"Helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives." That's
Women for Women International's slogan and mission, and they have had great success in doing this through a several-step program which includes counseling, training, direct family aid, and business development, underwritten by sponsors who pledge to continue their sponsorship for one year with a matched 'sister' in one of the countries where WfWI operates (Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan -- all but one of which are countries where Kiva offers loans. The Bosnian MFI which Kiva works with, Zene za Zene, is a partner of WfWI.) Sponsors may select a country when they apply, or indicate "wherever there is most need". A personal relationship can be built through letters, cards, and photos, although WfWI discourages sending gifts.
From the WfWI website:
We begin by working with women who may have lost everything in conflict and often have nowhere else to turn. Participation in our one-year program launches women on a journey from victim to survivor to active citizen. We identify services to support graduates of the program as they continue to strive for greater social, economic and political participation in their communities.
As each woman engages in a multi-phase process of recovery and rehabilitation, she opens a window of opportunity presented by the end of conflict to help improve the rights, freedoms and status of women in her country. As women who go through our program assume leadership positions in their villages, actively participate in the reconstruction of their communities, build civil society, start businesses, train other women and serve as role models, they become active citizens who can help to establish lasting peace and stability.
Women begin in our Sponsorship Program where direct financial aid from a sponsor helps them deal with the immediate effects of war and conflict such as lack of food, water, medicine and other necessities. Exchanging letters with sponsors provides women with an emotional lifeline and a chance to tell their stories —maybe for the first time. As their situations begin to stabilize, women in our program begin building a foundation for their lives as survivors.
While continuing to receive sponsorship support, women embark on the next leg of the journey and participate in the Renewing Women’s Life Skills (ReneWLS) Program that provides them with rights awareness, leadership education and vocational and technical skills training. Women build upon existing skills and learn new ones in order to regain their strength, stability and stature on the path to becoming active citizens.
Women for Women International believes that establishing a means to earn a sustainable living is critical to being fully active in the life of a family, community and country. To help women transform their new skills into financial independence and sustainability, we offer job skills training to strengthen women’s existing skills and to introduce new skills in traditional and non-traditional fields so women can access future employment opportunities.
Building on the skills training program, we offer comprehensive business services designed to help women start and manage their own microenterprises. We give them access to capital and operate microcredit programs in Afghanistan and Bosnia & Herzegovina with an overall repayment rate of 98%. We give women access to markets by facilitating product sales through outside retailers. We provide expertise such as product design, production assistance and business development workshops. We also help women form micro-enterprises such as production facilities and cooperative stores to sell the goods women produce.
There have been posts on KF about this organization in the past, but no single thread dedicated to those who are currently sponsoring a sister, those who are awaiting their sponsorship match, or those who are interested in knowing more about the organization or what it's like to be a sponsor. (Two threads about WfWI are
Women@Google - Women for Women International and
Women For Women: Shop the Bazaar.) So I am opening this thread for all discussions about WfWI and our variety of experiences. (I know of at least five KFs who are either currently sponsoring a sister or are waiting to receive their sister's information in the mail right now.)
So, I'll go first! I signed up a couple months ago and have been waiting to be matched with a sister from a country of greatest need. I have already mailed in a first postcard to be delivered to the sister I have not yet been introduced to, saying, "We have not met yet, but I am sending you strength and courage and am looking forward to meeting you soon." I am expecting to receive her name and situational details next week, but learned today when confirming my billing address details on the phone that my sister lives in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). These comments from wikipedia about the status of women in DRC are sobering.
In eastern Congo, the prevalence and intensity of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. They have been raped during warfare and kept as slaves for soldiers. When the women are released, most killed themselves or checked into a hospital where they would die.
The war has made the life of women more precarious. Violence against women seems to be perceived by large sectors of society to be normal. In July 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross expressed concern about the situation in eastern DRC. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence, Yakin Ertürk, who toured eastern Congo in July 2007, violence against women in North and South Kivu included “unimaginable brutality”.
I'll plan to post updates here if appropriate, and would be interested in hearing from other KFs who have been involved in WfWI for a while, as well as hearing from other new sponsors. It seems like a super program, and I can't wait to meet my sister.
--Diane.
