by lwang | Sep 21, 2012 | Female Empowerment, Landesa, Roy Prosterman
In his fight to end global poverty, inaugural Kravis Prize winner Roy Prosterman has made a difference in over 105 million families. Through his founding of Landesa, Prosterman has linked land rights to economic prosperity, determined to arm the world’s poorest communities with rights to their most valuable resource. At the crux of these families are women, which led to the establishment of the Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights (LCWLR). In a post on Reuters’ TrustLaw blog, Lian Carl shared his experience working with LCWLR over the past year, with chilling observations of life for women in sub-Saharan Africa. “How can property own property?” was the question continually posed to Carl and his colleagues. Carl discussed how the unequal status of women in the region is crippling to the community as a whole as it has proven to affect a number of developing needs. “Investing in women brings [our] impact to the household level where more of the investment will be made in children, which we know over the long run will improve the economic output of a country. By focusing on women’s land rights, we can significantly reduce poverty.” It is accounts like Carl’s that illustrate the struggle of global poverty, and it is his passion and dedication that drive Landesa’s success. “The Word on Women- A Year’s Reflection on Women’s Land Rights” [TrustLaw, September 17,...
by lwang | Sep 6, 2012 | Community Development, Education, Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
Although Kravis Prize winners are tackling different social problems in today’s world, they all share the same mission: Make an impact. For example, mothers2mothers harnesses the power of individuals – their mentor mothers – to empower, educate and foster a community that provides HIV-positive women with the support they need. The Huffington Post published the story of Patience Hlengiwe Kweyama, an HIV-positive mother of five and an m2m mentor mother, who discussed her own experiences: “I saw an ad for a Mentor Mother position for mothers2mothers, an NGO that helps prevent mother-to-child transmission through peer mentoring and education, and I decided to apply as I felt that providing support and education to other women going through similar experiences to me was something I could do. I wanted to help these women so that they could understand what medication is available and how they can have healthy babies. Most importantly, I didn’t want them to live with the same fear I did for almost ten years. Through the training I received, I am now able to live my life positively, living the mothers2mothers vision of saving babies and their mothers.” In addition, Kweyama emphasized the many roles that m2m plays in supporting HIV-positive mothers and pregnant women: “Mentor Mothers motivate pregnant women with HIV to adhere to their medicines. We provide a network of support for all mothers in the community. Challenges such as stigma and health worker shortages are addressed as well. Mentor Mothers are powerful agents against the stigma of HIV that causes women to live in fear and prevents them from seeking care. Mentor Mothers work alongside...
by lwang | Aug 10, 2012 | AIL, Community Development, Education, Female Empowerment, Health, Sakena Yacoobi
In June, Voice America’s Audrey Kitagawa interviewed Sakena Yacoobi for her radio segment on love, spirituality and forgiveness. Yacoobi discussed her work at the Afghan Institute of Learning and her reasons behind focusing on providing education and health care services to people in Afghanistan: “Ninety-five percent of people of Afghanistan live in poverty so health education is very, very important. [If] a mother is healthy, she will make sure that her child is healthy. And if her child is healthy, you know and I know that a child that is healthy can learn better. … I believe in education and I think that education is the key issue for really reaching out to people.” She also shared AIL’s goal and the impact that the organization is attempting to achieve: “The issue is that we want to transform life. We want to change the status of the life of the people … We are trying to make people educated, we try to help people to be healthy and we try to make people to be economically sustainable that they have a better life.” Given the progress AIL’s made, it’s safe to say they’re not only improving people’s lives in Afghanistan, but also imparting hope on those who have suffered in the past! Listen to the full radio interview...
by lwang | Aug 3, 2012 | Education, Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
Did you know that in resource-poor countries, in the absence of tests and treatment, 40 percent of children are infected with HIV? Thankfully, 2012 Kravis Prize recipient mothers2mothers is working to fill this gap through its treatment clinics across sub-Saharan Africa. The exclusive video is a conversation between Marie-Josée Kravis, selection committee chair for the Kravis Prize and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and mentor mother Tlalane Phafoli. Phafoli discussed m2m’s programs and the United Nations goal to end pediatric AIDS by 2015: “Right now, I think, mothers2mothers, we are in seven countries. Over a million women are HIV-positive and there are still a lot out there that are not being reached, which really is a pity.” She also shared her own experience: “After the tests were confirmed that I am HIV-positive, all I wanted was to die. I can tell you it wasn’t easy. … Look, I’m still standing, I have a job, I’m able to look after my own child. The minute they see me, that I get up every morning, I carry my bag, I go to work. And not just in work, the clinic, which is the most important place in the community. I’m talking on behalf of the 1,500 mentor mothers who are out there doing the work.” Thanks to m2m, Phafoli and her fellow mentor mothers are able to inspire, educate and guide HIV-infected women receive proper care and treatment! A true Kravis Prize...
by lwang | Jul 27, 2012 | Education, FAWE, Female Empowerment
Kravis Prize winners are effecting change all around the world – and prominent policymakers are taking notice! For example, Claver Issa, acting permanent secretary of Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, commended the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Rwanda Chapter at the organization’s seventh General Assembly earlier this month. Issa noted that the ministry is working to develop a special education policy with FAWE that targets all children with special needs. He added that FAWE Rwanda “has contributed much to the national steering committee in the promotion of girls’ education where schools competed and those who won awarded prizes with the help of the First Lady.” At the assembly, FAWE Rwanda Chairperson Rhona Nyakurama also shared the organization’s progress. The school is currently sponsoring 6,555 students in 62 schools around the country. Since the establishment of FAWE Rwanda, around 86 percent of the girls who have graduated were able to join higher institutions of learning. In addition, FAWE Rwanda has been able to mobilize girls’ education at the primary and secondary school levels, with 52 percent of girls now at the primary school level! To learn more about FAWE’s amazing work, go to our page. “FAWE Rwanda holds Seventh General Assembly” [The New Times, July 14,...
by lwang | Jul 13, 2012 | Education, Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
The Global Post’s Tracy Jarrett recently went on a journey to learn about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the disease that took her mother’s life. She traveled to Cape Town, South Africa and met Maletsatsi Mbayi, a mentor mother at mothers2mothers. Mbayi discussed her duties at the organization, but also shared her story and how m2m changed her life. After learning that she was HIV positive and pregnant, Mbayi said she contemplated committing suicide. However, Mbayi eventually began treatment and told her friends about her disease. She joined a support group at church where she was recruited to be part of the m2m program as an example of someone who had the courage to speak out about her status. Jarrett noted how m2m had changed Mbayi: “It is clear that working for mothers2mothers has empowered Mbayi, who now stands strong and confident, and is noticeably pained when she remembers her darkest hours, when she thought that taking her own life was the only way forward. Her knowledge and her dedication to helping other HIV positive women signify how far she has come.” While listening to Mbayi’s stories, Jarrett thought of her mother. “If my mother had lived, would she also have helped support other HIV-positive mothers? Would she have needed a job like that to help her cope?” she wrote. “As I left I gave Mbayi a hug, squeezing her as if she were my own mother. When I got back to my apartment near the city center, tears swelled in my eyes.” Yet another example of how Kravis Prize winners are changing lives all around the world! “A Daughter’s...
