Give women the gift of opportunity
Organizations working for positive change deserve support
Children are sometimes so perceptive in their abilities to recognize things many adults don’t. As my family opened up gifts from our advent calendar and wrote letters to Santa, my nine-year-old daughter said it didn’t seem fair that so many people around the world don’t have the same chance as we do to be happy.
Her comment made me think about how she will have opportunities to do almost anything she wants in life. She will get a great education from skilled, experienced teachers that will open innumerable doors for her in the future, and she will always have access to health resources like hospitals, doctors and nurses. She will also have a strong understanding of her rights to safety and security, and a support system with her family and society that will enable her to claim her rights as a human being.
However, most women and girls around the world do not have these possibilities. The United Nations and the World Bank have both reported that women make up 70 per cent of the world’s 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty, and that focusing on women and children when providing development assistance and poverty reduction strategies leads to the fastest economic growth.
Similarly, the Canadian government has recently determined maternal, newborn and child health to be its flagship international development priority because it recognizes the importance and value of supporting women. When we support women and girls, we ensure healthier families, higher levels of literacy across both genders, higher immunization rates and stronger economies in developing countries, to name just a few of the numerous benefits.
So as you shop for your loved ones and plan your holiday celebrations, consider supporting one of the many organizations that are working on making positive changes for women and girls in some of the poorest parts of the globe.
For example, by now we’ve all heard of the Ebola crisis in West Africa, a situation that groups like Canmore-based CAUSE Canada (www.cause. ca) have been tackling on the front lines since the outbreak began months ago. Women in the affected areas account for 60-75 per cent of Ebola-related deaths, as they are typically responsible for caring for ill family members, and also often for performing burial rituals.
CAUSE Canada works with “Mothers’ Clubs” in more than 1,420 villages in the area to provide hand-washing stations and supplies to help contain the spread of the virus, and education on Ebola prevention. These “Mothers’ Clubs” also take care of orphans under ordinary circumstances, but the approximately 4,000 children orphaned as a result of the current epidemic struggle to find caregivers due to the impression that they are now infectious too. CAUSE Canada is working to debunk myths on transmission of the disease to help these children receive the care that they need.
Another group worthy of support is the Edmontonbased organization Women’s Empowerment International Foundation (www.weif.org), which is working to elevate the status of women in remote rural communities in India. One of their current projects is to provide agricultural resources and training to women in impoverished villages, increasing their financial stability through providing a means of income generation, as well as improving their access to food security and nutrition. When women have taken the training program and neighbouring families see the benefits, other women have asked to become involved too, creating a demand for this valuable program.
Finally, consider supporting Oxfam Canada this year (www.oxfam.ca) as they work around the world to support women and girls. Oxfam Canada believes that ending global poverty begins with women’s rights, and they work tirelessly to ensure women and girls around the world can envision a better future for themselves.
For example, in Mozambique, Oxfam works with a partner organization in Maxaquene, an impoverished neighbourhood on the outskirts of Maputo. This organization provides access to schools and health services, particularly focusing on girls as in that area they are vulnerable to school dropout, premature marriage and pregnancy. By teaching young Mozambicans to use brightly coloured fabrics with traditional patterns to produce and sell artisanal notebooks, file holders and gift bags, students are provided with an income that can be used solely as an economic empowerment activity for girls and young women in their association and community.
The holidays are a time to think of others, to support our fellow human beings, and to ensure that together we are building a world where more nine-year-old girls like my daughter can reach their potential. What my daughter will do with the amazing opportunities she has been given is up to her, but I have no doubt that with these advantages, she will become an amazing person that will make our world a better place to live in. I hope this holiday season, more women and girls in Alberta and around the world get some of the same opportunities we take for granted. Heather McPherson is executive director of the Alberta Council for Global Co- operation.