To date the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) has funded twelve grants in sub-Saharan Africa for the total amount of $990, 071. The grants are targeted to local organizations and fund projects that seek to increase the effectiveness of efforts to combat gender-based violence (GBV), women’s knowledge of and application of their civic, legal, political, and economic rights, and their access to justice, rule of law, and social and economic services. These small grants are based on the foundation that political and economic stability cannot be achieved without the full and effective participation of the women and girls and local organizations that make up the backbone of society.
Providing comprehensive response to GBV, projects seek to increase protection of survivors, prosecution of perpetrators, and prevention of future crimes.
Combating GBV in Schools, Benin (Small Grants Initiative)
This project focuses on combating gender based violence against girls in schools with high incidences of GBV. Working in close collaboration with the ministries of education, the project will raise awareness of GBV in schools and the legal protections that exist, and develop a support network (students, Parent Teacher Association members, health care workers, police, lawyers and magistrates specializing in GBV and social workers) to respond to cases of GBV in the schools and provide support to GBV survivors.
Promoting Women’s Legal Rights, Uganda (Small Grants Initiative)
The project is focused on legal education and assistance to women survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), through the provision of paralegal training to community health workers, conducting legal aid outreach events, producing a short documentary of SGBV survivor stories, and training practicing lawyers on women’s legal rights, particularly those covered under the new legislation.
Women for Action Project, Gambia (Small Grants Initiative)
This project seeks to accomplish three goals: promotion and advocacy of legal reform for the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); promotion and advocacy of legal reform of the national Women’s Rights Bill; and, the sensitization of civil society on the practice and implementation of women’s legal rights under the local Muslim law with regards to FGM, early marriage, trafficking, and other personal litigation issues, including inheritance.
Stigma Reduction and Economic Empowerment for Women and Girl Survivors of Sexual Violence, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Small Grants Initiative)
The overall goal of the proposed program is to advance the health, economic and social well-being of women and girl survivors of sexual violence in rural villages in the Walungu Territory of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To achieve this goal, the program will provide training to build the capacity of rural health care providers to assist SGBV survivors, develop culturally appropriate mediation tools for community leaders and health practitioners to raise awareness of sexual violence and facilitate survivors’ reintegration in their families and communities; and provide microfinance loans, in the form of pigs, to improve rural women’s economic stability.
Elimination of Gender-Based Violence, Liberia (Secretary’s Fund: Avon Award)
Gender based violence cuts across all sectors of the Liberian society. Women and girls are continuously marginalized and discriminated against in homes, schools, work places, and on the professional level. Culturally, men feel they have to be in charge and should have the final say.
Increasing women’s understanding and application of their legal rights
Improving Women’s Inheritance Rights, Tanzania (Small Grants Initiative)
To address the issues of widow’s inheritance rights in Tanzania, this project proposes to increase awareness and knowledge of women’s inheritance rights, improve women’s access to legal aid, and encourage Tanzanians to draft wills.
Increasing women’s access to access to training, mentorship, credit and finance, and skills building with the goal of increasing their economic independence and the creation of women-owned enterprises.
Empowering Vulnerable Women, Tanzania (Small Grants Initiative)
Project aims to economically empower women recovering from fistula and mothers of children with disabilities. Participants are taught a trade and provided the entrepreneurial skills they need to become economically self-sufficient. Training includes English lesions, business seminars, and sessions on life skills, focusing on communication, decision-making, leadership, and health education. Upon graduating from the program, women receive a business starter kit that enables them to put into practice the learned skills and start their businesses.
Pig-Farming Targeting Women-Headed Households, Rwanda (Small Grants Initiative)
Project supports women-headed households and other vulnerable families, through the creation of an improved social support system for women within their own communities, and the provision of training on food production and income generation from selling surplus produce. With the activities of farming using high yielding breeds of pigs, farming organic produce, and supporting self-help groups focused on savings, the project aims to reduce persistent household insufficiency and inadequate disposable incomes.
Promotion and Establishment of Microfinance for Women, Kenya (Small Grants Initiative)
This project is focused on assisting women returnees or internally displaced persons (IDPs) in improving their small businesses, increasing their personal incomes and promoting family livelihoods. Project activities include training in business skills and access to micro-credit loans.
Stigma Reduction and Economic Empowerment for Women and Girl Survivors of Sexual Violence, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Small Grants Initiative)
The overall goal of the proposed program is to advance the health, economic and social well-being of women and girl survivors of sexual violence in rural villages in the Walungu Territory of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To achieve this goal, the program will provide training to build the capacity of rural health care providers to assist SGBV survivors, develop culturally appropriate mediation tools for community leaders and health practitioners to raise awareness of sexual violence and facilitate survivors’ reintegration in their families and communities; and provide microfinance loans, in the form of pigs, to improve rural women’s economic stability.
Climate Change and Food Security
Women in Law Lesotho Project, Lesotho (Small Grants Initative)
Responding to the crisis of food insecurity, this project intends to promote small-holder female farmers and women’s community groups’ property rights to land and land tenure reform initiatives in order to adapt, mitigate and enhance their participation in climate change problem solving. Through community trainings, workshops, and public gathers, the project aims to achieve the following objectives: 1) to undertake an advocacy program through supporting small holder female farmers through women’s leadership skills; 2) to train small female farmers on their property rights; 3) to sensitize them on land tenure reform initiatives; 4) to train them on mitigation and adaptation strategy to the current climate change situations; and 5) to enhance women’s participation in initiatives aimed at climate change problem solving.
Women’s Political Participation
Women Leaders Making the Connections, Benin (Small Grants Initiative)
This project addresses the lack of women leaders in Benin’s democratic process by empowering more women to become candidates in the Parliamentary elections of March 2011. The goal of the project is to increase the number of women candidates in Benin’s March 2011 general elections and to improve the communication and management skills of the women contenders and newly elected parliamentarians. The project will raise awareness of political parties, community leaders and the public about the importance of having more women leaders in Parliament. Women candidates will be trained to be more prepared and better speakers during the election campaign. Finally, all the newly elected women parliamentarians will be trained on their role and responsibilities to be effective representatives in Benin’s Parliament.
Mauritanian Women Speak, Mauritania (Small Grants Initiative)
Mauritanian Women Speak is a program conceived as an awareness campaign to promote women’s empowerment and active participation in the social development of Mauritania. At the program’s core, it will highlight 20 of the most successful Mauritanian women from all four ethnic groups and bring them forth as role models to younger girls and women. In addition, the program will also produce radio programs to inform women of their rights and encourage and show them how to best participate in civil society. These materials will be written by reliable women journalists from around the country who will gather stories, interviews, and record songs. Print materials, radio and TV programs will highlight the challenges and victories of each woman. Training workshops will be organized regionally and educational materials will be used at these workshops as well as distributed to schools, women NGOs and throughout the Ministry of Women.
