“ I DECIDED TO USE MY EXPERIENCE TO HELP OTHER WOMEN.” Inside, find out why Wangu Kanja set up a foundation to support women in Kenya.
Issue 13 Spring 2018
Abayomi, a primary school teacher in Nigeria, encourages girls to go to school.
@ActionAidUK ActionAidUK
@ActionAidUK www.actionaid.org.uk
Photo credit: Tom Saater/ActionAid
In March, we launched our Not This Girl appeal, to help keep girls in Kenya safe from sexual violence and exploitation. We’re so proud to support the amazing local women’s groups who stop girls from being abused, and make sure survivors get access to justice. Over the page, you’ll hear from the inspirational Wangu. A rape survivor herself, Wangu set up a foundation to stop other women from going through the same experience. In this edition, you’ll also find out how your generous support has helped deliver life-saving aid to Rohingya refugees, and how child sponsorship continues to brighten futures around the world. Every day, you are helping women and girls claim their rights and change their lives for good. Thank you for all you do. Girish Menon Chief Executive ActionAid UK
@GirishMenonAAUK
ActionAid is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales (Company number 01295174). England and Wales charity number 274467, Scottish charity number SC045476. Registered office 33-39 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R 0BJ. supportercontact@actionaid.org • 01460 238 000 • www.actionaid.org.uk
Cover photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid
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NOT THIS GIRL:
Standing with survivors of sexual violence One in three women worldwide will be beaten or sexually abused in their lifetime, most likely by someone they know. Wangu Kanja is one of them. In 2002, Wangu was car-jacked, raped and robbed in Kenya. But when she went to the police, they recorded the crime as robbery with violence, not rape. Wangu didn’t receive any support, and she became severely depressed. Eventually, after going to counselling, she decided that she needed to stop other women from going through the same experience. She founded the Wangu Kanja Foundation, which helps survivors of sexual assault get medical, psychosocial and legal support by texting an innovative SMS helpline, staffed by trained volunteers. “In Kenya, when you go through rape people look at you differently,” Wangu says. “They keep asking you why you’re making a fuss. They say: ‘It’s just sex,’ and they don’t understand how it takes your dignity away. 4
“It takes a lot of resources, time and support from family, friends and the community for that person to feel whole again.” ActionAid supports local partners like the Wangu Kanja Foundation, which make sure survivors are heard, treated, and have the full backing of the law. These committed and courageous groups are specially trained to raise awareness within their community, and to recognise and report signs of abuse. “I wanted to use my experience to inform and create the services we need in Kenya to support survivors of sexual violence,” says Wangu. “Only survivors can really understand what women who have suffered sexual violence have gone through.”• actionaid.org.uk
Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid
Wangu Kanja, a rape survivor, supports other survivors of sexual violence in Kenya.
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NOT THIS GIRL:
One in three girls in Kenya will experience sexual violence “I felt like I’d lost my mind,” Patience said. “People said I am poor and have no power, so anyone can do anything to my child.” Patience turned to ActionAid’s partner, the Wangu Kanja Foundation.
Photo credits: Sheldon Moultrie/ActionAid
When Patience’s 13-year-old daughter Mary returned to their home in Kenya with her baby brother one day, Patience knew something wasn’t right. Eventually, Mary told her mother what had happened. A man had dragged her into his home and raped her.
Patience is now a women’s rights defender in her community.
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actionaid.org.uk
Amazing local women are supporting girls in Kenya.
Amazing local women are now supporting Mary to recover from her experience. And they are helping to bring Mary’s case to court, so that her attacker faces justice and can’t harm other girls. Patience has lived through a mother’s worst nightmare, but has turned her profound grief into action to bring about lasting change.
talking to Mary every day; to remind her that it was not her fault,” she says. Please will you join us in standing with these courageous women and girls? When you donate to our Not This Girl appeal by 7 June your donation will be doubled by the UK government, helping us support twice as many girls like Mary. •
Now working as a women’s rights defender in her community, Patience is fighting to make sure no girl endures what Mary went through. And she is helping Mary, step by step towards recovery. “I keep Spring 2018
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Photo credit: Alhassan Sulemana
Girls’ education changes lives Ensuring that girls can go to school, and stay in school, has huge and far-reaching benefits. It reduces rates of child marriage, improves job prospects for women and empowers them to become leaders.
that cater for us girls. There will be a changing room for girls so that we can have privacy when we need to change,” she says. “This is good news as it will encourage the girls to always be in school.”
We are tackling barriers to girls’ education in countries across the world, so that all girls can grow up to fulfil their potential.
Thanks to the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, we are able to support more girls like Christiana to stay in school and to challenge gender-based violence. Their funding not only supports our work in Ghana, but in Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda too, and it’s having an incredible impact.
Sixteen-year-old Christiana from Ghana (pictured) is one of the girls who is benefiting from our work. “My school is going to get a new building, specialising in facilities 8
actionaid.org.uk
Thanks to the People’s Postcode Lottery, in 2018 we will transform girls’ lives by: Building
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Training
new educational and safe spaces for girls to help them learn and develop.
23,684 women and girls on their rights.
Supporting
472 women and girls’ rights groups.
Helping over
4 0, 0 0 0 women challenge violence and achieve their potential.•
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Supporting Rohingya women and girls Since August 2017, more than 650,000 Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar and sought safety in Bangladesh. Most are women and children who were forced to walk for days, injured and traumatised by the horrors they had experienced. 10
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Photo credit: Noor Alam/ActionAid
Shoheeda, 12, received a dignity kit from ActionAid in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp.
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Thanks to our dedicated supporters, we have delivered life-saving aid to over 70,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. And because we work closely with women-led committees in the camps, the aid we provide reaches the most vulnerable. Fatema (pictured) is a 35-year-old counsellor working with ActionAid in Cox’s Bazar. “We listen to people’s experiences, and we try to support them to rebuild their lives,” she says. “We tell them that what happened is not your fault. You have to survive, you have to live. And when you have to live, you have to live with dignity.”
“It makes me happy even if I can lessen a woman’s suffering by just a small amount.” Fatema, Bangladesh
In collaboration with the World Food Programme, we delivered food
women have been able to access
people in our initial response. Now, while we continue to provide essential supplies, our response is focused on longer-term needs, especially those of women and girls.
information and resources like menstrual hygiene kits, counselling and private spaces for breastfeeding. We are also prioritising sanitation to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases, and enable women and girls to wash and use the toilet safely.
With the help of your donations, we have built three women’s safe spaces, where over 10,000
We have built 52 emergency toilets, and created 20 bathing spaces for women and children.
packages to over 40,000
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Photo credit: Noor Alam/ActionAid
Fatema, 35, an ActionAid worker in Cox’s Bazar, gives sanitary protection to Rukhia Begam, 29, and her daughter Jannat, 15.
We have also distributed over 13,000 hygiene kits containing sanitary protection, soap and clean underwear to help women and girls manage their periods with dignity.
Fatema sees the difference your support is making to the lives of women and girls in the camp. “I tell them that I am beside them, we are all working beside you,” she says.
“Women need privacy,” Fatema says. “It’s unheard of for women to take a bath or shower alongside men, it is uncomfortable for them. It is unsafe as well. That is why a private bathing area and toilets for the women is essential.”
Thank you to all our supporters who generously donated to this emergency appeal. •
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Photo credits: David Lacey/ActionAid
Jenisha, standing in front of the rubble of her old school.
Rebuilding schools in Nepal Our local staff had been in Nepal for over 30 years when two devastating earthquakes hit in 2015. Their expertise and networks enabled them to get urgent aid to the people who needed it most. Since then, we have helped rebuild homes and communities. 8,000 schools were destroyed in the earthquakes, which has had a huge impact on children’s education. 14
Ten-year-old Jenisha remembers the earthquakes clearly. “I was watching TV when the first earthquake struck. I fell down and my father picked me up and we ran outside. In the second earthquake my house was destroyed.” Jenisha’s school was also badly damaged by the earthquakes, and actionaid.org.uk
one of the main buildings had to be torn down. Without it, classes had to be combined, which has made learning more difficult. “There are 75 children in my class,” says Jenisha. “Everyone talks and I can only hear a little bit of what the teacher says.” With the help of our local partners, we are rebuilding schools and helping children get back in the classroom. To help raise the funds needed to rebuild Jenisha’s school, ActionAid ran a First Hand Experience trip in late 2017 (pictured below), taking
Spring 2018
two groups of supporters to lay strong, earthquake-proof foundations. Those on the trip were able to contribute to the children’s futures, as well as make lifelong friends. If you would like to learn more about our First Hand Experience trips, and how you could take part, visit actionaid.co.uk/experience Thank you to everyone who donated to our emergency appeal for Nepal. With your help, girls like Jenisha are getting the education that is their right.•
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Scientist
Vet
Big Me is an opportunity for primary school children to enjoy a dressing-up day with a difference. By donating £1 to go to school dressed as their dream job, they have fun and dream big, while raising money to change lives in the world’s poorest places. 16
actionaid.org.uk
The response to Big Me in 2017 was overwhelming. From astronauts to vets, authors to scientists, the creativity and ambition of the children taking part was incredible. Thanks to them, we’re able to support more children around the world to realise their dreams too. We send a free pack of resources to schools who sign up for Big Me, including posters and lesson ideas, and help pupils explore their aspirations. If you think your local school might like to take part this year, visit actionaid.org.uk/bigme for more information.
Astronaut
Photos: students taking part in Big Me. Photo credits: Briony Campbell/ActionAid
Photos: ActionAid
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Photo credit: Sharron Lovell/ActionAid
Eleven-year-old Aya in the West Bank holds up a letter to her sponsor.
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actionaid.org.uk
Child sponsorship supports children around the world Many children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have faced deeply traumatic experiences because of the ongoing conflict. Children’s clubs, supported through child sponsorship, are safe spaces where children can take part in drama workshops to help them come to terms with what they have witnessed. They also have drawing and sports activities, which help children to learn and play. Aya, 11, is a sponsored child. She lives in the West Bank, and enjoys going to a children’s club. “Often we are asked to come and draw,” she says. “And then we get toys to play with.” All children should have an equal chance to thrive. Through our children’s clubs, girls can build Spring 2018
their confidence and learn about their rights, bringing hope for the future. And across the world, child sponsorship is helping ensure that children like Aya have the support they need to grow up happy and healthy. Aya says: “I received a letter from my sponsor yesterday. I feel very special. I feel proud that somebody from a different world is supporting Palestine, and I thank them very much.” We’d like to say a special thank you to our family of child sponsors, who are supporting communities around the world. • 19
Photo: posed by model. Sheldon Moultrie/ActionAid
Not this girl. Not any girl . One in three girls in Kenya experience sexual violence in childhood. Just 10% of these girls receive professional help. That’s why ActionAid partners with local women’s groups to challenge abuse and support survivors. Together, we help survivors access medical treatment and psychosocial support, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.
Could you help us be there for more girls? Please support our Not This Girl appeal. Donate by 7 June to have your donation doubled, pound for pound, by the UK government. Return your donation form or visit: www.actionaid.org/aid-match 652186_M