with the requisite qualification and experience to assist the ME&L unit in supporting data collection, analysis and reporting.

Qualifications and Experience

The successful applicant must have a blend of relevant background and professional experience in the following areas:

• A minimum of first degree in Statistics and Economic or any related field, and have adequate knowledge in data collection and processing
• Must be conversant and able to use statistical software like SPSS.
• Must have analytical and good communication skills
• Very organised and have strong multi-tasking and time-management skills.
• Great research skills and attention to details
• Knowledge of and commitment to African women’s rights issues
• Proficiency in MS Office applications especially, MS Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint
• Must be tech-savvy
• Working knowledge in French is an advantage

Responsibilities

• Support reporting on International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI)
  • Collate and aggregate data for publishing on IATI
  • Categorise data and code key org/project details to be published in consultation with ME&L Specialist and ME&L Assistant
  • To ensure that data to be published meets the IATI standards
• Collect, aggregate and analyse data periodically

• Assist in reviewing statistical instruments and data collection tools

• Assist in production of reports
• Provide support in other ME&L work in general

TIME FRAME

The external associate will be engaged with a service contract for a period of one-year renewable if necessary and based on availability of funding. The External Associate is expected to work not less than 40 hours a week (8 hours per day). Physical presence of the External Associate at AWDF office during the contract period is required.

Interested persons should please submit their application letter and Curriculum Vitae (CV) latest by close of work on September 30^th, 2018 by email to jobs@africlub.net/awdfand copy bamea@africlub.net/awdfwith the subject “Application for ME&L Associate” while responding.

The position is based in Accra and AWDF is not responsible for relocation and related costs for potential candidates. Female applicants are preferred’

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted

On September 13-15 2018, AWDF will convene a select group of activists, scholars, researchers and policy shapers to help build and think through a thoughtful, progressive and transformative vision for the future of women in African economies. The African Women’s Development Fund knows the potential of the power that women wield in our shared economic future and seeks to harness to shape this future.

At the “African Women: Economic Futures” convening we will examine what needs to be done to see that potential grow into tangible results. Participants will also investigate feminist interventions within the economy and how we can further support progressive changes that help ensure that the possibilities of our economic future becomes a reality.

The convening will be part of a larger movement-building process and ongoing conversation and activism around African women’s economic transformation. Some of the questions that will anchor the conversations and creative construction are:

• What is already being done to build just and secure economic presents and futures?
• How are African women actively, politically and intentionally creating subversive work/labour practices, and what can we learn from these?
• What economic models exist that can be engaged in thinking about where to go?

To participate in the conversation please follow the hashtag #AWDFfutures, #Econfutures, #Afrifem as well as our twitter handle @awdf01, where we will be unpacking these topics, and tweeting key thoughts and ideas from the convening. Also look out for future knowledge products that will come out of the amazing work that our participants will be doing over the 3-day period!

Please click here to read the full Futures Report.

A feminist, a passionate champion and advocate for the rights of women, Stella Mukasa was an exemplary human being. Her belief in equality spurred her to challenge patriarchal institutions on all levels of society and governance, and her feminist ethos guided her life and cultivated strong sisterhoods in a wide range of diverse personal and professional spaces. We at the African Women’s Development Fund have been privileged to know her as a friend, a sister and a colleague. She was one of a small handful of stalwarts who supported and shaped the early work of AWDF in various capacities as a key resource person. She was a leading light of the African Feminist Forum and the Ugandan Feminist Forum. We mourn her passing, yet are grateful and honoured to have known and worked with her.

Her years of work in governance, law, and gender and development allowed her to cultivate influence and change in spaces that were traditionally hard to reach. She used her work and her experience in the sector to promote transformation in every space she was found in, carving a niche for herself as a faculty member of the African Women’s Leadership Institute.

Stella, your loss is one we feel keenly. Rest well, sister. We will honour you with our work, and will carry the memory of your dignity and your determined fire with us.

To read about Stella in her own words, in the publication ‘Voice, Power and Soul’: Click here

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]

The African Women’s Development Fund is currently undertaking a Communications Audit to assess the reach and impact of our communications, and explore ways of better serving our existing audiences while attracting new constituencies.

Part of this exercise includes a survey to assess our communications strengths and weaknesses, as identified by stakeholders, plus their input as to how we could better meet expectations in respect of our communications.

We recently sent out a survey to our partners, grantees and stakeholders, which includes you. Your views and ideas are important to us, and we would be grateful if you would be a part of this process. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey if you haven’t done so already (link below).

This process is being lead by frayintermedia, who will analyse and pull together a report on the entire process. Your responses to the survey, will be kept confidential unless you give permission to quote them in the report.

Help us become better versions of ourselves.

To participate, please click here.

[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Fonds Africain pour le Développement de la Femme (AWDF) procède actuellement à un audit des communications de l’ensemble de l’organisation dans le cadre d’un programme de renforcement institutionnel visant à accélérer la croissance de l’organisation et à attirer de nouveaux groupes de donateurs et alliés.

Une partie de ce processus comprend une enquête auprès des parties prenantes pour évaluer les forces et les faiblesses que les parties prenantes identifient en termes de communications de l’AWDF.

Tout récemment nous avons envoyé un questionnaire à nos partenaires, bénéficiaires, et parties prenantes. Votre participation à cet exercice sera grandement appréciée. Au cas où vous n’avez pas encore rempli notre questionnaire, cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous.

Cet exercice est géré par Frayintermedia, qui analysera les données et rédigera un rapport sur l’ensemble du processus. Vos réponses resteront anonymes, à moins que vous ne leur donniez l’autorisation de figurer dans un rapport sur les résultats de l’enquête.

Aidez-nous à devenir les meilleurs.

Cliquez ici pour participer[/tp]

In 2010, as a part of its efforts to immortalise the works and achievements of African Women whose legacies of community development were not always documented,

AWDF instituted a fund in memory of Hawa Yakubu, a Ghanaian politician, a Member of Parliament in the Fourth Republic of Ghana and also a Minister for Tourism. Hawa Yakubu’s legacy is one of selflessness, dedication to the development of her community and the development of young women. As such the Hawa Yakubu fund benefited young women between 18-30, in tertiary institutions in the three Northern regions of Ghana.

We caught up with one of the young women, Linda Lariba Atibilla who was selected as a Hawa Yakubu award winner in 2011 and she spoke to us about her journey and her own start up initiative that was born out of the seed funding that she received as part of her award.

How did you get involved in the Hawa Yakubu Grants process and what was it like for you?

The Hawa Yakubu grantees were selected through an essay competition in 2011. We were awarded $5000 each, half went towards paying for our education with the other half going into a women focused initiative. When I had to choose the initiative I wanted to create, I already had a fair idea of the community that I wanted to work with. I come from a rural community in the Boko West District, called Benaba and female migration is a tragic part of life there. Girls disappear often, only to reappear working in cocoa farms or on the streets of Accra and Kumasi. Through the Hawa Yakubu fund I was able to engage 15 young women who had been victims of forced migration and create Hope Givers Company Limited to begin working in shea butter production. Over the years the organisation has really grown.

In the beginning I would have to invest 70% of my personal salary in the organisation but now with the organisation’s growth, I’ve had to resign and start working in it full time. We now have a factory and a website (thanks to some students from Manchester University) and today the organisation creates market access for over 615 rural women agricultural producers.

We’re currently exploring producing value added products- as we’ve realised how little access women shea farmers have to a larger market. Often times as the value chain moves up there are fewer women present, and we want to create more space within the market for the producers of shea. We are also exploring using other natural resources such as moringa, baobab and neem. There are times when I’ll be able to connect with other women producing baobab or neem products and take them to trade fairs, and help them gain access to a ready market for their products as well. The organisation is currently working on getting more machinery for our factory to allow for more mechanised production.

This has been a real learning journey for me especially when it comes to market production. The other young women who received the grant have acted as a good network for me, continually sharing knowledge and opportunities with me.

Network of Women in Growth (NEWIG) was formed with the goal of improving the conditions of the less privileged in society, especially women. It does this through economic empowerment, by creating access to vocational training and providing them with a network that could act as political leverage within society. This helps them develop common political agendas and action strategies, re-group and engage in critical analysis of their lives, society and the world at large.

In 2017 NEWIG, with the support of the African Women’s Development fund, launched a new program: “Young Women-in-Professional Driving”. It’s main objective was to empower disadvantaged young women to become professional drivers and enable them to gain remunerative ‘livelihoods with dignity’.

The programme comprised three modules, spread over 4 months. Upon graduation, these young women become professional and commercial chauffeurs and are deployed in various organisations. The programme also enhances their rights awareness and also to helps them become independent and confident women, who are able to have more autonomy over their lives and their choices.

Other institutions provide technical skills as part of the training. These include the Ghana Armed Forces Mechanical Transport School (for theory and practical driving training), Army Combat School (for self-defence training), 37 Military Hospital (for first aid training) and Armed Forces Fire Service Department (for fire prevention/fighting training).

We caught up with one of the beneficiaries of the program, MARY AGBOLI, to talk about her experiences and what she gained from being involved in the programme.

Describe the programme to us:

The NEWIG programme was organised to train women to occupy vacant spaces in male dominated occupations. Since most occupations have been male dominated Mrs Mawusi (founder of NEWIG) took it upon herself to train women to occupy those positions. The programme really benefited me, as at that time I was an untrained teacher and I didn’t know I could go higher from there. I have something, a skill and a certificate that I can boast of one day.

What was the training like?

The training wasn’t easy at all. We were trained by soldiers during the bootcamp section of the training and had to do personal training and classes all at the same time. It was really hectic but I had a lot of experiences. When I finished a lot of people asked me why I chose to drive, being a woman . I told them that it was what I wanted to do, and I gave my best to the programme.

A lot of men they are surprised at the field that I’m in. People are surprised that I’m a commercial bus driver and always say “how come? You are tiny– what do you use to drive?”. I found these comments discouraging, but I persevered and I took all of their surprise and criticism as fuel to complete the programme. I’m currently waiting for my license to be issued, and then I’ll commence work as a fully licensed bus driver for the rapid transport bus system **(Ayalolo)!

How did the programme benefit you?

The Newig program positively affected my life. It was through this program that I managed to be trained as a bus driver, which is a very good opportunity that I had access to. It’s not easy, but despite the criticism it’s what I want to do and what I’m now licensed to do.