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Greetings!
As usual, August has been a hectic but very fruitful month for us at AWDF.
We participated in the XVII International Aids Conference in Mexico by sponsoring the participation of African women activists from 7 organisations on the continent as well as publicising our progress document on our HIV/AIDS Fund at a press conference. This is in addition to moderating a panel discussion on the AIDS Care Economy and attending many workshops and networking opportunities.
Mexico was also an opportunity to re-focus on the key role and leadership that African women are playing in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic and one such heroine is Siphiwe Hlophe, Executive Director of Swaziland Positive Living featured in this month's newsletter. In 2006, AWDF awarded Siphiwe with the Fighting Spirit Award and today Siphiwe is still showing her fighting spirit in supporting women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Congratulations are also due to AWDF's very own Abigail Burgesson and Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, a grantee partner with The Ark Foundation who were recently honoured by Akina Mama wa Afrika for their sterling services and dedication to African women's rights.
Enjoy this month's newsletter and as usual we appreciate hearing your feedback on any of our featured articles.
Sincerely,
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi
Executive Director
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INTERVIEW WITH SWAZILAND POSITIVE LIVING (SWAPOL) |
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AWDF's Executive Director, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi and Siphiwe Hlophe sharing a joke at the recent XVII International Aids Conference in Mexico
Nana Sekyiamah, AWDF's Programme Officer (Fundraising & Communications) caught up with Siphiwe Hlophe, Director of Swaziland Positive Living (SWAPOL) at the recent XVII International Aids Conference in Mexico.
NS: I saw you dancing earlier when you were chatting to Bisi, (Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is AWDF's Executive Director) what had made you so happy?
SH: I was just telling Bisi about a coalition we have formed of women working on HIV/AIDS in order to enable us to have one voice and one agenda to push women and girl's issues. We want to set up a secretariat, identify our core business, register as a legal entity and sign a memorandum of understanding amongst all the women's NGOs. I was also happy because SWAPOL has been struggling with transportation (we only have 2 cars for 16 officers) and AWDF has agreed that we can send in a request for a small grant to enable us purchase a car...continue reading 'Interview with SWAPOL'
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| AWDF NEWS FEATURING UPDATES FROM OUR GRANTEE PARTNERS |
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AFRICAN WOMENS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (AWLI)
AWDF's Senior Programme's Manager, Abigail Burgesson being honoured for her work with African women
AWDF's very own Abigail Burgesson, Senior Manager, Special Programmes, was honoured for her committment and hard work on women's rights issues at the recent opening ceremony of the regional African Women's Leadership Institute (AWLI) held in Accra, Ghana. Other awardees include Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, Executive Director of The Ark Foundation and one of our grantee partners, as well as the Honourable Gladys Asmah, Minister for Fisheries who was also the very first Minister for Women and Children in Ghana. Congratulations to all awardees!!!
Akina Mama wa Afrika's (AMwA) theme for this year's Regional AWLI is on 'African Women's Leadership and Gender Responsive Poverty Reduction Strategies'. The keynote speaker, Honourable Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, spoke about strategies that have been initiated by her Ministry to introduce gender sensitive budgeting in key government institutions as one of the strategies implemented in order to address the gendered aspects of poverty in Ghana.
'CLOUDS IN EGYPT'S SKY'
The issue of sexual harassment has become less taboo recently in the Egyptian media and within academic circles, and has even become a part of daily discourse among women in Egyptian society, regardless of social or economic status or political belief. In the past, women were afraid to talk about sexual harassment and considered discussing it culturally taboo. With the problem worsening, we have found that the way ahead is to encourage dialogue about this problem and to try to search for solutions. Sexual harassment has become an overwhelming and very real problem experienced by all women in Egyptian society, often on a daily basis, in public places such as markets, public transportation and the streets, as well as in private places such as educational institutions, sports clubs, and the workplace...'Continue reading Clouds in Egypt's Sky'
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AFRICAN WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS 'CLOSE TO THE HEART OF NELSON MANDELA' |
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Speakers at AWDF's press conference in Mexico
The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) at the XVII International Aids Conference held a press conference on the 6th of August to showcase the work being done by African women's organizations in combating the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and launched a progress report showcasing the achievements of AWDF's HIV/AIDS fund. Speakers at the press conference included Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Executive Director of AWDF; Chantal Cuddumbey, Nelson Mandela Foundation; Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, Secretary General, World YWCA; Siphiwe Hlophe, Director, Swaziland Positive Living for Life; and Lucy Mensah, Executive Director, Women United against Aids in Ghana. The Executive Director of AWDF, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi stated ' African women are leading the fight against HIV/AIDS and need to be provided with the financial and technical resources to continue this vital work'...continue reading 'African women's leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS 'close to the heart of Nelson Mandela' |
| MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF HIV & AIDS ON WOMEN IN URBAN SLUMS: THE STORY OF WOPO |
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Girls and young women in Africa often face many challenges in rural settings where they have limited opportunities for education, economic empowerment, and decision making. As a consequence, many of them flee to urban areas but mainly end up in urban slums and informal settlements.
Conditions in these slums are often more deplorable than those left behind in the rural areas. In these urban slums girls and young women face daunting challenges because of their gender. Gender based violence is a common feature in these slums...continue reading 'Mitigating the effects of HIV & AIDS on Women in urban slums' | |
The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards women's empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and programme development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women's movement.
The vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women's human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilise financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision. AWDF funds women's groups across Africa working in the areas of Women's Human Rights, Political Participation, Peace Building, Health and Reproductive Rights, HIV/AIDS and Economic Empowerment.
AWDF has funded over 600 women's organisations in 41 African countries. AWDF's grants range from U$1,000- U$50,000, and multi-year grants of up to $120,000 can be made to grantees engaged in strategic work.
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