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Greetings!
Welcome to this month's e-newsletter from the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF).
AWDF is currently compiling a publication on African women's leadership and in March our Programme Officer for Communications had the chance to chat with Minister Varbah Gayflor who heads the Liberian Ministry for Gender and Development and who was also the Co-Chair for the recent colloquium held in Liberia. Enjoy this interesting interview with one of Africa's women leaders.
From the beginning of this year the grants department of AWDF has been carrying out an extensive monitoring and evaluation visit with grantees in Ghana. We shall be sharing through this newsletter many of the stories we have been capturing on the field. Learn about the activities of the Tiehisuma Women's Group who came together to produce "the best shea butter" in their vicinity.
The 18th of April was Zimbabwe's 29th Independence Anniversary and in this month's newsletter, Nyaradazai Gumbovonda shares "Her Reflections on Zimbabwe's 29th Anniversary".
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi
Executive Director
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INTERVIEW WITH VARBAH GAYFLOR, MINISTER FOR GENDER & DEVELOPMENT, LIBERIA |
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Picture:
Varbah Gayflor, Minister for Gender & Development, Liberia
NS: How did you get involved in politics? VG: I got involved when I got appointed as a political appointee. NS: And what was your reaction when you got appointed? VG: Initially I said no. My first reaction was no. I knew that we had a very bad pay system where the salaries were very low and there was a history of a lot of corruption amongst government officials. I had just come from graduate school; I was not even here when I got appointed, ( points to a framed picture of two young men on her desk) these are my sons, I am a single parent and I needed to support my sons so I said no, I was not going to take up a job that will not give me enough to take care of my kids and I didn't want to steal to take care of them...Continue reading " Interview Varbah Gayflor, Minister for Gender & Development, Liberia". |
| THE POWER OF MOVEMENTS |
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Picture: Members of Tiehisuma Women's Group
Cooperatives and other Women's groups have the power to harness and unleash the power and potential of all the individual members to scale higher heights and that is exactly what has happened after the women of Gurugu came together to form the Tiehisuma Women's Group. The women of have lived up to their name. Tiehisuma means "good aspiration" "good purpose". Being women of purpose the women realizing that shea butter was abundant in their community purposed in their heart to produce the best shea butter in the vicinity and that is exactly how they have evolved. These women started processing shea butter as individuals in the various homes meeting once a while to deliberate on social issues. In 2005 the AWDF saw the potential in this women's group and supported them with a $2000 grant to build a shed, a store and two round huts that they use as storage for their Shea butter. They presently have a crushing machine and a milling machine. With the shed the women no longer have to sit under the sun to process their shea butter...Continue reading " The Power of Movements" |
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AWDF NEWS |
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AWDF'S ACTIVITIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM
The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)participated in the International Colloquium on Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace & Security held in Monrovia Liberia, 7th - 8th March, 2009.
AWDF's activities at this event included:
- Convening a resource mobilisation workshop for grantees in Liberia in conjunction with our partners from the Women's Funding Network and Global Fund for Women.
- Facilitating The Great Debate, "We Have Wasted Our Time Pushing for More Women in Decision Making Positions, They Are Indifferent to the Concerns of Women" and
- Launching "The Compendium of Key Instruments for African Women's Human Rights"
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| HER REFLECTIONS ON ZIMBABWE'S 29TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY |
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AN ESSAY
Nyaradzai Mugaragumbo-Gumbonzvanda
18 April 2009
The 18 of April 2009 is a special day when our nation celebrates its 29 years of independence from colonial rule. A nation celebrating the gallantry of its daughters and sons who shed their blood, suffered, imprisoned and struggled until victory was indeed certain. I reminisce the meaning of this day to my late mother, Rozaria Marumisa Dizha, born 1923 and passed on in 2006. An ordinary Zimbabwean like any other woman, she contributed the best she could, with the means she had towards the liberation of the country. She gave her daughters and sons to the liberation, some serving as prisoners of war and others skipping the borders. Like other villagers, she provided food and financial contributions for the comrades "war vets" survival during the guerrilla warfare..." Continue reading "Her Reflections on Zimbabwe's 29th Independence Anniversary" | |
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 800 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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"The Compendium of Key Instruments for African Women's Human Rights" can be downloaded from the awdf website at 