Monitoring & Evaluation Report # 1 : Nigeria

To ensure the follow-up of its projects, Friends of Humanity is used to send Monitoring & Evaluation reports  that the organisations we support have to fill in in order to measure the advancement of the project.

We operate using a form of participatory evaluation - members of the community play a leading role in the evaluation process. It is essential that all beneficiaries, direct or indirect, are involved in this process. Obviously, the project site is also involved in this process. To measure the outcomes of a project, we use both quantitative and qualitative data.

Here, we would like to share with you the results of the first report sent by Olayinka Adeleke, director of Rosy Touch, our partner in Nigeria after the Advocay training on women's rights in rural communities that they carried in Eruwa, Nigeria.

50 women from 20 to 50 particpated to the training.

Friends of Humanity contributed to the purchase of materials for the training up CHF 1'000.-

The program of the training was the following : the Meaning Of Right; Right To Education; Reproductive Right and   Right To Economic Independence.

The main difficulty encountered was on the social and cultural side. In fact, some of their husbands had negative perception that their wives might know more than what they should know and might become rebels or competitors at home. The training team solved the problem by explaining to them that the training would improve their wives and would make them contribute to the household income, we also invited the husbands as observers during the training session.

The team also carried individual interviews to measure the impact of the training on women. They founded that women have a better udnerstanding of their rights.

However, the project includes 5 more locations. Funding remains the last barrier for the next trainings. Please donate to enable Rosy Touch to carry the other trainings planned. 

We thank you for all your contributions.

100 Years of Nigerian Women: Nigeria’s Centenary Celebration

Women attend community workshop in Nigeria

April 25: As Nigeria celebrates 100 years as a nation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation held a two day conference honoring Nigerian women. The conference focused on issues concerning women, including gender imbalance, violence against women, and girls’ education. Famous Nigerian women of past and present were also celebrated, including queens Amina of Zazzau and Moremi of Ile Ife; social, political and human rights activists Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Gambo Sawaba, and Margaret Ekpo; internationally renowned writers and artists Chimamanda Adichie and Omotola Jalade Ekeinde; and the country’s first female chief justice, Justice Aloma Mukhtar.

While Nigerian women are faced with numerous challenges—fueled by culture, religion, and tradition—on a daily basis, celebrating Nigerian women and their astounding accomplishment is the first step in empowering future generations to fight for their rights and seek their dreams.

“Celebrating 100 Years of the Nigerian Woman: Achieving 50/50 by 2020,” the theme of the conference, is a reminder of the efforts being made to ensure that women are represented equally in Nigerian politics. While some call for a percentage of elective seats and board membership positions to be reserved for women, others argue that efforts should go beyond affirmative action. An editorial in AllAfrica argues that, “The Nigerian woman has contributed her quota to national development within the reach of her resources and ability. We salute her and reiterate that she deserves much more than she presently gets. Nonetheless, she must make more efforts beyond clamoring for positions and offices.” Indeed, securing equal rights and opportunities for women cannot be achieved solely through gaining political seats; once in office, progress must be made in ensuring institutional and structural elements and legislation are universally applicable. 

Friends of Humanity supports women’s rights in Nigeria through funding programs that educate and empower women at the community level. To learn more about our partner project, Rosy Touch, in Nigeria, or to donate to the cause, click here.

Stopping Sexual Violence at the Source

With UK Foreign Secretary William Hague’s recent visit to Uganda, attention has been focused on ending sexual violence against women, especially in war-torn Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. But while Hague attempts to tackle violence in war, those close to the problem say that his approach is too narrow.  As Geoffrey Dennis argues in The Guardian, violence is not simply an effect of war, but a result of blatant societal inequality between men and women. Through his work with Care International, Dennis has seen the devastating effects of post-war sexual violence.  The best way to stop the violence, he says, is not simply punishing the men who inflict it, but empowering women to come forward after an attack. “In the immediate aftermath of an attack…a woman needs medical attention and psycho-social support. Once these are supplied, she needs financial stability to get on with her life and legal advice to take her case to the authorities, without fear of reprisals from the men involved.”  While high-level diplomacy can bring these issues to light, it is the work on the ground that best supports abused women and spreads attitudes of intolerance of violence throughout villages.

Through the Maison Shalom (Burundi) and Rosy Touch (Nigeria), Friends of Humanity aims to tackle sexual violence at the grassroots level. The Maison Shalom provides assistance to sexually-abused women, particularly young girls, through access to shelter, physical and psychological health care, legal aid, and education. Additionally, Maison Shalom strives to reduce the taboo of sexual violence by assisting the girls in reconnecting and reintegrating into their communities. By educating and empowering young women, Maison Shalom helps them to overcome traumatic experiences and resume leading a life without stigma or fear.

In Nigeria, Friends of Humanity supports Rosy Touch, whose efforts are directed at informing rural women of their rights in order to reduce marginalization and the gender gap between women and men that foster pervasive discrimination and domestic violence. By educating women of their societal rights, Rosy Touch hopes to strengthen their socio-economic capacities and prevent acts of sexual violence and discrimination before they occur. Additionally, Rosy Touch trains the women who participate in their workshops to replicate programs in their own communities. Through community-based efforts at spreading awareness and intolerance of sexual violence, the problem can be addressed, and stopped, at the root level.

Happy World Water Day 2013!

Today, the United Nations celebrates its 20^th annual World Water Day. Held on the 22^nd of March each year, World Water Day emphasizes the importance of access to freshwater and the sustainable management of water resources.  This year’s focus is water collaboration, as part of the UN’s year-long theme; “In designating 2013 as the UN International Year of Water Cooperation, the UNGA recognizes that cooperation is essential to strike a balance between the different needs and priorities and share this precious resource equitably, using water as an instrument of peace. Promoting water cooperation implies an interdisciplinary approach bringing in cultural, educational and scientific factors, as well as religious, ethical, social, political, legal, institutional and economic dimensions.” (unwater.org).  With 783 million people lacking access to clean water, a growing population, and diminishing resources, addressing the issue remains at the forefront of the global development agenda.

Water cooperation is imperative, as effective water management requires cooperation between multiple actors from a local to an international scale. In addition, many of the world’s sources of fresh water—groundwater, rivers, streams, etc.—cross political and territorial boundaries and must be shared amongst people of different countries and cultures. Without cooperation, access to water becomes uncertain, triggering adverse impacts on human lives and economic systems.

Friends of Humanity understands the importance of safe, accessible, sustainable water solutions. Through RIDS-Nepal, we aim to provide villagers in the Jumla district of Nepal with potable drinking water through a system of cement pipes, built in active partnership with local communities.  Providing access to safe water is the final step in completing RIDS’s Family of Four project, which enables 200 villagers to enjoy decent living conditions in terms of health and hygiene while remaining self-sufficient.

To learn more about World Water Day 2013 and the theme of Water Cooperation, click here.

To learn more about RIDS-Nepal and to donate to the project, click here.

International Women's Day 2013!

Maggy with the children of Maison Shalom

Today is International Women’s Day! At Friends of Humanity, we are committed to helping women around the world to attain the highest level of rights and freedom.  In doing so, we are inspired by the work of our partner, Maggy Barankitse, founder of Maison Shalom, recipient of countless humanitarian awards for her work with children and young women in Burundi, and honoree of last year’s International Women’s Day.  Through Maison Shalom, Maggy has provided shelter, food, and resources for thousands of orphaned children, as well as support for sexually-abused young women through Maison Shalom’s Rema Hospital.

Learn more about Maggy’s work at Maison Shalom here.

Donate to Maison Shalom through Friends of Humanity.

Of her tireless work, Maggy says: “I am simply a mother, who fights on a daily basis for dignity. Even if I may not have anything to give my children, I have love. And love is extraordinarily resourceful.” On this day, we celebrate and honor the love and light of women around the world!

Learn more about International Women’s Day here.

New project sponsored by Friends of Humanity in Nigeria

Friends of Humanity is proud to announce that we support a new project related to women's rights in Nigeria.

We are deeply attached to defend women rights since women constitute the basis on which all societies are built.

In this article, you will find some information about the general women's rights context in Nigeria and details about the project FOH supports.

Being a woman in Nigeria (NGO Coalition on CEDAW-Nigeria)

Gender inequalities and stereotypes exist in all spheres of the Nigerian polity, preventing women from developing and exercising their full human capabilities Socio-cultural, economic, political, legal and religious impediments to the promotion and protection of women’s rights still persist in Nigeria. For instance, according to the nigerian customary law, only men have the right to land.

Harmful traditional and cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) , widowhood rites and disinheritance still persist. According to the World Health Organization, about 20% of Nigerian women between 15 and 29 have undergone some form of FGM.

Rural women are excluded from most of the programmes of government. They are discriminated against in the areas of access to adequate health care facilities including information, counselling and services in family planning and education.

In a nutshell, women in Nigeria do not enjoy their full rights. In rural areas, no specific action have been made by the government to ameliorate women conditions. So, NGOs have a particularly  strong influence on rural women's rights

The project

In these circumstances, the project FOH supports aims at training rural women in Nigeria about their rights (right to education, reproductive rights...).This project was initiated by Rosy Touch Initiative for Development, a nigerian NGO working for women economic development.The team will give 2-days training about women's rights in six locations in the south-west of Nigeria. 

In all, 300 women will follow the training. It will enable them to be more aware of their rights. The exercice of women's rights will be promoted.

For more information about the project, go to the project's webpage !!

If you want to help those women, make a donation  for this project!