Category: News

In July of this year, AWDF in partnership with the Ugandan Women Writers Association held a 10 day residential writers workshop led by Yewande Omotoso and Mamle Kabu. The workshop brought together 26 African women writers from 10 African countries. During the period, the writers honed skills, learnt new tips and techniques, and perhaps most important of all, committed to amplifying their work and those of other African women writers.

African Women Write (AWW14) is a document which details the writers (including facilitators and the coordinating team) who constitute #AWW14. In case you are wondering what that hashtag means, its the acronym that was coined for ‘African Women Writers’ with 14 representing the year this workshop took place. Find some of our tweets via that hashtag on twitter and check out the storify that HOLAAfrica pulled together from our 10 day frenzy of live tweeting.

 

 

 

 

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah,

Communications Specialist, AWDF

 

 

 

AFRICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA

AWDF would like to extend a big congratulations to Yaba Badoe who has been nominated for the ‘Distinguished Woman of African Cinema Award’ alongside Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche and Lupita N’yongo! The award is given by the International images Film Festival for Women(IIFF) biennially, IIFF being a programme of Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe which is celebrated in five countries – Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia with the support of the EU-ACP programme for ACP cinema. WFOZ “zooms in on women”.

AWDF is proud to have been able to support two of Yaba Badoe’s projects, “The Witches of Gambaga’ and ‘The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo!’

 

Yaba Badoe, born in 1955, is a Ghanaian-British documentary filmmaker, journalist and author. She left Ghana to pursue an education in Britain at a very young age. A graduate of King’s College, Cambridge, Badoe worked as a civil servant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ghana,before beginning her career in journalism as a trainee at the BBC. She also was a researcher at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. She has taught in Spain and Jamaica and has worked as a producer and director making documentaries for the main television channels in Britain. Among her credits are: Black and White, an investigation into race and racism in Bristol, using hidden video cameras for BBC1; I Want Your Sex, an arts documentary exploring images and myths surrounding black sexuality in Western art, literature, film and photography, for Channel 4; and the six-part series Voluntary Service Overseas for ITV.

In addition to making films, Badoe is a creative writer, her first novel, True Murder, being published by Jonathan Cape in 2009 Her short story “The Rivals” was included in the anthology African Love Stories (Ayebia, 2006), edited by Ama Ata Aidoo. Badoe directed and co-produced (with Amina Mama) the documentary film The Witches of Gambaga, which won Best Documentary at the Black International Film Festival in 2010, and was awarded Second Prize in the Documentary section of FESPACO 2011.Her next film project is entitled The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo.

AWDF supports its grantee organisations in Liberia to fight Ebola

With the current onslaught of the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia and the threat it continues to pose, AWDF is supporting three of its grantees in Liberia to help intensify educational activities around the prevention of Ebola. In all, AWDF has awarded $20,000 to three women’s rights organisations in Liberia to undertake a series of educational activities to intensify prevention education and knowledge around this deadly disease.

The groups are listed below:

1. The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund (SMWF) has been awarded a grant of $10,000 to join the national government and partners to ease the spread of the ebola virus by creating mass awareness among market women across the country. SMWF will be working in 7 markets across the country.

The SMWF is a grantee of AWDF that seeks to improve the infrastructure of markets in Liberia and create a knowledge-based environment for women traders. It provides them with credit, health care, childcare facilities, storage facilities, sanitary facilities and literacy opportunities.

 

2. New Liberian Women Organisation/Skills Training Centre has been awarded a grant of $ 5,000 to undertake a series of educational activities on the Ebola outbreak within selected communities in Careysburg city, Bentol city, Yeantown and Cruzerville. NLWO will be using community appropriate methodologies such as music and dancing to reach out these communities

New Liberian Women Organisation/Skills Training CentreLiberia works with young, unemployed women empowering them through skills training and advocacy. The organisation currently operates in Ghana and Liberia. The main beneficiaries of the organisation are Liberian Refugee women and children.

 

3. Women and Children Development Association of Liberia (WOCDAL) has been awarded a grant of $ 5,000 to sensitize members of 3 densely populated communities in Montserrado County in Liberia on the prevention of Ebola. The awareness activities will cover Newkru Town (Duala, St. Paul Bridge, Point 4 and Red Hill) and Caldwell (Mombo Town East, Mombo Town West, New Georgia Junction and Samukai Town). This project is intended to spread relevant messages about the Ebola virus and help a selected group of community members become focal persons for deepening knowledge on the prevention of Ebola. WOCDAL will be using singing, dancing and dramatic performance as an awareness creation strategy to reach out to these communities.

WOCDAL is one of the AWDF grantees in Liberia. WOCDAL seeks to improve the wellbeing of children and young women. They have a skills training center for out of school young women as well as a school for needy children. WOCDAL operates in five counties namely: Montserrado, Margibi, Bong, Lofa and Nimba-Grand Dedeh.

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and the African Grantmakers Network (AGN), co hosts of the 3^rd AGN General Assembly, invites nominations for the 2014 African Philanthropy Awards. This award recognises excellence and innovation in philanthropic practice in Africa. Suitable candidates for this award are African philanthropic institutions and individuals who show a tangible commitment to lasting and institutional change, who are committed to genuine partnership with local, national or international communities, and who advance a vision/voice of African agency and self-determination.

The recipient of the 2014 African Philanthropy Award will be recognised at an awards ceremony held during the AGN Assembly which will take place from the 17^th-19^th November 2014, in Accra, Ghana. Nominations can be made online by filling in the Online Nomination Form on the AGN website or by registered post to ‘2014 African Philanthropy Awards, African Grantmakers Network Secretariat, Postnet Suite 100, P/Bag X121,Midrand, 1685, South Africa. The deadline for submitting nomination forms is 31st August 2014. Only emailed submissions received by close of business on the deadline date and posted submissions bearing a postmark of the deadline date will be considered.

Theo Sowa, CEO of AWDF and Board Chair of the AGN states, “Philanthropy in Africa is a time honoured tradition. This award is an opportunity to recognize those individuals who give selflessly – not just in terms of money but also their time and talents. Many of you will know such individuals. I will urge you to take 10 minutes to recognize these people by nominating them for the 2014 African Philanthropy Award.”

On the 30th of July, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) in partnership with the Ugandan Women’s Association (FEMRITE) will hold a public dialogue and literary event at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Uganda. The theme for the event is ‘African women speaking for ourselves: What difference does it make?’ This event is open to the general public and starts at 3.30pm.

Speakers at the event will include Dr Hilda Tadria, Executive Director of MEMPROW and Board member of AWDF; Theo Sowa, CEO of AWDF; Yewande Omotoso, author of Bom Boy; Mamle Kabu, author of The Kaya Girl; Hilda Twongyeirwe, Executive Director of FEMRITE; Hon. Mary Karoro Okurut, Founder of FEMRITE; Lina Zedriga, Director of Women, Peace and Security at Regional Associates for Community Initiatives and Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Communications Specialist at AWDF.

Also speaking and performing at the event are the participants of the 1st regional creative non fiction workshop organised by AWDF and FEMRITE. These are:

Abena Kyere – Ghana
Adegbeye Olutimehin – Nigeria
Alexis Teyie – Kenya
Amina Doherty – Nigeria
Beatrice Lamwaka – Uganda
Comfort Mussa – Cameroon
Deborah Frempong – Ghana
Eunice Kilonzo – Kenya
Fafa Yvonne Quashigah – Ghana
Florence Khaxas – Namibia
Hannah Wanja Maina – Kenya
Jennifer Thorpe – South Africa
Kagure Mugo – South Africa/Kenya
Kechi Nomu – Nigeria
Moiyattu Banya – Sierra Leone
Njoki Wamai – Kenya
Rita Nketiah – Ghana
Ritah Atwongyeire – Uganda
Tendai Garwe – Zimbabwe
Valérie Dginia Bah – Benin/Haiti

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has since it began operations in 2001, invested in various systems and processes to ensure transparency and accountability in all our activities. In order to achieve the latter objective, our performance has always been subject to scrutiny by a number of internal and external stakeholders such as our donor community, our grantee partners, other Non-Governmental Organisations, employees, the media, citizens and consultants and service providers . Stakeholders want to feel confident that AWDF is effectively and ethically managed, and is yielding the desired results.

Annual audits are a key part of our accountability processes and the audit of our 2013 financial statements further affirmed our commitment to be transparent and accountable to ourselves and to our stakeholders. Financial statement audits are generally performed to confirm the validity and reliability of information as well as to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of internal control systems. The objective of annual audits is for the external auditors to give a reasonable assurance that the financial statements are true and fair and are free of material misstatements.

The AWDF financial statements for 2013, audited by KPMG has just been published. We are proud to say that this year’s audited financial statements are unique in that it is our first year of adopting the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS); which is the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for the public entities.

The adoption of IPSAS has enhanced the transparency of our accounts due to the nature of the standards as well as additional disclosure requirements. It has also improved the comprehensiveness, quality, consistency and comparability of AWDF’s financial statements. IPSAS represents international best practice and therefore by adopting IPSAS, there is better comparability of AWDF’s financial statements with other international organisations.

 

Highlights of the 2013 Financial Statements

• Total revenue for the year 2013 was USD$4.26million
• Funds received from donors was USD$4.2million
• Other income from our endowment fund investments was USD$101,291
• Total expenditure for the year on grant making, other programmes and institutional costs was USD$4.2million
• Total grants awarded in our six thematic areas was USD$ 2.2million
• Our non-grant making programmes include, capacity building workshops for grantees, monitoring and evaluation, programme outreach and partnerships.
• Total non-grant making programme expenses was $1.3million
• Fundraising, communication and institutional development costs represented 15% of total expenses

 

By: Gertrude Bibi Annoh-Quashie, Finance Manager, AWDF

 

Click on the link below to view AWDF’s 2013 financial statements.

2013 Audited Accounts

Click on the link below to view AWDF’s expenses for 2013.

AWDF Expenses 2013

AWDF’s third Chief Executive Officer’s Forum was held on the 2-4^th June, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nairobi. It attracted Directors from different African countries, all immersed deeply in the common work of striving for women’s rights. Many were eager and thirsty, looking to drink from the communal sisterhood cup, missing this form of sanctuary in their busy lives. Some felt deeply connected to this feminist busyness, feeling self-indulgent in the attempt to be away from work for three days and really struggling to be still. Others were simply open to what may come.

 

The forum created a safe space for the CEO to take a step back and engage with critical issues of leadership, governance and communication. It broke through the usual NGOs habitual ways of organizing by discussing and practicing ‘self care’ a feminist practice very much related to effective leadership.

 

Through presentation, dialogue, and storytelling, the Directors agreed that the qualities of doing of a feminist organisation involve deep listening to the ‘constituency’, to emerging patterns and power dynamics within the context in which they work, leading from inside the organisation and not just responding to the outside world, working not only for, but with the people they claim to represent, learning from those that have come before them; (the sister ancestors), and from other sectors. One of the founders of AWDF, Hilda Tadria, noted that a feminist organisation is open to transparent, authentic and accountable practices while it embraces the principles of personal consciousness, creativity, responsibility and freedom. It challenges the status quo by organizing and arousing genuine activism amongst people. The Chief Executive Officer of AWDF, Theo Sowa, observed that a feminist organisation has an authentic stance to which it remains true, even in the face of challenge, opposition and backlash. ‘We need clarity about our stance, we should not be ambiguous, but rather have courage for this stance’. The Chair of AWDF, Professor Sesae Mpuchane, talked about the importance of effective governance, systems and policies.

 

Paula Fray, a South African based communications expert noted the importance of communication and visibility. She challenged the Directors to engage with the media, let go of victim mentality and seize their own power as the media is not an enemy.

 

Through much of what was spoken, the need for the Directors to take care of themselves became deeply resonant and quietly urgent. Therefore, throughout the forum, self care practices such as yoga, steaming and exercises created lightness of being, a sense of fun and wholeness. Individuals reconnected with neglected parts of themselves, those parts not used to being stretched were.

 

Above all it was clear that the Directors are working in a culture of fragmentation, of high-speed technology, of immediatism, a disempowering context, dealing with daily backlash while looking for resources and hence the importance of coaching and support.

 

The forum brought a renewed connection and hope in the work of women’s rights, new relationships was formed and a renewed certainty and vigour made the Directors reaffirm that the work they do has a future and a purpose.

By: Hope Chigudu, Coach and Organisational Development Specialist

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.

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

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