Posts Tagged ‘WWWA’
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 World Social Forum (WSF) kicked off in Dakar, Senegal, this week and IDEX Program Officer Yeshica Weerasekera is on the ground and will be sending dispatches our way!
IDEX has helped to facilitate four of our South African partners to attend the WSF. While in Dakar, IDEX partners Biowatch, Positive Women’s Network, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, and Whole World Women’s Association will organize workshop sessions that address some of the most pertinent issues facing Africa today.
PWN routinely holds workshops on HIV/AIDS and Personal Empowerment for young women in South Africa.
Workshop topics include South Durban’s fight against environmental pollution, the socioeconomic factors impacting HIV/AIDS treatment for women, and ways in which small farmer-led sustainable farming models can fight food insecurity.
A global entity, the World Social Forum began in Brazil 11 years ago as a counterweight to the elite World Economic Forum, which wrapped up last week in Davos, Switzerland. By contrast, the WSF brings together thousands of social justice movements from around the world to exchange ideas and experiences, and to network for effective action.
This year marks the second time the WSF is held in an African country, presenting an opportunity for Africa to rededicate time to fighting the immense poverty and injustice gripping the continent.
The WSF provides our partners with an excellent platform to raise awareness about their valuable work in South Africa, and to network with likeminded organizations. Such a level of cooperation is an opportunity to find solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing concerns.
In the coming weeks, look out for posts from Yeshica as well as from our partner organizations.
IDEX has recently selected 4 new partners in South Africa:
We will be sharing news from these partners in the coming weeks and months.
For those of you who are in South Africa, don’t miss the next episode in the Masupatsela Series, which features the work of Angus Gillis.
“Game reserves in South Africa have an unpleasant legacy of people being thrown off land in order to turn the area into a playground for the rich. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape near Grahamstown has decided to do things differently. The Reserve was formed by combining three agricultural farms into 20,000 hectares of land and restocking this land with wildlife. The farm workers living on the land form part of the Reserve’s community and are trained through various program to become staff members or to develop skills that they can use to advance their families and communities.”
Read more here and watch the trailer below.
Melanie Foreman is an IDEX Intern who is traveling in South Africa. While there she is visiting several of our grantees. She recently spent time with Catalyst Grantee Whole Women’s World Association (WWWA) in Cape Town.
Today I went to the WWWA office in Cape Town and met with Mary Tal, the organization’s director, and 7 members of a women’s refugee support group. The members all come from different countries; today’s participants came from the Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The group meets regularly and engages in different activities such as writing poems, performing dramas, singing, dancing and drawing. These activities serve as a way for the women to discuss the hardships and negative experiences they have faced. They also serve as a way to heal from the trauma they have been subjected to. One member stated that the group offers “a safe place for us to talk freely, to learn how to forgive and to make better people out of ourselves.” The group brings out the commonalities among the women and encourages them to take what they have learned back to the communities. The women also develop skills and learn how to make different crafts, like pillows and beadwork. They can then sell these to generate some income.
The group’s name is Giemoh, which means “one voice.” The women chose this name to highlight that though the group members come from diverse backgrounds, they speak with one voice. Topics of discussion vary from each meeting, but the goal is to provide the women with inter-personal and life skills. Today’s group was centered on self-esteem. The women took turns sharing their personal stories while the others listened and asked questions. Many of the women expressed how much they had learned and how much their self-esteemed had improved since they had joined the group.
One of the biggest challenges the women face in South Africa is xenophobia. I asked them what some of the problems were as a result of xenophobia. They told me that although the South African government accepts them and tells them that they have the same rights as South African citizens, it isn’t really the case.
Often they aren’t able to open bank accounts or enroll their children into schools. The schools don’t want to accept them for fear they can’t pay the fees. In addition, any qualifications they earned in their home countries are not recognized in South Africa. This forces them to take low-paying jobs that they are overqualified for. Even then a job is difficult to find. One group member told me that she was rejected from a position she’d applied for because the manager said he had hired too many foreigners already.
Access to healthcare is also restricted as a result of xenophobia. The women told me if they fall ill and seek attention from the hospitals, they are sent to the police stations to obtain an affidavit that proves they are unemployed. Often times, they are not able to obtain these and cannot seek treatment. Or if they are able to access treatment, the women told me that they receive lesser quality care than those who pay.
But WWWA group meetings are able to help women. During the gathering, the women talked about their personal growth since joining the group.
Mary, a woman from Kenya, noted that since joining the group, “I have been able to build up her inner strength. Before I was invisible. When you are exposed to others, you are able to grow. I have also learned to be patient and am able to learn from others.”
Another member, Epiphany from the Rwanda, said that “When you meet people in the group, you find other people who inspire you. You are able to share your experiences and you find that together you can sustain hope.”
Fatima, one of the group’s longest members, shared her story with me. Originally from the DRC, she fled to South Africa because she feared for the lives of her family. Her brother had been killed and left on the family’s doorstep. She did not want to leave her whole family behind, but she wanted her children to grow up in safety. Her husband came to South Africa first and she followed with her children. Soon after she arrived, her husband had a stroke, fell very ill and eventually passed.
Fatima had no one to turn to. She used to earn a living doing embroidery, making duvets and other kinds of sewing projects. But she couldn’t find stable work sewing. Because she had no income, a community member suggested that she put her children up for adoption. Fatima felt like she didn’t want to live anymore.
By chance, she met Mary Tal and shared her story. This was the first conversation that she had with anyone about her life and it was a huge relief to tell someone. Mary invited her to join the women’s group and she has been a member now for 5 years. She is very thankful for Mary and the support that she has received since joining the group. She says that now she has hope. Her eldest children, 20 year-old twins, attend university and her other children are in school.
I spent 4 hours with the group talking about our personal experiences and making beaded flowers (a popular craft sold in South Africa). I felt honored to be a part of such an intimate gathering. These women had been forced to flee their home countries for many different reasons. And now face xenophobia in South Africa and receive little support. On top of that, they do not have anyone to talk to so the group really serves to support the women in so many ways. I was truly inspired and humbled by these women and was very thankful to be a part of something so exceptional.
