The GREAT Inititiative - Gender Right & Equality Trust

Grassroots Work

Thanks to the generosity of our guests at our 2011 fundraiser and our generous supporters, we are delighted to have been able to support the following amazing gender equality grass roots projects:

In March 2011, a GREAT delegation went to Liberia and had the chance to see some amazing projects and meet extraordinary women. We were so inspired by their vitality and their ambitions; the workers and the women we met amazed us with their determination and faith. The support and the opportunities that these three projects are giving these women to change their lives is vital – that is why we decided to raise funds for these particular projects during our live auction.

- The Liberia Women Democracy Radio. Operated by The Liberia Women Media Action Committee (LIWOMAC), this is the first and only radio station dedicated to promoting women’s issues. Not only do they broadcast 12 hours a day programmes openly discussing subjects that traditional culture frowns on – from rape to female genital mutilation – but they run outreach programmes in local communities, run onsite media and journalism training, and lobby on gender sensitive issues that go unmentioned in the mainstream media.  In a country still torn by the civil war, women need to talk about their nightmares and Liberia Women Democracy Radio is a unique forum for them to do so in safety and solidarity.

This radio station is a wonderful example of an initiative that has a real and direct impact on the everyday lives of Liberia women but also has the potential to do even more good in the future. We are very pleased that we will be able to financially support the station over two years. All the programmes will continue to be aired: the news and documentaries, but also the Rural Women programme which creates a platform by using the airwaves to discuss issues affecting women in rural communities. The station will also ensure that women’s voices are heard by using documentaries to highlight in-depth information on rape/domestic violence, surviving war, children, and prostitution. Other issues to be addressed will include transitional justice and HIV/AIDS. To help promote positive social values and perception of women in Liberia, a library will be created to catalogue music free from vulgar messages and predominantly featuring female artists.  The radio station will also create Listening Clubs, encouraging women at grassroots level to engage in community development initiatives and support female war victims. The listening clubs will also hold constructive engagement talks with local government officials to raise issues affecting the well-being of women in the targeted communities. Lastly, the listening clubs will establish an awareness forum in targeted communities to educate on basic human rights so that community women can make an informed decision in the forthcoming general and presidential elections.

- Oxfam’s Virtuous Women Cooperative in Monrovia. Thanks to the equipment, technical and business training provided to the cooperative, its members will be able to run a profitable small business, increase their income and financial security, improve their knowledge of how to combat HIV and be equipped to campaign for women’s rights.

In the past year, this project achieved some fantastic success including:

• 80 women are now running their own small businesses as tailors and 30 as handicraft workers
• the first 40 tailors to be trained are earning an average of £50 a month by running their own businesses (well above minimum wage and enough to feed their families and send their children to school)
• three members of the cooperative are standing in parliamentary elections – giving women in their communities a public voice for the first time

The GREAT donation will underwrite the costs of tailoring tool kits, industrial machines for mass production of large orders and training its 100 members in marketing and business development. Thanks to these funds, we are confident the coop will continue to thrive.

- The Angie Brooks Centre – a global institution and network dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of women’s empowerment, leadership development, and international peace and security. Its key mandates are training women for political leadership, peace building, mediation and negotiation skills. We met the Centre’s staff, including its Co-ordinator Cllr Yvette Chesson-Wureh, and we visited the premises during our trip to Liberia. This Centre will bring valuable skills to Liberian women and will help to foster the next generation of Liberian and African youth. Its ambition is to become one of the operational centers of the United Nations University system within five years of its establishment.