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Send to friendThe Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) engages chiefs and other local leaders to become women’s rights advocates and resources for victims. The program was formed because of the lack of women’s rights advocates for women who have been subjected to violence. Women who have been abused usually turn either to local hospitals/clinics or to their chiefs. However, none of these groups were able to adequately meet the women’s needs and the Coalition on Violence Against Women wanted to change this.
Thirty-five chiefs from different communities, seeing the proposed project as an opportunity to improve their local reputation, volunteered to participate. Because COVAW had gained clearance from the government to work with the chiefs, the entire project had the law behind it, thus making it possible for the chiefs to perform their duties and defend their actions locally with support from human rights law. Two workshops were created: one that worked with the chiefs and the hospitals/clinics separately, and another that brought the two groups together to coordinate their efforts to advance women’s rights in their communities. After the workshops, the local chiefs became monitors and reporters. They now write down specific information relating to the cases of abuse and what steps they have taken to resolve the situation. Once each month they report to the Coalition, during COVAW site visits.
Although hindered by challenges such as lack of resources on the local level, and the chiefs’ preference for sharing information verbally rather than in written form, the tactics have been useful to women and their local communities in Kenya. Women are treated better and more likely to receive the needed help. An interesting aspect of this tactic is the use of local resources and people ostensibly in power who, though previously unable to help the women, have through training become advocates of women’s rights. Another strength of the project is that since the chiefs benefit as well as the women, they are willing participants, helping to advance the tactic.
Summary completed February 4, 2003.
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Pan-African summit on Peace and Health
To whom it may regard,
I’m currently working as the International Program Officer of Friends Women’s Association (FWA), a Burundian organization formed and managed by women, for women of the community. FWA operates a clinic in Kamenge where it offers free and low-cost medical examinations to women and to their families. Services include primary care, preventative care, laboratory testing, HIV testing and counseling, and psychological counseling. In addition to medical services, FWA provides holistic care to its patients by incorporating those with a demonstrated need into social assistance programs, which include home visits and micro-finance programs. Finally, FWA runs community trauma healing and reconciliation workshops in the communities of Kamenge, Rutegama, Gitega and Mutaho.
Similar grassroot organizations have emerged in Eastern Africa, developing their own means of procuring health or empowering women whose livelihoods have been dismantled, if not completely destroyed by conflict. These NGOs, like FWA, share an understanding that health and peace can work within a symbiotic relationship. Each of these organizations have strived to work independently towards a common goal of peace and health—and in the process they’ve each developed innovative and efficient ways to deliver their health services or rebuild a peaceful community.
FWA has therefore begun to organize a pan-African summit of 3 days where we will gather grassroot organizations and community advocates to discuss, compare and to develop community strategies that will stimulate as a model for policy change and inter-agency networking. It’s an exciting project that has the potential of driving grassroot organizations and peacebuilding advocates to finally work collectively in a single effort to re-evaluate, reshape, and improve today’s health and peace work.
FWA’s work in the Kamenge community relates to your mission to help women who've been subject to violence. You tackle it by initiating women's right discourse among community leaders. We attempt to break the cycle of violence (whether disease, poverty, or conflict) by providing comprehensive health care, microfinance programs and peace workshops.
Borrowing upon your experience, we’d like to know if you have suggestions, ideas, and if you would like to participate and lend your support. Since this project was conceived of recently and is expected to take place at the start of this coming May, we are hoping that you might be willing to be financial sponsors to our pan-African summit: Mainstreaming Peace and Health.
I thank you so much for your time and I hope that you take interest in this summit, its peace-health and grassroots concept, and the exciting opportunities we hope it will generate.
Best Regards,
Kat McGee- kat [at] fwaburundi [dot] com
Kat McGee
International Program Officer
fwaburundi.com