“It’s What Good Women Do”

When Kate Lillie first learned about the situation facing Rwandan women back in 2005, she was distraught by the violence and poverty these women were facing. But she was determined to help. She began to host pot-luck dinners at her ceramic studio, Your Plate or Mine in Muskegon Michigan. “Here’s to good women,” she wrote on her invitation to a March 24 potluck. “May we know them … May we be them … May we raise them.” Each woman brought a dish to pass around and donated the money they would have spent going out to dinner to Women for Women International. Kate’s potlucks have made such an impact that Columnist Susan Harrison Wolffis wrote the article, “It’s what good women do”,  published in Muskegon Opinion to highlight Kate’s efforts.

Kate says, “A group of good women armed with good hopes and a little money can make a difference. That is what good women do.”

You can read more about Women for Women International’s work in Rwanda here.

Learn how you can host your own pot-luck dinner or event to help support Women for Women International by visiting our Get Involved! Page.

The Rallye Aicha des Gazelles participants featured on ESPN!

Donna and Caroline’s Gazelle Truck with WfWI logo

 

 

Last year, Donna DeWick and Caroline Boyes, of London, UK trained extensively and participated in The Rallye Aicha des Gazelles (Rally of the Gazelles), a two week, all-women rally through the landscapes and deserts of Morocco. Donna and Caroline used this opportunity to support women survivors of war and raised over $2000 for Women for Women International’s programs. Read more about Donna and Caroline’s amazing journey here.

 

ESPN recently highlighted this two week competition and celebration of women’s strength and resilience in ESPN Magazine. You can watch the video about the rally on ESPN’s website.

 

This year’s Rally of the Gazelles 2009 is underway now. Visit their website for clips and updates about the 100 teams of women that are trekking across Morocco in this intense competition

Media Alert – Women for Women International on PBS’s The NewsHour

Who: Women for Women International Staff and Participants in Afghanistan

What: PBS’s The NewsHour

When: Friday, March 20 at 7pm ET (check local listings)

PBS The NewsHour correspondent Margaret Warner visited our offices in Afghanistan to view first hand the status of women in Afghanistan and how women in war-torn regions are rebuilding their lives. 

Afghan women are facing enormous obstacles.

• 85.1% of women have no formal education
• 74% of girls drop out of school by 5th grade
• Only 1% of girls in rural communities attends school
• Nearly 79% of women are illiterate
• The average salary is just 48 cents a day
• On average, Afghan women give birth to 7 children
• 1 out of 8 women die from causes related to pregnancy or child birth

But since Women for Women International began working in Afghanistan in 2002, more than 38,000 women have received training to help them reclaim and rebuild their lives. As attitudes towards women and gender roles shift, women can claim equal partnership and responsibility for the future of their country

Join us in viewing this powerful The NewsHour on Friday March 20 at 7pm ET or check your local listings.

Learn more about Women for Women International’s work in Afghanistan.

Watch The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo on HBO Thursday, November 20th at 10:30 p.m. EST.

In light of the renewed violence in Congo’s eastern provinces, HBO is airing an encore presentation of The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo this Thursday at 10:30pm EST. Please share this with friend and sponsor a woman in Congo through Women for Women International. Help us break the silence.

http://www.womenforwomen.org/silence

In 2006, Emmy Award winning producer/director Lisa F. Jackson spent the year in the war zones of eastern DR Congo. She documented the tragic situation women and girls are forced to deal with as they stand in the middle of a country’s conflict they did not create, and cannot control.

Screening “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo”

Join Working Films this Sunday for a viewing of “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” by Lisa F. Jackson. This documentary follows Lisa as she travels through the Congo breaking the silence that surrounds women survivors of kidnapping, violence and rape. Meeting with activists, priests, doctors, survivors and even the rapists themselves, Lisa shines a light on the women of the Congo who despite having gone to hell and back, are filled with grace and hope. Read more about the film here. Stay after the film for questions and discussion with the filmmaker.

What: Film Screening and Discussion

Where: 92YTribeca

200 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013

When: Sunday, November 9, 2008

Time: 7:30pm

Price: $12.00

Film Screening in St. Louis

Please join the organizers of the Run for Congo Women – St. Louis for a free screening of the film “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo.”

Date and time: Tuesday, September 30th, 7:00pm

Where: St Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd, St Louis, Mo.

Questions: Please call 314-313-3795

This extraordinary film was the winner of the Sundance Special Jury Prize (Documentary) and was shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The film shatters the silence that surrounds the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army. A survivor of gang rape herself, Emmy Award – winning filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson travels through the DRC to understand what is happening and why.

The film features interviews with activists, peacekeepers, physicians, and even – chillingly – the indifferent rapists who are soldiers of the Congolese Army. It also provides inspiring examples of resiliency, resistance, courage and grace as dozens of survivors recount their stories. (76 minutes)

Please join our local organizers as they continue to spread awareness of the horrific atrocities being committed against thousands of Congolese women and girls. Run for Congo Women benefits Women for Women International’s program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

www.runforcongowomen.org

WERU Community Radio’s Annual Fundraiser

At the recent WERU Community Radio’s annual fundraiser in Blue Hill, Maine, Chandra Bisberg spoke about her experiences as a Women for Women International supporter for our programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her personal stories were very special and moving for all those who attended and her speech helped raise awareness about Women for Women International programs and how her support was able to change her own life as well make an impact for women survivors of war. Thank you Chandra for your dedication and your efforts to help spread the word!

Supporter Video

At the Taste of Humanity Event in May in Del Mar, CA, Shapar Ostovar, one of the many active and dedicated supporters of Women for Women International, appeared as a guest speaker to give an inspirational speech about why she feels passionate about our programs. To watch Shapar’s speech, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ndw_SbLXPE. Thank you Shapar for your continued support!

 

Share stories or videos about your own Women for Women International events and experiences with us and we would love to feature the wonderful work you do!

 

The Greatest Silence – Premieres on HBO April 8th, 2008 at 10pm

Today in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), people are still struggling after one of the deadliest wars in all history. Millions died and new conflicts threaten peace every day. Perhaps worse than the loss of life is the staggering numbers of human rights violations. A countless number of women as old as 80 and girls as young as 5 have been raped and tortured.

 

Emmy Award winning producer/director Lisa F. Jackson spent 2006 in the war zones of eastern DRC documenting the tragic plight of women and girls in that country’s intractable conflict. She gave the women she interviewed the chance to break The Greatest Silence and share with the world their stories of courage and resiliency. Jackson was herself gang raped in 1976 and shared her experience with the survivors she interviewed. The film is a journey into a literal heart of darkness, a search for survivors who pay witness to their own experiences, and break the silence.

Host a watch party and join a conference call to learn more. For more information visit the Enough Project at http://www.enoughproject.org/greatestsilence.

We encourage you to watch with your friends and family to learn more about what is happening to women in Congo. Please watch Tuesday, April 8^th, 2008 on HBO at 10pm.