July 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Cindy McCain penned an op-ed for today’s Wall Street Journal about her recent trip to Africa and the “women are at the forefront of the physical, emotional and spiritual healing that is moving Rwandan society forward.”
Some excerpts:
“It is a humbling experience to be in the presence of those who have such a capacity for forgiveness and care. It is also instructive. If wealthy nations want their assistance programs to be effective, they should look to the women who form the backbone of every society. With some education, training, basic rights and empowerment, women will transform a society — and the world.”
“Women today make up a disproportionate percentage of the Rwandan population. In the aftermath of the genocide, they had to head households bereft of fathers. They had to take over farms, and take jobs previously done by men. But there were opportunities, too: Today, 41% of Rwandan businesses are owned by women…Rwanda today has the world’s highest percentage of female legislators.”
“Perhaps it is fitting that a nation so wracked by death could give birth to a vibrant new age. I know that one thing is clear: Through their bold and courageous actions, these women should inspire not only their fellow Africans, but all individuals — men and women — across the globe.”
July 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Last week a crew of ONE staff and American leaders took a trip to Rwanda to see effective-U.S. aid at work. I just got in this clip of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Center for the American Progress President John Podesta talking about their visit to a specialty-coffee-washing station just outside of Kigali.
Senator Bill Frist, MD:
“We’re at a specialty-coffee-washing station in Rwanda, Kigali,- just outside of Kigali, Rwanda. Why is it important? It is because of economic development. In a country that is mainly plagued by poverty, what you see behind me, the employment of over 200 women, women who double their income by working at this specialty-coffee-washing station will now have that opportunity to put their kids in school, to put a roof over their head, to empower their family to earn an income in the future that indeed can capture their dreams and translate their hopes and dreams into a reality.”
John Podesta:
“Rwanda has a “Rwanda 2020 Plan” to try to really make sure that growth is widespread and that it affects everyone. And you saw a real spirit of entrepreneurship here today. We saw women sorting coffee earning about 50% more than they were earning in their livelihood. Before that we saw a young Rwanda entrepreneur who had built that coffee-washing station. The focus in on specialty coffee. Rwanda has always produced a lot of coffee, but now they’re producing for the high-end, and that’s a team effort, but just there’s just a lot of spirit and optimism about the capacity to get this country really moving again. And get the kids in school. Get the people working. And get some income into people’s pockets.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm | posted by Erin Erlenborn, ONE Policy Staff
The front page of Sunday’s Washington Post featured story of women being disproportionately affected by the food crisis. Women grow, buy, and cook food but eat last and least. The following is an excerpt from WP’s story.
After she woke in the dark to sweep city streets, after she walked an hour to buy less than $2 worth of food, after she cooked for two hours in the searing noon heat, Fanta Lingani served her family’s only meal of the day. First she set out a bowl of corn mush, seasoned with tree leaves, dried fish and wood ashes, for the 11 smallest children, who tore into it with bare hands. Then she set out a bowl for her husband. Then two bowls for a dozen older children. Then finally, after everyone else had finished, a bowl for herself. She always eats last.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:14 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
While on the bus traveling between locations in Rwanda, Cindy McCain reflects on the trip so far, noting the themes of forgiveness and the Rwandan women who are moving the country forward.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:17 pm | posted by Erin Erlenborn, ONE Policy Staff
Check out this cool video on the Girl Effect.
The “Girl Effect” is the powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society. Decades of research shows that when women have access to more resources, they put their money towards making sure their children have better nutrition, education and health care.
The first step is investing in girls and it is one of the surest routes to ending poverty in the developing world. Check it out at http://www.girleffect.org/#/video/
March 14th, 2008 at 1:20 pm | posted by ONE.Partners
Most of us can’t imagine trying to support ourselves, let alone our entire family, on just a dollar a day. But millions of women around the world are forced to do exactly that because they do not have economic opportunity.
This February, in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month (March), I left my home in Annapolis, MD and traveled to Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the Americas, to try to experience what it was like to live on less than $1 a day.
In Nicaragua, I stayed with a member of FEMUPROCAN, an agricultural cooperative that helps women produce and sell crops in organic, sustainable, and income-generating ways. I met (more…)
February 5th, 2008 at 11:12 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
About 500 women from more than 30 sub-Saharan countries are taking part in a 4-day conference in Burkina Faso on violence against women and women’s access to HIV treatment.
“There is no doubt that lots of human rights violations characterise the (HIV/AIDS) pandemic,” said Bernice Heloo, president of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA).
“Women are the ones who most severely bear brunt of human rights abuse, have been prone to violences and other atrocities related to their gender and seropositive status.
“Many women have been driven from their marital homes, stripped of their hard-earned possessions and separated from their children and people they love,” she told a conference attended by Burkina Faso Prime Minister Tertius Zongo.
She urged the international community to lend their technical and financial support to “strengthen the battle against gender inequality in Africa, a key factor in the spread of the pandemic and to contribute to the promotion of human rights for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.”
On Wednesday night, Senator Hillary Clinton spoke at Iowa State University. The lecture focused on the role of women in politics and society. The senator talked about the importance of education for all and equal rights for women, whether they live in the United States or Afghanistan.
Several ONE members were in the crowd, proudly wearing ONE shirts and wristbands. After the lecture, Sen. Clinton greeted students individually. Tyler Barrett, treasurer of the ONE Campaign at ISU, shook the senator’s hand and when she saw his T-shirt, Sen. Clinton commented on her support of the ONE Campaign.
While I was waiting in line, I had a chance to chat with Christie Vilsack, the former first lady of Iowa, who said she would be happy to wear a ONE band. A few minutes later, I got to meet Sen Clinton too, and asked her to wear a ONE wristband, which she was happy to do! She then posed for a picture with me and continued shaking hands while wearing the ONE band!
August 20th, 2007 at 2:43 pm | posted by Porter McConnell, ONE Policy and Coalition Coordinator
Women’s empowerment has been getting a boost in a small village in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The village of Awra Amba (”Top of the Hill”) was founded by 20 Muslim and Christian peasants in the 1980s and now has 400 residents and a growing fan club.
According to a piece in the Christian Science Monitor, the village is an experiment in egalitarianism in an otherwise traditional society, a community where education is emphasized, women are given three months maternity leave from work responsibilities, and men join the women in cooking and weaving, traditionally female activities. Awra Amba’s vision of women’s empowerment, the third UN Millennium Development Goal, has attracted increasing attention internationally:
“Government officials and members of parliament, sheikhs and priests, and local and foreign nongovernmental organization workers have made the trip via a rocky road only accessible with a four-wheel-drive vehicle to see the success for themselves.
“I was completely captivated by my visit to the community,” says Ambassador Tim Clarke, head of the European Union delegation to Ethiopia. “I regard it as the model for the world community on how gender issues should be treated. I have come across nothing else like it anywhere in Africa – and indeed the world. I am using it to inspire the work of my office here on gender mainstreaming and empowerment of women.”
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