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Greetings!
Welcome to September's e-news from AWDF and what a hectic yet fulfilling month it has been.
AWDF participated in the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (see Women's Forum Statement below), launched our resource mobilisation course in partnership with Resource Alliance (UK) and GIMPA, convened the second African Feminist Forum and participated in a solidarity mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For more on our mission to the DRC do visit our blog at www.awdf.org/blog with further details following in October's newsletter.
Thank you to all of you who make it possible for us to transform the lives of African women and girls. 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 LEYMAH GBOWEE |
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Picture: Leymah Gbowee
At the recent African Feminist Forum in Kampala, Uganda, Nana Sekyiamah, AWDF's Programme Officer for Fundraising & Communications caught up with Leymah Gbowee, activist and Executive Director of WIPSEN.
NS: Who is Leymah Gbowee? LG: How do I describe who Leymah is? Usually I will start with my children because that is one identity I really love (I have 4 biological and 1 adopted child) but I think I am a person who from a really young age has been looking for answers to life and this was reinforced during the early years of the Liberian war. I am a helper and a woman who loves herself. I am an activist at every level. Everything that touches a woman's life, a girl-child's life and a child's life touches my being. I have a lot of compassion and a lot of energy. I find it difficult to relax. I was brought up in a home and was the fourth child of five girls. I had a mother who was an only child and a father who is sympathetic to feminism. It was my father who resisted us being subjected to female genital mutilation. I come from a family of activists. My grandmother got divorced thrice and taught us that if a husband brought in the charcoal or rice you should be able to bring the salt. I will also describe myself as a politician; I have a head for politics. NS: I only became aware of your work through 'Pray the devil back to Hell'... ' Continue reading Interview with Leymah Gbowee' |
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2ND AFRICAN FEMINIST FORUM
Dr Susan Kiguli with support from her Ugandan Sisters reciting her poem written specially for the African Feminist Forum
'NO LONGER A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS'
together a vision of the times
spreading revolution
creating change
No longer a voice alone
a voice in the wilderness
thunder rumbling in a distance
a mysterious noise hidden in dark clouds
wrecking the calm.
No longer a voice alone
A voice without family
Without audience
Without country
together a vision of the times
spreading revolution
creating change...'Continue reading No longer a voice in the wilderness' 'AID EFFECTIVENESS:WOMEN'S FORUM STATEMENT'
Recommendations for Action on Development Effectiveness in Accra and beyond.
On the 30th August 2008, more than 200 women's rights organizations, women's empowerment organisations, gender advocates and experts from all regions of the world attended the Accra International Women's Forum to discuss the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. This statement, which emanates from the forum calls for actions and recommendations for the 3rd High Level Forum.
Officials present at the Accra High Level Forum cannot ignore the failure of their development policies and practices, particularly those related to gender equality and women's empowerment.
According to recent figures today 1,4 billion persons live under the new poverty line of USD 1.25, and the majority of these are women and girls. It is essential to analyse the implications of the Aid Effectiveness agenda for the advancement of gender equality, women's rights and women's empowerment, and to consider how future aid management will tackle this fundamental issue...'Continue reading 'Aid Effectiveness - Women's Forum Statement'AWDF LAUNCHES RESOURCE MOBILISATION COURSE
The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) launched a Resource Mobilisation Certificate Course in association with our partners Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and Resource Alliance (UK).This course was formally launched on the 8th of September, 2008 by Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzi, Member of the Council of State, Ghana. The Resource Mobilisation Certificate Course is in response to several years of demand from local, national and international organizations for a high quality training course that will equip fundraisers in developing countries to mobilise resources for the development sector. Participants who are interested in attending future courses can contact GIMPA direct.
Ms Bisi-Adeleye Fayemi, Executive Director of AWDF and a trainer on the course states 'In today's financial climate, non-governmental organizations need to learn how to raise significant resources to enable the sustainability of their organizations. This Resource Mobilisation Certificate Course is unique because it not only covers the A - Z of fundraising but also includes sessions on crucial subjects such as communication, relationship management and strategy planning.'
Picture: First cohort of participants in the WFN 'Women Raising Millions' training program.
AWDF is participating in the Women Funding Network's campaign ' Women Raising Millions'. The campaign was catalyzed by a bold and visionary group of women donors, sparked by the inspiration of Swanee and Helen La Kelly Hunt, who together contributed a $10 million 'spark' gift to the campaign.
Together they are encouraging other women to flex their creativity and financial power to achieve lasting advances for women and girls. Their intention is that women, giving at historically new levels to women and girls, will help propel the collective financial assets of women's funds through the $1 billion mark by raising $150 million in new gifts of a million dollars and above.
Please contact AWDF's Program Officer for Fundraising & Communications at nana@awdf.org if you would like to find out more about this exciting initiative.
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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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