Tag: AWDF
My personal experience of interning at AWDF: Raquel’s story
My personal experience of interning at AWDF: Raquel’s story
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]My experience as the Capacity Building Unit Intern at AWDF has been amazing. This opportunity was made possible through the Mount Holyoke College International Internship Program, which established the partnership with the organization and provided the funding. As a senior undergraduate student in International Relations, I was looking for an internship that would expose me to a likely career path. I have been involved with projects related to women’s empowerment for the last 4 years and I became interested in economic development in college. The global agenda for women is one of my passions, so the chance to work at a renowned international nonprofit organization dealing with the intersection of gender and development was a great fit. This is my first time in Ghana and in Africa, and I am already making plans to come back. The people are welcoming, the culture is rich and the country is beautiful.
The work environment at AWDF is very collaborative. I was fortunate to participate in the mid-year review and understand the organization as a whole, as well as its relationships with its multiple stakeholders. AWDF is committed to transparency, accountability and the monitoring and evaluation of its activities. It was enlightening to watch presentations from all the teams, from the Capacity Building Unit and Communications to the Finance department, and see how connected and complimentary they are. Another highlight of the internship has been the site visits to grantee organizations. By partaking in some of them, I was able to hear about the accomplishments and challenges of philanthropy, from the people making the change on the ground. It was inspiring to see how passionate and invested the people working in these organizations are.
My main task as the Capacity Building Unit Intern is to document the impact of the Capacity Building Program since its inception. Nafi Chinery, the Capacity Building Specialist, gave me the scope of my work and let me develop my own process to collect information. I conceptualized a grantee questionnaire sent to 100 organizations, in order to assess the changes undertaken after their participation in the Capacity Building Program activities. I also interviewed staff members and the CEO, which allowed me to paint a broader picture of the capabilities, lessons learned and the way forward for the Program. Another contribution was the translation of strategic organizational documents into Portuguese, such as the Grant-Making Application Guidelines.
I come from a family of many women and attend a women’s college. Therefore, the presence of outstanding women leaders in this office felt very familiar from the start. The staff is friendly and open, which allows for my questions on topics ranging from the nonprofits and international organizations to Ghanaian culture and work-life balance. I am glad to have found new colleagues and mentors who I can count on while taking the next steps in my professional development. This internship has broadened my understanding of the nonprofit sector and has showed me that this is a career I would enjoy pursuing. I will leave with fresh ideas and new possibilities in mind. I definitely recommend interning with the African Women’s Development Fund. It has been an enriching experience, in the personal, professional and academic levels. I am very thankful for this opportunity and I will dearly miss my AWDF sisters!
-Raquel Helen Silva
International Relations ‘14
Mount Holyoke College[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Mon expérience en tant que stagiaire à l’unité de renforcement des capacités à AWDF a été incroyable. Cette opportunité a été rendue possible grâce au Programme de stages internationaux du Mount Holyoke College, qui a établi le partenariat avec l’organisation et a fourni le financement. Etant étudiante de premier cycle supérieur en relations internationales, je cherchais un stage qui m’expose à un cheminement de carrière probable. Je participe à des projets liés à l’autonomisation des femmes depuis les 4 dernières années et je me suis intéressée au développement économique à l’université. Le programme mondial pour les femmes est une de mes passions, de sorte que la possibilité de travailler pour un organisme sans but lucratif de renommée internationale à l’intersection de l’égalité et du développement a été une grande chance. C’est ma première fois au Ghana et en Afrique, et j’ai déjà des plans pour revenir. Les gens sont accueillants, la culture est riche et le pays est beau.
L’environnement de travail à AWDF est très collaboratif. J’ai eu la chance de participer à l’examen de mi-année et comprendre l’organisation dans son ensemble, ainsi que ses relations avec ses multiples parties prenantes. AWDF est engagé à la transparence, la responsabilité, le suivi et l’évaluation de ses activités. Il était instructif de regarder des présentations de toutes les équipes, de l’Unité de renforcement des capacités et des communications au ministère des Finances, et de voir qu’elles sont en ligne et gratuites. Un autre point fort du stage a été les visites aux organismes bénéficiaires. En participant à certaines d’entre elles, je pouvais entendre sur les réalisations et les défis de la philanthropie, des gens qui font le changement sur le terrain. Il était inspirant de voir comment les personnes travaillant dans ces organisations sont passionnées et investies .
Ma principale tâche en tant que stagiaire à l’unité de renforcement des capacités est de documenter l’impact du Programme de renforcement des capacités depuis sa création. Nafi Chinery, le spécialiste de renforcement des capacités, m’a donné la portée de mon travail et m’a permis de développer mon propre processus pour recueillir des informations. J’ai conceptualisé un questionnaire envoyé à 100 organisations bénéficiaires, afin d’évaluer les changements entrepris après leur participation aux activités du Programme de renforcement des capacités. J’ai également interviewé des membres du personnel et le chef de la direction, ce qui m’a permis de brosser un tableau plus large des capacités, des leçons apprises et de la voie à suivre pour le Programme. Une autre contribution était la traduction des documents stratégiques de l’organisation en portugais, tels que les lignes directrices de demande d’octroi de subventions.
Je viens d’une famille avec beaucoup de femmes et étudiait dans un collège de femmes. Par conséquent, la présence des femmes leaders en suspens dans ce bureau se sentait très bien dès le début. Le personnel est amical et ouvert, ce qui permet à mes questions sur des sujets allant des organismes à but non-lucratif aux organisations internationales en passant par la culture ghanéenne et l’équilibre travail-vie. Je suis heureuse d’avoir de nouveaux collègues et mentors sur qui je peux compter lors des prochaines étapes dans mon développement professionnel. Ce stage a élargi ma compréhension du secteur à but non lucratif et m’a montré que cela est une carrière que je voudrais poursuivre. Je vais laisser de nouvelles idées et de nouvelles possibilités me venir à l’esprit. Je recommande vraiment un stage avec le Fonds de développement des femmes africaines. Cela a été une expérience enrichissante, aux niveaux personnels, professionnels et universitaires. Je suis très reconnaissante pour cette opportunité et mes chères sœurs d’AWDF vont me manquer!
-Raquel Helen Silva
’14 Relations Internationales
Mount Holyoke College[/tp]
The African Women’s Development Fund receives US$32,970.00 worth of Microsoft software through the Microsoft Citizenship Program
The African Women’s Development Fund receives US$32,970.00 worth of Microsoft software through the Microsoft Citizenship Program
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”](29th July 2013, African Women’s Development Fund, Accra):
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is pleased to announce that the institution has recently benefited from an in kind contribution of Microsoft software valued at US$32,970.00.
This donation was provided through the Microsoft Citizenship program, and with the support of our sister organisation, the African Women’s Development Fund USA (AWDF-USA) as part of its African Social Impact Multi-Media Initiative (ASIMI) to promote the technology capacity of the African Women’s Movement
Theo Sowa, Chief Executive Officer of AWDF states, “AWDF appreciates this generous gift from Microsoft which will go a long way towards strengthening AWDF’s technological systems. We consider this to be the start of a longer term partnership with AWDF which we know will have additional benefits for our network of over 1000 grantee partners across the continent”.
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About the African Women’s Development Fund
Over the past ten years, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has blazed a trail for women’s rights and philanthropy across the African continent. AWDF is an African, not for profit, grantmaking organisation. Since the start of operations in 2001, AWDF has provided over US$19 million in grants to more than 1000 women’s organisations in 42 African countries. AWDF’s grant making processes are uniquely designed to meet the needs of African women and activities include the provision of small and larger grants to African women’s organisations, capacity building support and a strong focus on advocacy and movement building.
AWDF contact:
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (Programme Officer for Communications)
Tel: +233 302 521 257 (Ghana)
Email: nana@africlub.net/awdf, Website: www.africlub.net/awdf[/tp]
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[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”](29 Juillet 2013, le Fonds Africain de développement de la femme, Accra):
Le Fonds Africain de développement de la femme (AWDF) est heureux d’annoncer que l’institution a récemment bénéficié d’une contribution en nature de logiciels Microsoft d’une valeur de US $ 32,970.00.
Ce don a été offert par le programme Microsoft Citoyenneté, et avec le soutien de notre organisation soeur, leFonds Africain de développement de la femme Etats-Unis (AWDF-Etats-Unis) dans le cadre de l’African Social Impact Multi-Media Initiative (Asimi) afin de promouvoir les capacités de la technologique du Mouvement des femmes africaines
Theo Sowa, Directrice Générale d’AWDF déclare, “AWDF apprécie ce don généreux de Microsoft qui ira un long chemin vers le renforcement des systèmes technologiques d’AWDF. Nous considérons cela comme le début d’un partenariat à long terme avec AWDF dont on sait aura des avantages supplémentaires pour notre réseau de plus de 1000 partenaires bénéficiaires de subventions à travers le continent “.
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A propos du Fonds de développement des femmes africaines
Au cours des dix dernières années, le Fonds africain de développement de la femme (AWDF) a ouvert la voie pour les droits des femmes et de la philanthropie à travers le continent africain. AWDF est un organisme de subvention Africain à but non lucratif. Depuis le début des opérations en 2001, AWDF a fourni plus de 19 millions $ en subventions à plus de 1000 organisations de femmes dans 42 pays africains. Les processus d’octroi de subventions de AWDF sont spécialement conçues pour répondre aux besoins des femmes africaines et les activités comprennent la mise à disposition des petites et grandes subventions aux organisations de femmes africaines, le soutien au renforcement des capacités et un fort accent sur la sensibilisation et le renforcement des mouvements.
AWDF contact:
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (Programme Officer for Communications)
Tel: +233 302 521 257 (Ghana)
Email: nana@africlub.net/awdf, Website: www.africlub.net/awdf[/tp]
Nigeria: WEP sensitises women in Zamfara State on the need to participate in political processes
Nigeria: WEP sensitises women in Zamfara State on the need to participate in political processes
One of the issues raised time and time again by AWDF’s grantee partners during a recent monitoring visit to Nigeria was the need to prepare for the 2015 general elections. In the context of insecurity and domestic terrorism, women’s rights organisations working in the areas of governance, political participation and leadership stressed the importance of encouraging women to enter the formal party political spaces, and to participate fully in political leadership positions. AWDF’s partners are adamant that women’s political participation is necessary not just on the basis of equity, but also a requirement for a change in ‘the old boys system of politicking’.
Women Environmental Programme (WEP) is one of AWDF’s grantee partners working to increase women’s participation in politics. An update in WEP’s recent newsletter provided this update below:
To be part of decision making on critical issues that affect them, women must come out to participate in political processes such as registering and voting in elections and vying for political positions. Participation of women in politics is the way through which the voices of women can be enhanced and their inputs captured for development purposes.
Due to religious, cultural and other factors, the women in Zamfara State, North Western Nigeria do not participate fully in electoral processes. In 2011 general elections out of a total of 2088 candidates that contested within the North West region only 49 were women representing 2.3% and out of this number, only 3 women contested from Zamfara State.
Unimpressed with the low level of participation of women in political processes in Zamfara State, Women Environmental Programme (WEP) initiated an action on Capacity Building for Women in Electoral Process and Political Participation in the Build Up to 2015 Elections in Zamfara State, North West Nigeria.
This action supported by African Women Development Fund (AWDF) has the overall objective of increasing the level of women participation in politics and democratic governance in Zamfara State through awareness creation.
WEP has started raising awareness in the three (3) senatorial districts of the State on the need for women to participate in political processes. WEP targets men, women and the traditional leaders to talk them into allowing women come out to participate in electoral processes. WEP has also launched media campaigns on radio in the state to call for women participation in politics in Hausa language for easy communication. With this WEP anticipates an improvement in the turnout of women come 2015 general elections in Zamfara State.
The Gendered Aspect of HIV and AIDS: An update by Prudence Mabele from the XIX International AIDS conference
The Gendered Aspect of HIV and AIDS: An update by Prudence Mabele from the XIX International AIDS conference
In July 2012, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) supported Prudence Mabele, Executive Director of the Positive Women’s Network in South Africa to attend the XIX International AIDS conference in Washington D.C. in the United States of America. Under AWDF’s Solidarity Fund the organisation supports existing grantees partner to “…engage in activities which promote learning and the sharing of experiences on a local, national and international level”.
Prior to the conference, Ms Mabele attended two pre conference events: a 2 day conference organised by the Global Network Of People Living with HIV and NERELA’s pre conference organised by Religious leaders living with HIV.
During the conference, Ms Mabele participated in a plenary session on the theme ‘Collaborating Across Borders to Advance the Health of Women’, where she used the personal story of a PWN member to illustrate the gendered aspect of HIV and AIDS.The story is shared in full below:
Monica Modise died at the young age of 35. She left behind two daughters, Nomsa (17) and Zodwa (15), as well as a four-year old granddaughter, Zintle.
In 2005, Monica Modise was diagnosed HIV positive. It came to her as a shock. She was married to her husband, had been faithful in her marriage, and so had no reason to suspect that she would contract HIV. Her husband died in 2007 of AIDS related causes.
Monica was not employed, nor did she have the right educational qualifications or skills for the employment market. With limited options to make a means, she moved with her two daughters into her parental home then headed by her older brother, Mandla.
Moving back to her childhood home would prove to be a horrifying experience for Monica and her daughters. Unbeknownst to Monica, her brother, the uncle to her daughters had begun raping Nomsa on a regular basis. She was 13. She discovered this violation when Nomsa became pregnant. When Monica asked Nomsa why she had not told her about what was happening, Nomsa replied that her uncle had threatened to evict them from the home if she even thought of telling anyone. Monica was trapped. Without financial means, information, or support from other relatives or friends, she did not know where to go or who to turn to. They continued living with her brother, who now openly continued his criminal behaviour knowing that his sister had no alternatives.
It was through a PWN door-to-door campaign that Monica learned about living with HIV, support groups, counselling sessions, information about health facilities and people who she could turn to. Monica started attending one of PWN’s support groups and confided in the support group leader, who after hearing the story opened her home to Monica and her daughters.
At last, they had a place of safety. Baby Zintle was born healthy and in a place of safety. She escaped the nightmare that her mother, aunt and grandmother had lived through.
It was only in the place of safety that Monica could reflect and try to make sense of what had happened. She had lived in crisis management mode, never having a chance to examine her life on so many levels: discovering she is HIV positive, how to live with HIV, discovering her husband’s deceit, mourning the death of her husband, being left destitute, having to move back to her childhood home, having to negotiate living with her brother, finding out her daughter has been sexually violated, finding out her daughter is having a child by her uncle, having to find a way out of her living situation … With her stipend from PWN, she was able to take care of some of her basic needs and regain some sense of independence.
It took time for Monica to regain her strength and deal with depression, sadness, anger, disappointment, disillusionment, guilt and loss. Through the support groups and counselling, she built her strength to the point where she was able to report her own brother to the police and pursue the justice she and her daughters deserved. Upon hearing of the police case being filed, her brother fled their home and went to hide in the rural areas.
Monica followed up on the police case with little success. There was no follow-through by the police, the case was eventually dropped without explanation.
Monica became an active member of PWN. She campaigned, she counselled, she did all she could to provide women with the information she did not have access to. She often said that had she known what was out there in terms of support, she would not have made the decisions she had. But we encouraged her not to blame herself for what she did not know.
Monica died in January 2012. It was too soon, but at least she was able to make a difference in the lives of her daughters and granddaughter.
The South African Constitution is often mentioned as one of the best constitutions in the world for the rights it guarantees and protects its citizens. In terms of our policies, we can also be proud to have legislation that is progressive and seeks to serve the interest of all those who live in South Africa to the best of the nation’s ability.
However, it is unfortunate that with all the best policies and Constitutions in the world, when policy meets people it fails to live up to its promise. The story of Monica is one of many examples that demonstrate that somewhere we are missing the point.
When we look at HIV/AIDS through a gendered lens, then we can identify three main areas that cover the concerns that women and girls have to contend with:
Gender inequality and poverty
Rights to sexual autonomy and HIV
Rights to bodily integrity and HIV
1. Gender inequality and poverty
‘Women’s limited access to and control over assets and resources as well as the gender division of labour in the household increases their vulnerability to HIV and at the same time makes these conditions for women and girls living with HIV worse.’
In the case of Monica – and other women in her position
- She found out about her status when her husband got sick
- She had to look after her sick husband and then look after herself
- She had to start treatment
- She had to deal with her husband’s death
- She had to deal with finding a home and a means of survival
- Having moved in with her brother, she had to negotiate living in ‘his’ space
- She had to then deal with her daughter being raped
- She had to deal with her daughter’s pregnancy from her uncle
- She had to find a new home for her family
All these point to women and girls being extremely vulnerable. When women and girls do not have the security of access and control over assets and resources, it increases insecurity and vulnerability of the person. Also, even though the woman is sick as well, she still has to take care of the husband, and in many instances neglect herself and her children.
2. Rights to sexual autonomy and HIV
‘In most societies, women and girls, as compared to men and boys, face further restrictions on their sexual autonomy and bodily integrity. Women’s and girls’ inability to make sexual and reproductive choices free from discrimination, coercion or violence, as well as their inability to access and use information and products such as condoms, contraceptives, safe and legal abortion, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), etc. Such restrictions occur: at home, where women may not be able to negotiate safe sex; in communities and public spaces, where condoms or comprehensive sexuality education may be banned or unaffordable; and in health care settings, where women and girls living with HIV may be coercively sterilised or denied contraceptive information or products.’
In the case of Monica’s daughter Nomsa – and many other girls in her position
- Nomsa’s bodily integrity was violated by a member of the family
- Monica and the daughters were so embarrassed by the pregnancy that they did not have the courage to access health facilities due to stigma and discrimination
- Because of not accessing health facilities, they were not informed about the options available to them from PEP, to safe and legal abortion, and general well-being
- Nomsa did not have control or choice over her sexual and reproductive health
- Nomsa’s physical health was compromised because of being pregnant at a young age
- Nomsa had to drop out of school – she did return to complete high school
- Nomsa’s sexual interest and pleasure as an adult will be affected
- Nomsa’s exposure to HIV
- Nomsa’s access to justice was denied as the docket was closed without reasons provided
With Nomsa’s exposure to sex and sexuality in such a violent manner, she’s been ripped of experience sex as a positive experience. It will take considerable time and counselling for her to work through her experience. The restrictions placed on her sexual autonomy and bodily integrity reinforce discriminatory and patriarchal norms against women and girls.
3. Rights to bodily integrity and HIV
Gender based violence is a violation of human rights and impacts on people’s health and well being as well as inhibits their freedom of movement, ability to access education, employment, and political participation. The threats to bodily integrity and gender based violence hamper women’s and girls’ ability to prevent HIV – just as disclosure of HIV positive status may increase their vulnerability to violence. Harmful cultural and traditional practices that control women’s and girls’ sexual autonomy and bodily integrity, such as female genital mutilation, widow cleansing, property and spousal inheritance, early and forced marriages, and polygamy and virginity testing also exacerbate women’s vulnerability to HIV infection.
Monica’s story is in many ways a story of gender based violence
The violation of Monica and her daughters’ basic rights to bodily integrity and sexual autonomy are self-evident
The impact on their mental, physical and emotional well-being will remain with them through out their lives
Lack of financial independence restricted their freedom of movement and they were forced into a situation of danger
Lack of access to information and resources meant that Monica was not able to take advantage of social and health facilities available to her
The combination of all these factors place women and girls in high risk situations, and as seen through the live of Monica, the vulnerability to HIV infection is high. Without their mother, the girls have to negotiate their way through life in a manner that no child should have to. But it is through the work of support groups and counsellors that we seek to make a meaningful difference in the lives of women and girls in South Africa.
Conclusion
- Women are not a homogenous group. This principle must inform the policies and programmes that lead to the implementation of gender equality.
- Women’s rights should be seen as human rights.
- As NGOs we need to monitor and evaluate the work the we perform in the field, so that we can reduce the vulnerability to social injustice such as poverty, violence against women and girls, and HIV/AIDS.
- We need to realise that all these are cross-sectoral actions on cross-cutting issues such the girl-child, violence against women, HIV/AIDS, and the need for collaboration among partners is important.
- We must continue to work network with organisations such as the African Feminist Forum that works with organisations across the African continent towards achieving equality for women.
- We must continue to collaborate with women’s organisations in Africa but also outside of Africa to address the social and health challenges.
- We must continue to use women’s rights approach in the work that we do.
- We must look at existing instruments like CEDAW and implement the protocols. Regionally in Africa we have the African Women’s Decade 2010 – 2020 (AU) with its protocols, or the Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV.
What our Nigerian Grantee Partners said about working with AWDF
What our Nigerian Grantee Partners said about working with AWDF
In June 2013, a 3 member team from AWDF – Rose Buabeng, Anglophone Programme Officer; Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Communications Specialist, Solange Kuadjo, Programme Assistant – visited 19 grantee partners, and 3 potential grantee partners in 7 Nigerian States (Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Ilorin, Nasawara, Ile Ife, Kwara). Chika Oduah, a multi-media journalist who took many of the lovely images you will see below, accompanied the AWDF team on this monitoring visit.
One of the advantages of being on monitoring visits is that you get to see directly the impact of the work being done by grantee partners. An unexpected and always pleasant surprise is the positive feedback you get directly when you are doing a good job.
Below are some of the comments our grantee partners said about the work of the AWDF:
“I am happy to see women trying to touch the lives of other women. I am so glad and encourage you to continue. I know what touching lives mean and the effort and resources that goes into it.”
Ms Ndudi Bowei, Executive Director, The International Center for Environmental Health & Development
“AWDF is supporting a lot of women on the African continent, I am happy for AWDF and praying that they will get more money to continue funding women’s organizations.”
Ms Lucy Attah, Executive Director, Women and Children of Hope Foundation
“I thank God for the people who supported AWDF. It is a wonderful women’s organisation. No matter the quality of one’s application and the standard of the organisation, they still have patience for everybody. Please keep it up. I know this project will take FARDEM to a higher level”
Ms. Rose Nwaogwugwu, Executive Director, The Family Resources Development Motivators
“With AWDF even if you don’t ask, they know you are there so we don’t need to let them down; we thank them for all the support through the years. They are really a women-focused organization and are always there for women”
Ms Funmi Doherty, Executive Director, Society for Women and AIDS Africa Nigeria
“The partnership between GADA and AWDF has boosted the organization’s morale. We have always resorted to AWDF in times of need and they don’t disappoint. The partnership has also helped GADA leverage more funding and other opportunities. I wish GADA and AWDF partnership never ends”
Ms Ada Agina-Ude, Executive Director, Gender and Development Association – GADA).
“AWDF has always supported Ajegunle’s women in politics and leadership project. The women here who are now active in politics owe AWDF and those who support them a great gratitude. They are now very vocal and demanding their rights from political party leaders and others in various leadership positions. The International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation has also been very useful to me. Thanks AWDF”
Ms Funmi Adeniyi, Senior Programme Manager, Ajegunle Community Project
By Rose Buabeng with Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Audio interview with Happy Gloria of Busia Community Based Service in Kenya
Audio interview with Happy Gloria of Busia Community Based Service in Kenya
In this interview, Happy Gloria, Executive Director of ‘Busia Community Based Services’ (BUCOSS) in Kenya speaks to Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah of the AWDF on some of the detrimental cultural practices contributing to the spread of HIV and AIDS in Busia, Kenya. Here she shares details of the innovative ways in which BUCOSS has been working to change these cultural practices. This interview was conducted on the sidelines of AWDF’s recent strategic meeting on economic empowerment and livelihoods in Cape Town, South Africa.
Click link below to listen to this audio interview:
AWDF’s 2013 Site Visit to Grantee Partners in Nigeria
AWDF’s 2013 Site Visit to Grantee Partners in Nigeria
Site visits are one of the numerous ways in which the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) keeps in touch with its diverse constituencies. These visits enable AWDF to interact directly with grantee partners, learn about issues of concern to women’s rights organisations, identify the developmental needs of grantee partners, assess the impact of grants provided, and offer technical assistance to the women’s rights organisations funded.
A bird’s eye view of the 2013 Nigeria site visit
In June 2013, a 3-member team from AWDF visited 19 grantee partners (and 3 potential grantee partners) who had received financial support between 2011 and 2013. The organisations visited worked in the following thematic areas:
Number of organisations | Thematic area of work |
7 | HIV and AIDS |
6 | Women’s Leadership, Governance and Political processes |
2 | Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods |
4 | Health and Reproductive Rights |
Overall, AWDF’s grantee partners in Nigeria are creating significant change with relatively small amounts of money. Some of the change created has led to the creation of new policies at the level of state government. Family Resources Development Motivation (FARDEM) for example, successful lobbied for a gender equality law resulting in Imo State Community Administration Law No.1 of 2012.
The main challenges grantees spoke of were linked to a lack of resources, challenges with fundraising in an economic downturn, and the inability of non-governmental organisations to retain well trained staff. Many spoke of the need for consistent institutional support, something that many funders outside of AWDF are often reluctant to consider. Grantees also spoke of the difference AWDF’s resource mobilisation capacity building support had made to those organisations that had benefitted. Organisational outcomes included completed fundraising strategies, diversification of funding sources and more innovative and robust fundraising programmes.
Highlights of the visit included:
Towards Gender Parity in Politics and Governance
The women politicians being supported by Ajengunle Community Project (ACP), an AWDF grantee partner in Lagos sing:
No longer men in front
And women at the back
Together we shall walk
Side by side
Side by side
‘2015’ came up several times during AWDF’s monitoring visit. That is the year when Nigeria next goes to the ballot box, and there is already considerable anxiety around the forthcoming elections. There are concerns around potential political and physical insecurity in the context of increased conflict in parts of the country, as well as numerous challenges affecting women’s political participation in the next general elections. The Ajengunle Community Project (ACP) has already started working with women politicians in the Lagos and Delta States with the goal of increasing the number of women politicians in public office. Towards this goal, ACP has trained 20 advocates in their target states who are in turn reaching out to women involved in politics at various levels in the states. A key success has been changing the mind-set of women who previously supported partisan parties by mobilising other community women as voters, cooks and dancers for the benefit of male politicians.
Grace Bayo, participated in ACP’s training programme and stated:
I used to be quiet until I joined ACP. Politicians had reduced women to singing and dancing. I had become disappointed in politics until I came to ACP. I have learnt to demand my rights. Women are not elected into office or given [government] contracts. Now we negotiate with the men.
Women trained by ACP now want to play active roles within their parties, and have learnt the art of negotiating with the key figures within their chosen political parties to gain more substantive political office. Women like Alhaja Babs-Olurun Kemi Ndurat, a local government Chairperson of the ruling PDP, and a beneficiary of ACP’s training programme, has taken on the responsibility of mentoring younger women politicians.
Living Positively
Several of the projects visited (for example ‘Women and Children of Hope Foundation’, ‘Positive Action for Access Treatment’ and ‘Heal the land Initiative’) have been working for many years with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people living with HIV/AIDS. They spoke to the AWDF team about some of their key learning points over the years, including the importance of ensuring that women living positively are “economically empowered”. This translates to having sustainable and adequate incomes, and being able to afford nutritious foods and supplements, which are essential for those on anti-retroviral medication. Grantee partners also reported that stigma is still very much an issue of concern for women living positively. Click here to listen to a member of a support group run by Women and Children of Hope Foundation in Lagos share her experience of dealing with stigma.
A third key concern related to ensuring the sustainability of their organisations and services. An important part of AWDF’s support to grantee partners includes organisational strengthening in multiple ways. Organisations like Heal the Land, who had benefited from initiatives such as AWDF’s resource mobilisation training (run in conjunction with Resource Alliance UK), reported that training had provided greater knowledge in fundraising, with some organisations reporting a more diversified approach to fundraising including elements such as reaching out to the corporate sector, implementing work place giving schemes and even starting small enterprises.
Watch a video of Jacinta Ine, Finance Manager of Heal the Land Initiative of Nigeria share her experiences of attending a resource mobilisation workshop organised by AWDF.
Reducing Maternal Mortality
The International Centre for Environmental Health and Development (ICEHD) has been working with the Ogun State Government towards reducing maternal mortality rates. Towards that goal, ICEDH has focused its efforts on training traditional birth attendants (TBAs) whose services are in high demand from women in the community because TBAs are more affordable than some other maternal health services. The traditional birth attendants AWDF spoke to said they often accepted whatever sums of money women were able to pay, and even provided services when clients had no money. However, they highlighted how a lack of money still affected women’s health choices as some women are reluctant to attend clinics because they have to pay for consultations; treatments, and medication – which sometimes include paying for services that are supposed to be offered for free.
ICEDH has worked with local hospitals to train TBAs on a broad range of topics including menstrual cycles, diagnosis and management of pregnancy, and dangerous signs and symptoms in pregnancy. TBAs are then provided with a certificate of training and a birth attendant kit filled with sanitary equipment. More importantly, the hospitals involved have built and continue to maintain relationships with the TBAs.
Grace Olubunmi Popoola, a traditional birth attendant shared,“I used to run away from the police, but now that I am certified, I am free to work. I also practice family planning. Before I would use Dettol, now I use Jik, cotton wool and forceps. I also use a surgical blade instead of an ordinary blade.”
Grantee Highlight: SOS Addis, Ethiopia – Plastic waste collection leads to nationwide policy change
Grantee Highlight: SOS Addis, Ethiopia – Plastic waste collection leads to nationwide policy change
Who would have thought that working with rubbish could become so exciting? 9 years ago, 5 Ethiopian women, Kiros Wolde-Giorghis, Embafrash Berehie, Legawork Ayle, Tsehay Haile and Mulatua Haileselassie decided that Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia needed cleaning up, and that they would help do that whilst giving women a means of making a living. The plan was simple: pay unemployed women to collect the plastic waste that littered the city of Addis, and ensure that this waste gets recycled. And that’s how SOS Addis was born. From its genesis, the cooperative has prioritized working with the most marginalised women in Addis Ababa including elderly women, and women living with HIV/AIDS. Most of the members of the cooperatives have low education levels, and as the organization has grown, they have hired young women to manage their administration.
The business of collecting rubbish is no easy task. A hefty 132,000 kilograms of plastic waste has been collected by members of SOS Addis and delivered to a recycling plant. As we all know, one person’s rubbish has the potential to become something a lot more precious, and to capitalize on this potential SOS Addis trained 34 of its members to re-use plastic waste bags.
A priority for the group was to stop people from using the plastic waste bags that have become so commonplace. Towards this goal, the group launched a campaign to ban the importation of these bags. Extensive media outreach was embarked on; an annual walk through the principal streets of Addis Ababa commenced; and a tree-planting programme was instituted to take place every 4 years. Numerous environmental awareness workshops and anti plastic pollution campaigns supported this effort to ban the importation of plastic bags. The result? The group has been successful. In Ethiopia today, government Proclamation Number 513 bans the importation and manufacturing of plastic waste bags. Elenatane Getachew Fikre, the Executive Director of SOS Addis, is adamant that this change in national policy is due to the advocacy efforts of her group.
It is clear that SOS Addis has made a significant difference to sanitation in the city of Addis Ababa, whilst impacting government policy at a national level. What is even more impressive is that the Ethiopian government has rolled out the model of plastic waste collection implemented by SOS Addis Ethiopia, and there are now 90 cooperatives throughout the nation’s capital working on plastic waste collection.
These are the kind of groups that the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) specializes in funding. To date, SOS Addis has received US$45,000 in grants from AWDF. This funding has been essential in supporting the organization in its efforts to create a cleaner environment in Addis Ababa, creating decent jobs for some of the most marginalized women and establishing a model that now benefits all of Ethiopia through Proclamation Number 513.
Support the work of the African Women’s Development Fund
Support the work of the African Women’s Development Fund
Make a difference to the lives of African women by supporting the work of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF).
To donate via wire transfer from anywhere in Africa, please makes a deposit into AWDF’s account using the following information:
Account Name: AWDF/Fundraising
Account Number 064/1008737
Bank Name Barclays Bank Ghana Limited
Bank Address P O Box 2949
High Street Branch
Accra
Swift Code BARCGHAC
If you are in Ghana you can make a donation to us in Ghana cedis by making a deposit into our cedi account per the details below;
Account Name: AWDF/Fundraising
Account Number 048/1014077
Bank Name Barclays Bank Ghana Limited
Bank Address P O Box 2949
High Street Branch
Accra
Any time you make a donation into our bank account, kindly notify us by email at specialprogrammes@africlub.net/awdf to let us know the details of your donation in addition to whether you want your donation to support a specific aspect of our work. Most importantly, contacting us will give us the opportunity to thank you in person for supporting our work.
If you are in Ghana, you can also sign on to our direct debit payment system and make regular monthly contributions support the work of AWDF. Refer all enquiries on the direct debit to specialprogrammes@africlub.net/awdf.
AWDF congratulations Lt Col (Rtd) Gladys OKwaning on her appointment as the Sub – Regional Chairperson Faculty of Administration, Management and Education (FAME) of the West African College of Nursing (WACN) for 2013 to 2015
AWDF congratulations Lt Col (Rtd) Gladys OKwaning on her appointment as the Sub – Regional Chairperson Faculty of Administration, Management and Education (FAME) of the West African College of Nursing (WACN) for 2013 to 2015
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) congratulates Lt Col (Rtd) Gladys Okwaning, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nana Yaa Memorial Trust for Good Quality Reproductive Health Services, and a long term grantee partner of AWDF, on her recent appointment as the Sub – Regional Chairperson of the Faculty of Administration, Management and Education (FAME) of the West African College of Nursing (WACN) for 2013 to 2015.
AWDF is confident that your years of leadership in reproductive health, and your commitment to the rights of women and girls will be reflected in the dynamism you will bring to your new position.[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Fonds Africain de développement de la Femme (AWDF) félicite le lieutenant-colonel (retraité) Gladys Okwaning, chef de la direction de la Nana Yaa Memorial Trust pour la bonne qualité des services de santé de la reproduction, et d’avoir été un bénéficiaire à long terme d’AWDF, pour sa récente nomination en tant que Sous – présidente régionale de la Faculté d’administration, de gestion et de l’éducation (FAME) du Collège ouest-africain des sciences infirmières (WACN) pour 2013 à 2015.
AWDF est confiant dans le fait que vos années de leadership en matière de santé reproductive, et votre engagement envers les droits des femmes et des filles seront reflétées dans le dynamisme que vous apporterez à votre nouveau poste.[/tp]