LEARN. International Women s Day

Transcription

1 LEARN Training has changed a lot of things for us. We now know that we can produce and benefit from this work, instead of staying at home with no returns. We can add to our income. We can help or train our neighbours or anyone who asks. EGYPT : These women are beneficiaries of an IOM project that supports governmental and non-governmental efforts to expand protection measures for vulnerable migrants transiting through Egypt. Training courses aim to em power local women to gain economic independence through the art of handicraft-making. To help improve opportunities and ensure their participation, the women are also offered lite racy classes and childcare while they are in class.

2 CHALLENGE When my fellow classmates realized I could do everything just as well as they could they started joking that I was the queen of the carpenters. Women... approach[ed] me wanting to find out if they too could take part. I want to inspire more women to become carpenteras. PHILIPPINES : After the typhoon, Charisse took part in an IOM carpentry course, the only woman in her class. She challenged gender stereotypes and the idea that carpentry is a man s occupation and learned to rebuild houses. Other women soon wanted to parti cipate. Now having completed the course and earned a certificate, Charisse would like to arrange a workshop for the local women to pass on what she has learned so that all individuals -men and women- know how to build strong, secure houses for when the next typhoon comes.

3 RISE After I complete the programme and start working, I will be able to save money to send my daughter to school, and to the doctor if she needs to go. We have almost nothing at the camp, and my brother-in-law can t find work, so it gives me pride to know I can help contribute to the family s well-being. IRAQ : After conducting an assessment of vulnerable women in a camp of displaced Iraqis, widows such as Ni aam were selected to take part in a vocational training programme where she was taught to tailor clothing. Ni aam learned skills to support herself and her daughter. She also reduced her reliance on the charity of her family.

4 LAUNCH We can now earn a little bit more money and support our family better through the money we earn from the teashop. We have an average of 200 clients per day. We are hopeful that the number will increase when we purchase more utensils and our service widens. ETHIOPIA : Choul is among a group of 10 South Sudanese women refugees who have set up a teashop in Pugnido with the support of IOM livelihood assistance. Opening its doors in 2014, the tea shop is a relaxing spot for coffee or tea as well as a chance for these women to gain some economic independence.

5 OVERCOME Women in Tajikistan claim rights and gain economic independence through legal, social and economic assistance. TAJIKISTAN : Many women have become single heads of households after being abandoned by their husbands who have migrated abroad. IOM is providing these women with legal assistance on civil law, family law, criminal law, land and housing issues, and social benefits. Self-help groups have also been created to teach women how to start businesses to support themselves in gaining independence.

6 BUILD Women become active players in their own recovery, enhancing their families resilience for the future. PAKISTAN : Through an IOM early recovery shelter programme, women are trained alongside men in the technical skills required to construct shelters integrating disaster risk reduction techniques. The women learn new vocational skills and receive small business grants while the new houses provide women with more privacy, security and confidence in the future. Women have also used the construction process to recreate warm and inviting spaces where they can pursue traditional activities and livelihood opportunities.

7 REPRESENT Settling disputes among community members, building a small business and being involved in sexual reproductive health, Josephine is an important member within her community and makes a difference in many people s lives. BURUNDI : Josephine is a role model for many other women in her community. She recently returned from Tanzania, and has been elected as a representative for her colline (administrative entity). As a widow with four children, Josephine has proven through her role in the colline that she is strong and can provide for her household, despite the absence of her husband. Josephine is also the president of one of the migrants associations that has been active in incomege nerating activities.

8 SHARE An agricultural engineer works with local women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to improve agricultural development and the position of women in their communities. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC) : Congolese diaspora women are sharing the experience they have gained while living in Belgium with local women working in agriculture and development in the DRC. Although women in many rural regions are not yet adequately represented in paid and/or formal positions in the agricultural sector, the impact of their work in the farming sector and on their hou seholds daily life is increasingly being recognized through such knowledge exchange programmes.

9 LEAD Women in northern Kenya are helping to build peace in their communities through meetings and personal appeals that discourage violence. KENYA : After years of conflict, women have taken the initiative to attend IOM-facilitated peace meetings between community elders, to exert pressure towards making peace. Women are now acting as change agents and discouraging young men from conducting cattle raids which have led to death, destruction of property and loss of livelihoods, displacement of persons, and disruption of education and health.

10 ACHIEVE During the training we learnt how to manage a private business, but more important the training increased our self-esteem and empowered us. UGANDA : Immaculate, a 24-year-old single mother of three children, first became involved with IOM as an HIV peer educator. A year later, she and 25 other sex workers took part in IOM vocational training sessions and income-generating activities. Immaculate was the first trainee to run her own business and she is now able to support her family to have a better quality of life.

11 ENRICH Education changed Yairsiña s life. It gave her the option to grow as a person, travel, work in new sectors and build her own business. For Yairsiña, education is the key to empowering women around the world. PERU : 14 years ago, Yairsiña travelled to Italy to work as a housekeeper. At the same time she also began studying accounting, allowing her to become cash supervisor of a restaurant located in Rome. With the support of IOM, upon returning home to Peru, Yairsiña opened a small shop with her sister in Lima and used her accounting skills to help it grow. She now plans to open another shop.

12 PERSEVERE They (IOM staff) treated me fine. They encouraged me and joked with me so I could be happy. They used to play with my daughter. They gave me medicine and I used to eat four times a day. LIBERIA : As the first survivor at the IOM-managed Ebola Treatment Unit in Sinje, Isatu represents hope and success that stems from the hard work of all the women and men working to treat Ebola patients and stop the spread of the disease. Now healthy, Isatu can return to the ward to care for her daughter. To equip her for this, the Infection Prevention and Control Supervisor trained her to observe the protocols and keep everyone safe.

13 TRANSFORM IOM staff member Asma Khatun is transforming laws and lives in Bangladesh. Her policy work has contributed to the 2012 Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and advanced pieces of legislation in the South Asian region. BANGLADESH : Asma has been working with IOM for the last 11 years. Her dedicated work has covered all facets of counter-trafficking, from advocacy and technical support initiatives with the Government of Bangladesh to capacity bu ilding of related government and NGOs working in the field, to providing direct support to survivors of trafficking. She is leading initiatives such as economic reintegration assistance, psychosocial support, business training and advice for survivors.

14 STRENGTHEN Myanmar migrant women in Thailand share knowledge and skills to strengthen their economic independence. THAILAND : IOM is working with migrant women from Myanmar to build economic self-resilience through a series of vocational trainings. The project applies a participatory approach and encourages women to share their experiences, knowledge and skills through the development of training courses. Many women have opened small businesses such as tea shops and bakeries with their new business and baking skills.

15 PRODUCE I need to feel useful, that is why I have always worked. UKRAINE : Elmaz, displaced from Crimea to the Western Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia in 2014, has been looking for different options to support her elderly mother, husband and two children who traveled with her. First, she was knitting children s clothes and selling them at a small shop opened by another displaced woman. Later, IOM supported Elmaz with a fridge and an oven, so she was able to start cooking traditional Crimean Tatar food herself for sale.

16 EMPOWER WOMEN, EMPOWER HUMANITY - PICTURE IT! INTERNATIONAL WOMEN S DAY