World YWCA vice-president Adrianna Sosa from Haiti speaks about how her passion for gender justice grew throughout her life, and about how the work of YWCA around the world inspires her and equips her to be a champion for justice in her life. The Storytelling Guide mentioned by Adrianna can be found here.
Climate change affects every aspect of communities in Ethiopia, where they have witnessed prolonged droughts and floods. Through mainstreaming gender justice in climate programming, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC) is fostering hope in climate adaptation,resilience as well as supporting women-led initiatives for sustainable development.
ACT Ethiopia forum launched a study on gender justice and climate justice. Read more here
In 2021, Norwegian Church Aid -Ethiopia initiated an a prevention and emergency response on gender-based violence among conflict-affected communities in North Wollo Districts. Through funding support from UN CERF under UN Women, and in partnership with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOTC-DICAC), the project enhanced community-based approaches including inter-generational dialogues, community dialogues and gatherings in coffee corners which facilitated awareness and social norm on gender-based violence.
The video features the hopes and joy of community members, inspired by strengthening community dialogues over coffee, among other interventions.
Sheik Musa lives in the heart of the busy fishing town of Tombo, in the Western Rural District in Sierra Leone. Sheik Musa is a respected community leader and had long been aware of the pervasive influence of harmful traditional practices, and the violence against women, in his community. Yet, it was not until he participated in a positive masculinities project that he found the tools to truly effect change. The ACT Sierra Leone Forum, working with community leaders, collaborated on a project that aimed to challenge entrenched gender norms and foster a culture of respect and equality.
New knowledge was shared and gained, in different sessions and the Positive Masculinity Manual, which equipped participants with the tools to transform harmful social norms. Sheik Musa shared how the project initiated a conscious change in his mindset about gender and gender relations. He reflected on how this was challenging, he was raised in a society where patriarchal and religious values were deeply ingrained. Sheik Musa had always been hesitant to question the status quo. However, as he delved deeper into the curriculum, he found himself confronted with uncomfortable truths about the impact of gender inequalities on his community.
With a new mindset, Sheik Musa became a vocal advocate for change in his congregation and community. He used his platform, like many other religious leaders, to challenge harmful practices and promote gender equality. He delivered sermons on the importance of respecting women’s rights and spoke out against violence in all its forms. Sheik Musa also engaged with community members in open dialogue, encouraging them to question their own beliefs and attitudes towards gender roles. He worked with local organisations to implement initiatives aimed at empowering women and girls, from providing access to education and healthcare to promoting economic opportunities.
And slowly but surely, Sheik Musa’s efforts began to bear fruit. Instances of gender-based violence began to decline, replaced by a growing sense of respect and equality. Women felt empowered to assert their rights, while men embraced their role as allies in the fight for gender justice. Today, as Sheik Musa looks out over his community, he sees a brighter future on the horizon. Where once there was ignorance and oppression, there is now understanding and hope. And it’s all thanks to the transformative power of education and the unwavering commitment of leaders, like Sheik Musa, to build a more just and equitable world for all.
In 2021, Ms. Larisa traveled to the United States with her three children. They traveled for two months, enduring a difficult journey, sometimes by vehicle and other times walking through mountainous and desert areas. Along the way, they faced all kinds of dangers, from the threat of criminal gangs to the attacks of snakes and other animals.
Finally, after 60 days on the road, they arrived in the United States. However, after a week in the US, she was deported back to Honduras. Upon her return, it was extremely difficult for her and her children, faced with poor health and nutrition, sadness and hopelessness, not knowing what to do in light of stigma following her experience.
She later encountered ACT member Mennonite Social Action Commission (CASM), where she found that light at the end of the tunnel that restored hope for her and her family.
“This support made me recover my dreams and realize I could move forward in the country with effort and dedication. I already had some experience selling cell phones, and now with technical training on this subject, I can provide better customer service. The support also included seed capital, psychosocial support, vocational training, and business mentoring. Today, I have my store selling cell phones and accessories, and I also take advantage of my shop to offer other services, such as selling clothing, footwear, and occasionally other services.” she says
Today, her children are attending school and high school, and her business continues to thrive.
watch her full story
Shripa Shil was a tail0r working in a shop and her husband Bongkar Shil worked as a part-time laborer in the Upazila Parishad.
Their life was going well. They were happy with their beloved four year-old son. But then in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband was diagnosed with a liver tumor.
Their situation was bad as they didn’t have enough money for treatment but she tried. She asked their family and friends to help them. Some helped by giving them some cash, and the Union Chairman, UNO of Kutubdia Upazilla also helped them, but luck was not with them. She lost her husband.
She was widowed while still a very young woman. She couldn’t go to the Tailor shop and work anymore. People judged her because she was a widow.
But she had a dream that she would buy a sewing machine and will make women’s & children’s clothes, etc. at her home. The dream was fulfilled by CCDB’s ACT Alliance project.
The project selected her for livelihood support as she desired and had prepared a business plan for.
Subsequently, provided her income generating activy (IGA) training in Upazila Parishad. She received BTk 12,000 (100USD) and bought a sewing machine and some cloth for making a dress.
She was very happy to get this type of kind and each month she saved some money to support her family and for her children’s eduation She was very happy to get support from CCDB and thankful to the CCDB & ACT Alliance members and wished for continue support for the most disadvantaged in the community.
Ishimwe Emmanuel, an 18-year-old Congolese refugee, is a Senior 1 student at Rubondo Community Secondary School. Before coming to Uganda, he was in Senior three in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
On August 9, 2022, Ishimwe fled with his mother and family to Uganda, where they were granted refugee status and settled in Kyeibare B, Rubondo Zone in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. This move was prompted by renewed violence in early 2022 in North Kivu and Ituri provinces between the M23 rebels and the DRC government troops.
Ishimwe is the eldest of five siblings. He lost his father in 2019 during the ongoing conflict in the DRC, which left his mother, Nyiransabimana Royce, as the sole breadwinner and head of the household. “While in Uganda, life became very tough,” Ishimwe recalls. “Our mother couldn’t manage to take us to school on top of the struggles she was going through to take care of the household.”
As the oldest son, Ishimwe felt a deep responsibility to support his mother and siblings while still pursuing his own dreams.
“I had to look for ways to help my family and also find a means to go back to school to achieve my dream of becoming a politician,” he says.
He rented a bicycle from a neighbour for three thousand Ugandan shillings ($0.81USD) each day, which he used to transport water for sale at Kisura trading center. “I sold a jerrican of water for five hundred shillings ($0.13USD) The money helped me support my family and enroll back in school in Senior 1 at Rubondo Community SS in 2023.”
Reflecting on his journey, Ishimwe highlights a moment of profound relief and joy. “The best moment to remember was the day I reported at Rubondo Community SS, and Finn Church Aid (FCA) gave me school supplies, including a school bag, books, a mathematical set, pens, pencils, and a graph book. At first, it was hard to believe what I had received, but I realized everyone in my class was in the same blissful moment. It was that day I felt motivated to fight hard to achieve my dream, even though I had thought I had lost it all.”
Like Ishimwe, 285 new students at Rubondo Community SS, including those in Senior 1 and Senior 5, benefited from the ACT Alliance funded programme. This intervention has significantly increased the school’s enrollment, growing from 246 students at the end of term 3 in 2022 to 438 students (242 males and 196 females) by the end of term 1 in 2023.
Marta Bolba, Director of Devai Fogado and Evangelical Minister in Hungary
Serving the most vulnerable has always been at the core of Marta Bolba´s work as an evangelical minister. With the opening of the Devai Fogado Refugee Centre on Nov 30, 2022, which was funded through the ACT Alliance´s Ukraine appeal, she has taken her leadership role, which is rooted in the biblical “loving your neighbour,” to a whole new level.
ABOUT DEVAI FOGADO
Devai Fogado caters to about. 5,000 refugees per year, focusing on the integration of the Roma people, providing aid to pregnant women, the illiterate, people with chronic illnesses, and disabled children. All of them receive care in the Devai Fogado, which derives its name from the parable of the Good Samaritan. Marta Bolba is not only a pastor at a local church community in Budapest – Józsefváros but she also leads a staff of 18 teachers and social workers at Devai Fogado.
How does the humanitarian and church work go together?
“It´s an ethical standpoint that reflects Christ’s Spirit in the host community in hand with global faith,” she claims. The previous refugee crisis inspired her as a faith leader to build a network of volunteers and communities as well as humanitarian services to act in one spirit to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
“Faith means solid ethical grounding following Jesus’ teaching and actions reflected in the Gospels. Faith means a preexisting network of local and global communities to support the crisis response. Faith is also a resource for the lasting effort to build up welcoming spaces and integrate the goodwill of the host community.”
Pastor Bolba not only engaged in the first wave of refugee coordination but launched a complex package of programs that included assistance with basic needs, education, mental health support, donation coordination, employment counselling, and public relations and funding.
This complex engagement leads to a question, where does one draw energy to help on all those levels?
“I do this work as an act of resistance to a political situation where racism and xenophobia seemingly triumph over a welcoming loving culture in Europe and Hungary. I make an effort to work for social cohesion following Jesus´s law of loving your neighbour. Seeing the communities coming together and acting in alliance with the Spirit of love brings me hope. I see a vision coming through, I live the dream of a loving community.”
The Ukrainian Roma community receives special care at Devai Fogado, having experienced multigenerational systemic racism, exclusion, poverty, lacking basic skills, and poor health. This massive effort is a chance to help them integrate into society, teach them basic skills of reading and writing, and send their children to schools. By coming together to fight isolation, being assisted with basic needs, and learning the language of the local community they get a chance for a new life.
What have been the lessons learned so far?
“We have learned that the community space and providing diverse services have proven effective in processing trauma. We need to adapt to the changing needs of people on the move. Social inclusion and starting a new life must be prioritized over providing temporary humanitarian aid in the protracted conflict.”
Read more about empowering refugees at Devai Fogado Community Centre here.
Empowering refugees through art: finding community in Budapest
Organizaciones basadas en la fe e Iglesias de Argentina, nos relatan historias liberadoras y de esperanza, desde una teología contextual, tomando el lugar que Jesús le da a las mujeres – el de igualdad, organizaron un proyecto (Nos Contamos) donde, los relatos bíblicos contextualizados, actualizados y reflexionados con las teologías feministas, en circulación entre las mujeres, ayuden a descubrir que las historias siempre contadas, tienen también otras miradas posibles. Y a partir de ahí, se armó este proyecto, con el apoyo de ACT Alliance y desde la CoP de género y el foro Argentina (con organizaciones miembro como SEDI y Hora de Obrar, se cuentan narrativas que liberen y traigan esperanza al presente.
