Katherine Zavala – IDEX’s Program Manager, Grassroots Alliances – is in South Africa on a site visit to our partners. She reports from Cape Town.
"We talk about our commonalities and differences. We get to know each other’s history, where we come from, and our struggles as women."- Mary Tal, WWWA's Founder and Director. Photo by Eric Miller.
Mary Tal, Founder and Director of Whole World Women Assocation
Today I’ve been invited to observe a training at the wonderful Community House in Salt River, Cape Town, a unique building where lots of NGOs share a communal space including IDEX Partner Whole World Women Association (WWWA).
The training is for peer educators. The goal is that these new peer educators, who come from different countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, and Cameroon, will educate and build awareness among other refugees on HIV/AIDS literacy.
WWWA has been working with migrant and refugee communities in the surrounding areas of Cape Town since 2002, particularly focusing on women.
Refugees from the most conflicted areas around the African continent have been attracted to South Africa because it offers the best economic opportunities on this continent.
Unfortunately, refugees are still not welcomed or integrated into South African society.
The women of Whole World Women Association. Photo by Eric Miller.
WWWA is working hard to foster dialogues between locals and refugees to learn from each other through a program called “Building Bridges.”
Mary Tal, WWWA’s founder and director, herself a Cameroon refugee, describes the Building Bridges program:
“This is where we organize social events and women’s dialogue. We talk about our commonalities and differences. We get to know each other’s history, where we come from, and our struggles as women. In this program, we find that we have begun to learn so much about South Africa and the South African women working with us are beginning to also open up their hearts to learn so much about women who are not from this country.”
This year, WWWA was very proud to have successfully opened its Empowerment Center in Kenilworth, a 20-minute drive from downtown Cape Town.
Mary expresses how wonderful it was to provide training in computer literacy and garment making to the center’s first group of women.
“This was the first time that refugee women could come to their own safe space and feel free to share their experience with each other in a women-focused environment. You notice women are shy when men are around, but here they are free and happy.”
Unfortunately, the effects of the global recession are hitting community-based organizations such as WWWA hard.
Due to resource constraints, WWWA had to close their center ahead of the end of the year, but they are optimistic in their plans to reopen it again next year.
In spite of the funding challenges, WWWA’s work goes on. Everyone at WWWA is determined that the refugees who come here continue their healing process.
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