Action magazine Autumn 2017

“I DREAM OF BEING PRESIDENT OF GHANA WHEN I FINISH SCHOOL” How your support is saving girls from child marriage

Issue 12 Autumn 2017

FUN AND GAMES! Children in Zimbabwe play, while their parents meet to discuss the impacts of El NiĂąo on their community

ActionAidUK

@ActionAidUK www.actionaid.org.uk

Photo: Steve Forrest/ActionAid

@ActionAidUK

Girish Menon Chief Executive ActionAid UK

Follow me on Twitter @GirishMenonAAUK

I hope you enjoy learning how your support makes a lasting difference to women and girls living in extreme poverty We love hearing from our supporters. After the last edition of Action magazine, many of you got in touch to tell us you had noticed lots of our work focuses on women and girls. I’d like to take this opportunity to explain why.

We focus on women and girls because their rights are often denied, leaving them most disadvantaged by poverty.

These are basic human rights that we all share – to food, water, shelter and education. For women and girls, poverty means fewer opportunities.

In the world’s poorest places this means living on the margins of society, often facing discrimination, exploitation and violence.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t work with men and boys. In fact, without involving them in our work we simply can’t improve the lives of women and girls, and subsequently the lives of their families and communities. We inspire men and boys to be advocates for equality. Makena Mwobobia, Head of Programmes in ActionAid Kenya, explains why this work is vital on page seven.

That’s why, however you choose to support ActionAid, you should be incredibly proud of how you are helping women and girls claim their rights, and make a lasting change.

Girish Menon supportercontact@actionaid.org 01460 238 000 www.actionaid.org.uk ActionAid is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales (Company number 01295174). England and Wales charity number 274467, Scottish charity number SC045476. Registered office 33-39 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R 0BJ. Cover: Theresa, from Ghana, loves the new bike ActionAid gave her to keep her safe on her long journey to school.

Photo: Ruth McDowall/ActionAid. Photo: Desmond Kwande/ActionAid

3

WHEN ONE GIRL THRIVES, A COMMUNITY THRIVES

A

t ActionAid we believe that every girl should have the right to choose her own destiny.

But for the 250 million women alive today who were forced to marry before they turned 15, the reality can be very different. Being pulled out of school, forced to marry an older man, and face a life of childbearing and domestic servitude is a denial of a girl’s human rights. By working with affected communities, we want to end child marriage, for good.

Child marriage can rob a girl of her education, her health and her freedom.

Whereas, if a girl is allowed to finish school and marry as an adult, it reaps huge benefits for her community.

Educated women are more likely to speak up in the

Ama, left, pictured here with Abiba, is active in her local girls’ club, using her experience to discuss the dangers of child marriage with her peers

community, and encourage positive change*. If all women had a secondary education, child deaths would halve**.

We know that women and girls hold the key to ending poverty, because educating girls and supporting them in earning an income will bring entire families and communities out of poverty.

That’s why we support projects to end injustice and violence against women and girls around the world.

ActionAid tackles child marriage on many fronts in 17 countries – from bringing culprits to justice and changing behaviours, to campaigning to influence legislation.

In northern Ghana up to 39% of girls are married before they turn 18. And, in one of its most violent forms,

Being born female should not mean you are denied the right to go to school, earn a living, lead your local community or even your country 5

Photos: Ruth McDowall/ActionAid Source: *ungei.org and **en.unesco.org

Child marriage is a global problem with devastating consequences, both for individual girls, and for the fight to end poverty

child marriage can begin with abduction — kidnapping a young girl and forcing her to marry an older man she has never met.

This is what happened to 15-year-old Ama Ama was walking home from school when two men on a motorbike grabbed her and took her to their village.

They told her to prepare to become “a wife”.

“I was crying,” she said.

“I told them that I am a school child.”

Luckily, ActionAid has worked in Ama’s community, so her dad Mustafa knew he could go to Abiba, a local ActionAid programme officer, for help. Abiba and Mustafa, with the police, raced to the abductors’ village and demanded Ama’s release.

Ama told us, “If I hadn’t been rescued, I feel that I would be carrying a baby and leading a miserable life.”

Instead she is happily back at school.

Addressing the root causes of child marriage is vital to end it once and for all.

We work with communities to reduce poverty and change attitudes so that girls are not forced in to marriages they do not choose.

In Ghana, we have worked with the police to

Chief Naa Mwinsaama Bondegbee has attended workshops set up by ActionAid and wants to end child marriage in his village

train groups of villagers — men and women – known as COMBAT (Community Based Anti-Violence Teams), to rescue girls from forced marriage. Their role is vital in remote villages where the nearest police station can be several hours away. In the past five years, more than 150 girls have been rescued

by COMBAT. We have also given bikes to girls so they can avoid long, unsafe walks to school.

On the back of the magazine there is more information about the bikes for school girls project.

How empowering women and girls helps a whole community Our work benefits men and

“If girls finish school and get good jobs in high positions, the name of this village will shine.”

Chief Bondegbee 6

boys too. They are a vital part of the solution and we recognise that lasting change can only be brought about if they’re fully included.

For example, Abiba works closely with influential male village chiefs who use their power to end child marriage.

After attending workshops run by ActionAid, Naa Mwinsaama Bondegbee – the chief of a village called Tampaala — helped to secure the release of several girls who were abducted last year.

“If girls finish school and get good jobs in high positions,” said the 69-yearold, “the name of this village will shine.”

We are also proud to be supporting hundreds of men and boys who have attended education sessions and now believe that if their daughters thrive, their communities will thrive. ● Some names have been changed for anonymity.

Q&A

Photos: Top: Andrew Aitchison/ActionAid Bottom: Ashley Hamer/ActionAid

Makena Mwobobia, ActionAid Kenya’s Head of Programmes, explains why we put women and girls at the heart of all we do — and how this involves men and boys too Why do we focus on women and girls?

ActionAid fights for women and girls because they are most affected by poverty due to their perceived lower status. Statistics show they are disadvantaged — facing barriers to education, healthcare, land ownership and incomes. By empowering women to demand equal rights we help them escape the cycle of poverty, for themselves and their families. That’s why ActionAid is unapologetic about making women and girls our core focus.

What are the biggest challenges facing women and girls in Kenya?

One of the biggest

challenges is female genital mutilation (FGM). Once a girl is cut she usually drops out of school and it destroys her reproductive health. The other problem is a lack of opportunities to earn an income. Seventy per cent of women work the land but only 0.1% own it. Without rights to the land they work, women can’t earn the income they need to feed their families.

What impact has ActionAid’s work had?

We’ve been working with governments to ensure women have access to land.

Without legal rights to the land they work, women have no power over it. We’ve worked with over

Edwin, from Kenya, supports ActionAid’s campaign to end FGM after the devastating impact it had on his sister

Autumn 2017

300 women to claim legal documents for the land they work, giving them independence. They can use these deeds as a guarantee for bank loans for equipment and premises. And when women have access to income, violence against them reduces.

Why is it so important that men and boys are involved?

Women and girls’ equal rights are denied from birth.

This inequality is often reflected in the home. If the burden of chores falls on women, and a girls’ right to education is denied,

“Now we have fathers, brothers and husbands advocating for equality.”

How do we work with men and boys?

We work with men and boys to help them understand women’s circumstances, so they join the fight for women’s rights.

And now we have fathers, brothers, and husbands advocating for equality. When women and girls thrive – through staying in school, being safe from violence and owning land ­— the whole community thrives.

they can’t work their way out of poverty.

By educating men and boys about women’s rights, we can change attitudes and behaviours.

Men and boys also benefit from positive changes in their community. For example, securing a clean water source close to homes, so girls can go to school rather than have to travel long distances to fetch water, means the whole community has access to clean, safe water.

7

WOMEN LEADING WOMEN

Amazing ActionAid supporters have ensured the success of two projects improving the lives of thousands of women and girls. Read on to learn how your support of the She Can project has made city streets safer in four countries, and the Ready for Anything campaign helped prepare women to withstand natural disasters Jane works with the Community Development Agenda in Kibera, a slum in Kenya, and shares her experiences campaigning for justice with the Mukuru Women’s Action Group

SHE CAN

Photos: ActionAid

T

Empowering women to demand safety in their cities

hree years ago, we launched our She Can project with the aim of empowering women to stay safe on the streets of their cities. Through increasing women and girls’ access to services and justice, almost 60,000 women and girls have better knowledge, more support from officials and safer public spaces. And, because 8

all donations were matched by the UK government, we were able to double the impact. Here’s how our generous supporters have made a difference by supporting She Can. Hellen Akinyi of Mukuru Women’s Action Group in Kenya told us: “We used to try and address issues of violence individually, but the She

Can project brought women together, provided us with training and trained government service providers — especially the police.

Now, we are recognised in the community as the Women’s Action Group that defends the rights of women. We are first responders to cases of violence in our community

Loveness, a member of a coalition of women farmers, is helping other women increase their resilience to climate change

and the police involve us and are more sensitive to survivors’ cases.

The project has helped us follow up on cases and support survivors in navigating the legal system to access justice. We now have a dedicated Gender Office that addresses issues of violence against women and girls at Mukuru Police Post, thanks to the She Can project.”

Similar stories across the four She Can project countries (Kenya, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Myanmar) demonstrate the positive effect the project has had.

It has given women the knowledge, confidence and skills to know their rights and demand the support and services they need to address violence. Without the support of donors like you, many of these women would live in fear with no information, support or justice and, in many cases, would not even know they have the right to a life free from violence. ● Autumn 2017

READY FOR ANYTHING Preparing for emergencies in Malawi, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Nepal

B

ack in 2013 we launched Ready for Anything, a campaign raising funds to build people’s resilience to disasters, such as drought and floods, in four countries. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we raised an incredible £2,722,298, which the UK government matched, bringing the total to a huge £5,444,596. The project ended in December 2016, and we are delighted to update you on some of the progress made over the past three years:

● 165 communities adopted farming practices which will limit the negative effects of climate change. ● At least 20 different innovations to improve food security were implemented across the four countries, such as water collection ponds in Nepal. ● 2,898 women diversified their livelihoods and engaged in developing plans to help ensure their communities are prepared to deal with future disasters.

ActionAid would like to thank all our wonderful supporters who have contributed to helping thousands of people living in poverty to survive and be more resilient in the face of natural disasters.

9

YOUR SUPPORT IS SAVING LIVES Over 20 million people in East Africa are still in urgent need of food and water. With the help of supporters, our teams on the ground have been saving lives since the crisis began Photos: Alice Oldenburg/ActionAid

Luijah, Project Monitor for ActionAid Kenya, oversees a food distribution in Isiolo, a community affected by the drought

I

n March, we asked you to support the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) East Africa Appeal. The DEC appeal raised a staggering £60 million, with a significant contribution from generous ActionAid supporters to help women and girls trapped in desperate situations.

Our local teams are responding in some of the worst-affected areas in Somaliland, Kenya and Ethiopia.

ActionAid has reached 232,497 people with live-saving supplies, including food and water The crisis is still ongoing. As always, in addition to meeting immediate needs, ActionAid will help people rebuild their lives, and better prepare communities for future disasters.

Nangurea and her husband Wilson often went hungry to feed their children. The drought made it even harder. But now Nangurea is part of ActionAid’s Food for Assets programme. Women enrolled in the programme work to support the local community in return for food rations. The programme empowers women to control their household’s food, and teaches new skills. The drought means that the family now relies on the food rations. Wilson says, “without this, it would be a bigger struggle for us.” Now that they are able to feed everyone. Nangurea and Wilson use the ad hoc labouring income Wilson is sometimes able to earn to pay school fees, keeping all five children in school.

Your amazing support has already enabled us to save lives in East Africa. But the situation is ongoing. With poor rain forecast, families face more food shortages and a lack of clean water.

Our teams are still working hard to save lives. In Somaliland, we are distributing hygiene kits to prevent diseases. In Kenya, we are screening and treating vulnerable children for malnutrition.

Without the generosity of our amazing supporters, women like Nangurea, and children like Cecilia (pictured), might not survive the drought, so thank you for helping us save lives. ● 12

actionaid.org.uk

Cecilia, aged three, collects her family’s Food for Assets rations in Kenya

Autumn 2017

13

SHARING THE JOY OF SPONSORSHIP We know just how special child sponsorship is – for the sponsor, their sponsored child and the wider community, who all benefit from the positive changes it brings

I

Shristha proudly shows off the postcards and letters her sponsor has sent her over the years

14

t’s one of the best ways to help children out of poverty and give them the tools they need for a better future. And the relationship sponsors and their children build over time is truly special.

If you sponsor a child with ActionAid you’ll know that your support brings real and lasting change for your sponsored child, their family and their community. And through regular updates, you can see the improvements yourself.

We’re always looking at new ways to introduce the joy of sponsorship to more people. One of the most cost-effective ways we have of doing this is through word of mouth, and we encourage all of our child sponsors to share their experiences with their friends and family.

That could include your sponsored child’s profile and photograph, their drawings and messages or other

mailings you might receive from us – like this magazine.

So, if you think a friend or loved one may be interested in child sponsorship then visit www.actionaid.org. uk/proudchildsponsor and you’ll find lots of resources to share. Or, if you’d like to take out sponsorship yourself then visit www.actionaid.org.uk/ adventure today.

If you would like to share your child sponsorship experience on Facebook or Twitter then why not use #ProudChildSponsor and tag us in your posts, and see what other child sponsors are saying too!

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our family of child sponsors for all they do. Your ongoing support is bringing real and lasting change to the lives of thousands of children in some of the world’s poorest communities. ●

Autumn 2017

Final child messages from a community where sponsorship is happily finishing. Since children in this community in Nepal have been sponsored, school admission rates have increased from 40% to 99%. Sponsorship has helped parents understand the importance of education, and buy uniforms and stationery

Photos: ActionAid

Please visit www.actionaid. org.uk/ proudchildsponsor for great resources you can share with friends and family. Or, if you’d like to start your own sponsorship adventure visit www.actionaid. org.uk/adventure

15

SUPER SUPPORTER

Going the extra mile to help us change lives for good

Kathy Hollidge has supported ActionAid for nearly 40 years, first as a Child Sponsor and then she joined the Ambassador Network. This is a group of supporters who give to ActionAid to create long-term sustainable change across the world. Here she shares the story of why she has supported ActionAid for so long, and how this has changed her life

Kathy walking with one of the women receiving farming and business skills training from the Mahila Network in NepalÂ

KATHY IS AN M ACTIONAID AMBASSADOR

y late husband Peter and I first sponsored a child through ActionAid in the 1970s. As a teacher and mother, I highly value education. Sponsoring a child allowed us to provide an education to another whilst educating ourselves.

16

Autumn 2017

“I have met the most inspiring people through ActionAid that I would never otherwise have come into contact with.” together they were gaining confidence, as was I, which led me to remarry, transforming my life.

During my visits I experienced the unique way ActionAid works.

Through local partner organisations, they support women in demanding that their rights are respected.

Those rights vary — they might need water, food, jobs, or an education — the community decides. And I was surprised to learn that although ActionAid responds to emergencies,

in many cases they’ve already trained local women to lead the response!

My journey of empowerment through the ActionAid community is repeated daily in the experiences of women and girls worldwide. I know this because I’ve met inspiring people I would never otherwise have met. People with and without power, but all with open hearts and a determination to stand together with women and girls, to improve the lives of those who have the least. ●

THE AMBASSADOR NETWORK

An opportunity for supporters who are generously able to commit to regularly giving a higher level of donation.

Ambassadors donate at least £5,000 a year to be allocated by ActionAid to where it is needed most.

Valued members of the Ambassador Network will:

● r eceive invitations to special briefings and events ● have the opportunity to meet and hear from ActionAid experts from around the world ●h ave the chance to visit projects we support and see for themselves the impact their donation is having.

Photo: Kathy Hollidge

Our first sponsored child was Krishna in Nepal.

After Krishna grew up, we sponsored Minanath and Durgeshwari in India. Their letters gave us an insight into a different world; we were so impressed with the stories of change we heard!

In 2003, Peter died of motor neurone disease in his forties. Life is so short and I decided to rebuild my life to make it count.

I began to further educate myself about ActionAid’s work. I had to be part of their work with those in the poorest communities, whose human rights are ignored. And I knew they had an Ambassador Network so I decided to join in Peter’s memory.

Through the Ambassador Network I supported projects in Brazil, Sierra Leone and Nepal. In Brazil, the project promoted sustainable agriculture amongst women peasant farmers. Visiting this work was a lifechanging experience.

My naïve idea that I was visiting an agricultural project was transformed.

The issue was power.

Giving women confidence and a voice enabled them to change their situation and impact the whole community. In a way, I could draw parallels with my life – through our work

For information about becoming an ActionAid Ambassador www.actionaid.org.uk/network or email laura.woodhouse@actionaid.org 17

LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

Photo: Sarah Legge

If you know someone who is getting married soon, or you’re tying the knot yourself, you will be excited to hear about our brand new registry service: Wedding Gifts in Action, in which couples can send a message of love, hope and unity to celebrate their big day

Cat and Adedayo asked for donations to ActionAid to celebrate their wedding

I

f you’re looking for a gift list with an ethical twist, we’re delighted to tell you about our brand new gift registry service: Wedding Gifts in Action.

With a Wedding Gifts in Action gift list, couples can swap the saucepans and spice racks for a bespoke selection of life-changing gifts. These gifts will help support women and girls across the world, so they can look forward to a brighter future.

It’s really easy to set up a gift list, and couples can personalise their page with their own theme, photo, wording and donation totaliser. And it’s easy to instantly share it with wedding guests.

To say thank you for thinking of ActionAid at this happy time, we’ll send free wild flower seeds to use as wedding favours. ●

18

Swap the saucepans and spice-racks for a bespoke selection of life-changing gifts.

Your gifts will help support women and girls To explore our Wedding Gifts in Action, and celebrate your love for each other with a gift list that sends a message of love, hope and unity, and changes lives, for good, please visit www.actionaid.org.uk/wedding

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR WILL?

Make your Will this November with Will Aid and help give women and girls in the world’s poorest places a brighter future

M

any of us put off making a Will.

But having an up-to-date Will means our loved ones are provided for, after we have gone.

This November, ActionAid is partnering with Will Aid to give you the chance to have your Will professionally drawn up by a solicitor, free of cost.

Although they are giving their time voluntarily, your chosen solicitor will invite you to make a voluntary donation of £95 for a basic Will. Your donation will be split between participating charities.

Autumn 2017

Will Aid has been running for over 25 years and hundreds of thousands of supporters have made or updated their Will, raising over £15 million for nine leading UK charities, including ActionAid. Thousands of women and girls’ lives have improved thanks to this

Photo: Savann Oeurm/ActionAid

Saroun provides for her tenyear-old son using farming techniques taught by ActionAid’s local partner

generous support.

Women like Saroun, who used to worry how she would feed her 10-year-old son.

ActionAid’s local partner showed her how to make the most of her land.

Now, she can feed her family and earn enough money to send her son to school. ●

To talk to us confidentially about leaving a gift in your Will to ActionAid, call us on 020 3122 0551 or email willaid@actionaid.org.

Or visit www.actionaid.org.uk/will to find your nearest solicitor and book directly 19

“I’M NOT AFRAID NOW!” Girls are at risk while walking to school. ActionAid is providing them with bikes to help them stay safe Theresa (front right), 17, from Ghana, used to be scared of being abducted for marriage on her long journey to school.

Leaving home at 4am, she used a torch to light the way.

She said, “When it’s rainy season the grass grows really tall and when it’s like that I would be afraid because men might be hiding in the grass.”

But two years ago ActionAid asked Theresa’s community how we could help.

They identified girls who lived a long way from school, who were then given bikes by ActionAid. She told us, “I’m not afraid that boys will catch me on the way. Now I know I can go faster if someone is chasing me.”

The bike has changed Theresa’s life, helping her complete her education.

“If I hadn’t been given the bicycle I might not have come back to school. Now I have dreams to become President of Ghana when I complete school.” ●

To find out more about how you can help get girls to school safely, visit www.actionaid.org.uk/bikes Photo: Ruth McDowall / ActionAid 33106_M