Category: News

A statement from the leaders of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law:

For the past few days since the Anti Homosexuality Act was signed into law,
the Coalition Legal Committee has been engaged in plans for challenging the
law as agreed upon in the Legal Strategy Meeting.

As such, seven advocates from five law firms have been engaged to prepare to
challenge the AHA. The team has been officially working on the case since
Friday 28th and have held five meetings jointly since then, and many smaller
meetings.

The petition is already drafted, and input has been sought and obtained from
over 20 lawyers worldwide. I would like to thank those who have made input
in the petition. I believe we have a pretty watertight case now.

As for petitioners, we have 10- 1 Professor of Law as the leading
petitioner, 1 MP who is among the authors of the minority report, 1
journalist/political commentator, 1 former leader of opposition, 1 openly
gay medical doctor, 3 LGBTI leaders, and two organisations.

We have so far finalized 5 affidavits- for five of the petitioners and five
are being finalized. We expect to have all affidavits in by tomorrow, and to
have all of them commissioned by tomorrow.

We have also prepared two applications for stay of implementation of the
law, and also to stop the on going media outings. These will be filed
alongside the main petition.

We expect to hold out last pre filing meeting on Sunday and then we file on
Monday. The necessary fees have already been paid in full and are also
working to ensure there is media attention when we file.

I would like to thank all those who have provided support to us during this
process.

We thank you so much for the continued solidarity.

– Adrian Jjuuko, Chairperson of the Legal Committee of the Coalition

Read the official Coalition statement on the Anti-Pornography and Anti-Homosexuality Acts in Uganda: Coalition Statement.

Please check out their website as well for more information on what they do: Coalition website.

The Faith Hope Love Family Service Association Project based in Hawassa, Ethiopia has enlisted the aid of AWDF to help it achieve its goal of empowering women and OVCs towards HIV/AIDS prevention and controlling efforts. AWDF, along with the Association, has provided training and start-up capital to many disadvantaged women across the African continent. This program gives women social, economic, psychological and health empowerment so that they can develop a way of earning a stable income, to support themselves and their families.

 

Mrs. Tirunigo Samie pictured above with her main source of income, her cattle.

Mrs. Tirunigo Samie is one of the beneficiaries of the AWDF/Faith Hope Love Family Service Association project. She is HIV Sero-positive and a mother of five children. Her husband died six years ago and she now cares for her children independently. Before joining the AWDF programme, she had no source of income and had not been able to find employment due to her deteriorating health condition. As a result, her children were not attending school, she could not feed them and could not afford to pay their fees. At best, her children were fed once a day by a neighbour. She sent some of her children to the street and some of them to her relatives.

Samie tends to her goats, keeping them strong and healthy so they can produce delicious milk.

When she joined the AWDF supported programme she was encouraged to begin treatment and so she started taking ART (anti-retroviral therapy) and her health improved. After counselling and training she received a start-up capital of $266 (5,000.00 Ethiopian birr) from the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) project and started her own business. She is engaged in urban agriculture and sheep breeding.

Samie stands proudly in a part of her garden where she grows vegetables to sell.

She grows different vegetables in her small garden and keeps goats and sheep who provide milk that generates income. After about six months of running the business she has experienced a vast improvement in her life. With improved health she is better able to take care of her garden and has a constant supply of fresh vegetables to boost her nutrition and that of her children. She has become capable of feeding her family, the children look healthier, they have gone back to school, they are better clothed and she has developed excellent saving habits. She says, “Thanks to AWDF I am enjoying my life, I have work, I am socially and psychologically competent enough and empowered, that I can support my children and my family.”

The Faith Hope Love Family Service Association Project based in Hawassa, Ethiopia has enlisted the aid of AWDF to help it achieve its goal of empowering women and OVCs towards HIV/AIDS prevention and controlling efforts. AWDF, along with the Association, has provided training and start-up capital to many disadvantaged women across the African continent. This program gives women social, economic, psychological and health empowerment so that they can develop a way of earning a stable income, to support themselves and their families.

 

 

Mrs. Tirunigo Samie is one of the beneficiaries of the AWDF/Faith Hope Love Family Service Association project. She is HIV Sero-positive and a mother of five children. Her husband died six years ago and she now cares for her children independently. Before joining the AWDF programme, she had no source of income and had not been able to find employment due to her deteriorating health condition. As a result, her children were not attending school, she could not feed them and could not afford to pay their fees. At best, her children were fed once a day by a neighbour. She sent some of her children to the street and some of them to her relatives.

 

 

When she joined the AWDF supported programme she was encouraged to begin treatment and so she started taking ART (anti-retroviral therapy) and her health improved. After counselling and training she received a start-up capital of $266 (5,000.00 Ethiopian birr) from the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) project and started her own business. She is engaged in urban agriculture and sheep breeding.

 

 

She grows different vegetables in her small garden and keeps goats and sheep who provide milk that generates income. After about six months of running the business she has experienced a vast improvement in her life. With improved health she is better able to take care of her garden and has a constant supply of fresh vegetables to boost her nutrition and that of her children. She has become capable of feeding her family, the children look healthier, they have gone back to school, they are better clothed and she has developed excellent saving habits. She says, “Thanks to AWDF I am enjoying my life, I have work, I am socially and psychologically competent enough and empowered, that I can support my children and my family.”

 

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) will be holding a creative non-fiction workshop in Kampala, Uganda, organised by FEMRITE Uganda Women Writers Association from the 21st to the 31st of July 2014. The lead facilitators for the workshop will be Mamle Kabu, and Yewande Omotoso.

This workshop is targeted at writers and activists who wish to use the power of the written word to highlight issues around women’s rights and social justice. Participants taking part in this workshop will be expected to read widely from assigned selected texts, and to complete daily written exercises.

The organisation of this workshop forms part of AWDF’s efforts to raise African women’s voices. Writers who participate in this workshop will be supported to have their articles placed in a range of local, regional and international media. In line with AWDF’s ethos, efforts will be made to ensure that at least 20% of the writers selected for this workshop will be women from existing grantee organisations and activists from civil society spaces.

Accommodation and a travel grant will be provided for all accepted applicants who are able to attend for the duration of the workshop.

 

Application Guidelines

Deadline for submission is 23rd March 2014. Only those accepted to the workshop will be notified by 30th May 2014.

To apply, send an e-mail to writing@africlub.net/awdf
Your e-mail subject should read ‘Workshop Application’

The body of the e-mail should contain the following:
1. Your Name
2. Your Address
3. A short bio (maximum 200 words)
4. A sample article addressing an issue around women’s rights or social justice (of between 500 and 1000 words)

* Please state in your email if you are a member of an AWDF grantee organisation or network member

* The sample article could be either published or unpublished

Facilitators Bio

Mamle Kabu
Photo credit: Printex

Mamle Kabu, a writer of Ghanaian and German parentage, was born in Ghana and attended the University Primary School, Legon, and Achimota Secondary School.

At the age of 14 she moved to the United Kingdom. She completed her secondary schooling there, after which she studied at the University of Cambridge, where she obtained her BA and MA in Modern Languages and her MPhil in Latin-American Studies. She returned to Ghana in 1992 where she has since been resident and works as a freelance consultant in development issues.

Mamle took up fiction writing in the late 1990s and has since written a number of short stories, all of which have been published in various anthologies and journals in Africa, the UK and the US. One of these is “The End of Skill,” which was nominated for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2009. In 2011, for the first time, Mamle turned her hand to writing for children and published a young adult novel under the name Mamle Wolo. This book, entitled ‘The Kaya-Girl,’ won the 2011 Burt Award for African Literature in Ghana. Mamle has also written poetry, two screenplays and is working on a novel. She is a co-director of the Writers’ Project of Ghana and a keen believer in fostering writing talent and strengthening networks between African writers. In the past three years, she has attended a number of international writing workshops including the Farafina Writer’s Workshop by Chimamanda Adichie in Lagos, the Caine Prize Workshop in Kenya and the Femrite annual residency in Uganda. She combines her work and writing with the raising of her two children.

 

Yewande Omotoso

Yewande Omotoso was born in Barbados in 1980 and grew up in Nigeria with her Barbadian mother, Nigerian father and two older brothers. The family moved to South Africa in 1992.

Yewande trained as an architect at the University of Cape Town, to which she returned after working as an architect for several years, to complete a Masters degree in Creative Writing. The product of her degree is her debut novel ‘Bomboy’ published in 2011 by Cape Town publisher Modjaji Books. ‘Bomboy’ was shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times Literary Awards as well as the MNet Film Award, it won the South African Literary Award (SALA) for First Time Author Prize. Prior to ‘Bomboy’ Yewande authored several stories, among them ‘The Piano’ (2nd Place, People Opposing Women Abuse, 2005) and ‘Maude Hastings’ (Honourable Mention, John La Rose Short Story Competition, 2007). In addition she has published ‘Heroes’ with online crime fiction magazine ‘Noir Nation’ and ‘Two Old People’ in the anthology ‘Speaking for the Generation: Contemporary Stories from Africa’. Yewande’s poetry (‘Stranger’ and ‘The Rain’) has been published in the ‘Baobab Literary Journal’ 2009. ‘The Rain’ was shortlisted for the Sol Plaatjie European Union Poetry Awards 2012.

Omotoso, for whom writing is a means to make sense of the world, is interested in the complexity of human experiences as well as the incongruities of life. Loneliness is a recurring theme. Omotoso views her writing as a tool for compassion and evoking self-examination. For her talent and the intent to tell stories, she credits her parents and a childhood steeped in reading and the sharing of ideas.

Next Friday, March 7, AWDF and our new partner, Brand Woman Africa, will be hosting an International Women’s Day celebration at the Alliance Française d’Accra. In anticipation of this artistic adventure, the press and several artists who will be featuring their work, were invited to the AWDF headquarters for a small meet-up. Despite the heat, everyone had a chance to share a bit of themselves and we heard from AWDF CEO, Theo Sowa; BWA Founder, Anita Erskine-Amaizo; AfterSchool Ghana Founder, Kinna Likimani; and Alliance Française Director,

Patrice Gilles.

From right: Patrice Gilles, Theo Sowa, Anita Erskine-Amaizo, Kinna Likimani

“Philanthropy is not something that others ‘do’ to Africa. We have African philanthropy to celebrate.”

– Sowa

Gilles recognizes the importance of feminism and the strength of the African woman. Alliance Francaise d’Accra has loved working with AWDF and hopes to continue the partnership to bring more attention to the issues that are important to the fund.

“People overlook the arts, but art is what brings out the issues…I want to get African women to write their stories…get them to move their stories out of their stomachs and onto paper…when you put your thoughts onto paper, that is a radical act.” – Likimani

Likimani recognizes her friend, Alba Simprim, for her contributions to the art world and for being brave enough to share her thoughts through art.

“Women are always saying, ‘I look up to you,’ and ‘I want to be like you.’ And I say that if you want to be like me you would have to stop the clock, go back in time and literally crawl into my mother’s womb…You can be you, and be better than me.”- Erskine-Amaizo

“We want the world to know that we are self-sufficient. With or without external help, we can actually do it…I want [BWA]‘s story to be told from the perspective of the young African woman whose life we were able to change. I’m excited about the future of the modern African woman” – Erskine- Amaizo

French-Haitian musician, Cae, voices her excitement for next week’s event and how privileged she feels to be able to work with all of the women involved.

Sena Ahadji is another artist who will be at IWD March 7. She is a woman of many talents and finds inspiration in others and wishes to provoke peoples’ imaginations.

Closing remarks: “We have to remember that we still have a long way to go. We still see that it’s MEN, MEN, MEN! If you want true success, you have to include women. It is only when African women reach their potential that Africa reaches its potential.”- Sowa

AWDF staff members get to know Cae and Kinna. From right: Likimani, Grace Amenyogbeli, Cae, Gertrude Annoh-Quarshie, Zeytuna Abdella Azasoo

AWDF Finance Assistant, Mavis Gardiner, surrounded by her co-workers and friends who make the efforts of the organisation possible.

AWDF family, including Knowledge Management Specialist, Sionne Neely in blue, who has been dedicating her time and hard work to International Women’s Day this year.

Theo Sowa poses with three of the featured artists, Cae, Zohra Opoku and Alba Simprim. Likimani has said that “bringing culture to AWDF has made all of the difference.”

AWDF, Brand Woman Africa, Alliance Française and the African women artists hope to see you all next Friday, beginning at 6 PM. International Women’s Day deserves to be celebrated, whether you know about feminism or not. Come show your support for these women, it is sure to be a night to remember.

Photos by Emily Barnard

A couple months ago, a person emailed me asking for tips for transitioning to design from a development background. As someone who had loosely gone through the same path (from programming to design to programming then back to design), I wanted to share any advice I could possibly give. After writing the letter, I thought it may be useful to a few other people out there. So if you are a developer looking to get into design, this is written specifically for you. To preface, this article is not why developers can be good designers. This article does a great job of articulating those ideas. So instead of duplicating good work, I spent ti

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) in partnership with Mbaasem Foundation is pleased to announce a special one-day writers’ master class led by Yewande Omotoso with special guest Ama Ata Aidoo.

This event will take place in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday 8th March 2014.

Women writers wishing to take advantage of this opportunity should send a short bio and a sample story or article to info@mbaasem.net by Friday 21st February. Successful applicants will be notified by 28th February.

Yewande Omotoso
Photography by Tolu Talabi

Yewande Omotoso was born in Barbados in 1980 and grew up in Nigeria with her Barbadian mother, Nigerian father and two older brothers. The family moved to South Africa in 1992.

Yewande trained as an architect at the University of Cape Town, to which she returned after working as an architect for several years, to complete a Masters degree in Creative Writing. The product of her degree is her debut novel ‘Bomboy’ published in 2011 by Cape Town publisher Modjaji Books. ‘Bomboy’ was shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times Literary Awards as well as the MNet Film Award, it won the South African Literary Award (SALA) for First Time Author Prize. Prior to ‘Bomboy’ Yewande authored several stories, among them ‘The Piano’ (2nd Place, People Opposing Women Abuse, 2005) and ‘Maude Hastings’ (Honourable Mention, John La Rose Short Story Competition, 2007). In addition she has published ‘Heroes’ with online crime fiction magazine ‘Noir Nation’ and ‘Two Old People’ in the anthology ‘Speaking for the Generation: Contemporary Stories from Africa’. Yewande’s poetry (‘Stranger’ and ‘The Rain’) has been published in the ‘Baobab Literary Journal’ 2009. ‘The Rain’ was shortlisted for the Sol Plaatjie European Union Poetry Awards 2012.

Omotoso, for whom writing is a means to make sense of the world, is interested in the complexity of human experiences as well as the incongruities of life. Loneliness is a recurring theme. Omotoso views her writing as a tool for compassion and evoking self-examination. For her talent and the intent to tell stories, she credits her parents and a childhood steeped in reading and the sharing of ideas.

 

Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo with Nneka at AWDF house

Ama Ata Aidoo’s literary career dates from when, as an undergraduate, she wrote her first play, The Dilemma Of A Ghost (1964), which was subsequently produced and published. She followed that up with Anowa (drama 1970). Since then, she has published novels, including Changes (1991), volumes of poetry and short stories including An Angry Letter In January & Other Poems (1992) and The Girl Who Can & Other Stories (1997). Her third collection of short stories; Diplomatic Pounds & Other Stories and a book of essays in her honour titled: Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70: A Reader in African Cultural Studies edited by Anne V. Adams were published in March 2012 by Ayebia Clarke Publishing Limited, UK.

She also edited the widely-acclaimed, African Love Stories Anthology, (Ayebia, Oxfordshire, UK, 2006) the Anthology has won two literary prizes – one of the stories “Jambula Tree” by Monica Arac de Nyeko won The Caine Prize for African Writing (2007) and the ASA US Aidoo/Synder Prize for ‘The Best Creative Work on Women’ in 2008. Her books for children include Birds & Other Poems (2002) and The Days (2010). She has taught at colleges and universities in Ghana and the United States including the University of Cape Coast and Brown University. Aidoo’s many awards include the Nelson Mandela Prize for Poetry in 1987 for Someone Talking to Sometime and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Changes in 1992.

 

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Alliance Française Accra, and Brand Woman Africa are pleased to invite the general public to a series of events in commemoration of the 2014 International Women’s Day. These events will take place in Ghana on Friday 7th March at Alliance Française Accra, Liberation Link (behind Opeibea House). Details are as follows:

6pm – ‘Paroles de Femmes’ Exhibition Launch

Featuring paintings, photography, installations and illustrations by visual artists Kis Keya, Sena Ahadji and Zohra Opoku.

* This event is FREE

 

 

7pm – Meet the Writers

Join Kinna Likimani as she facilitates thought provoking conversations and book readings with writers Alba Simprim, Boakyewaa Glover and Yewande Omotoso.

* This event is FREE

 

 

 

 

 

8pm – The Afro Soul Concert

French Haitian singer songwriter Cae opens up this concert by showcasing a tribute to iconic musician and activist Nina Simone. Featuring several Ghanaian women artists and vocalists, this ephemeral vocal tapestry is entitled ‘Women of Soul’. It is the first opus of a workshop Cae is conducting during her ongoing artistic residency at Alliance, dedicated to celebrating women of the Diaspora’s artistic expression.

 

 

 

Nigerian musician Diana Bada will get the crowd on its feet with her unique mash up of ‘Afro Soul’ – a blend of Hip Hop, Jazz and Reggae music. Diane was part of the 2008 edition of MTVBase/Zain Advance Warning that featured artistes including M.I, Kel, Terry G, Durella, Waje and Terry Tha Rapman. She was a member of the Gimme Shot Crew touring in Europe as well as the lead vocalist for the Tripanation Band.

 

 

* Concert: 10ghc, 5ghc for AF students and members, free for children below the age of 12

 

Venue:

At Alliance Française Accra, Liberation Link (behind Opeibea House)

The Capacity Building Unit of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has developed a series of technical support programmes to respond to the organisational development needs of AWDF’s grantees and those of women’s rights organisations in Africa.

The first in the series of these technical support programmes is ‘Financial Management Training for Finance Manager and Officers’ which will be held in Nairobi from 10 – 12 February 2014. This training will be held in collaboration with Orwa & Co an accounting firm in Nairobi whose team are providing pro-bono financial support services to selected AWDF’s grantees in Kenya. From 2013, AWDF in collaboration with Orwa & Co designed a project which seeks to enhance the financial management capacity of grantee organizations, and to review existing internal control systems and processes. The project which is on-going will also look at developing and improving processes that will allow for strengthened overall financial management systems and structures of AWDF’s grantee partners.

The 3 days training will bring together 17 finance managers and officers from 17 grantee organisations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The training will look at issues of budgets and cash flow projections, financial management in context, grant management, internal controls and internal checks, compliance to statutory requirements, and financial reporting among others.

It is expected that this training will be beneficial to participants and provide skills and insights aimed at strengthening grantees’ institutional capacity to manage donor funds and develop a sound financial management systems for their organisations.

When asked why they wanted to participate in this training programme our grantees said:

“The principle objective for participating in the upcoming workshop is to gain additional practical administrative and finance management knowledge and skills to enhance smooth execution of the above job purpose”. Ritah Atwongyeire, Better HAG, Uganda.

“To build my financial skills so that I can be able to operate effective financial management systems and manage programmes more efficiently and effectively… Learn about compliance and statutory requirements” Ms. Eunice Ndung’u, Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP), Kenya.

“To refresh on the concepts and key financial issues, to update myself with the new statutory regulations in different areas such as payroll administration, withholding taxes etc” Evelyn Dzame,

Finance & administration Manager, Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) Kenya

“To gain knowledge in financial management, with aim to consolidate NACOA’s compliance with Donor’s financial requirements”. Juliet Muhumuza, Nacoa Uganda

“… we need to get financial management skills and I have no direct experience on accounting and have direct experience on budget preparation and control”. Elenatane Getachew, SOS ADDIS Tefetron Bemalimat Bkletn Masweged Mahiber.

 

A selection of participants at the workshop. In the foreground and from left to right are: Faith Kwebaze, National Community of Women Living with HIV&AIDS in Uganda; Juliet Muhumuza

National Coalition of Women with AIDS in Uganda; and Eunice Wanjiku Ndung’u, Ogiek Peoples Development Program.

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is administering a call to consultants with expertise in building comprehensive web-based databases. This project entails the development of an integrated Information Management System for multiple departments within AWDF. If interested, submit both technical and financial proposals to the AWDF.

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant making Foundation that awards grants to Women’s rights organisation on the African continent. AWDF seeks to make information management a tool for organisational development and therefore is looking for a functional database that meets its needs. The Terms of Reference for the Consultant is attached.

All proposals should be sent to

The Officer in Charge

African Women’s Development Fund

P. O. Box PMB CT 89 Cantonments, Accra-Ghana

Tel: 0302 52 12 57

Email: awdf@africlub.net/awdf; sionne@africlub.net/awdf ; zeytuna@africlub.net/awdf

All Proposals should be sent in by February 28th 2014

Please click here for terms of reference