IDEX Program Officers, Kat and Vini are on field visits in South Africa to research groups IDEX could support through our catalyst grants program.

Today we drove to Woodstock, one of the oldest neighborhoods of Cape Town. We are there to visit Whole World Women Association, (WWWA) which is an organization that works with refugee communities to prioritize women's issues.

Founded in 2002, WWWA initially served as a self-help and support group for refugee women. The organization raises awareness on the plight of ordinary refugee women, the impact of war and trauma on the human psyche. Their membership is open to refugee women of all ages and backgrounds, as well as refugee children who are living at home with their parents or in foster homes and shelters.

We were invited to participate in one of their monthly meetings with WWWA staff and peer coordinators. Peer coordinators were developed to encourage refugees who had received support from WWWA to share the skills training and awareness with their respective communities. Each peer coordinator comes from a different country and gives the training in their native languages, ensuring that all refugee communities are reached.

This particular workshop addressed HIV/AIDS and the struggle to reduce the number of infected women. Many refugees are already infected and affected by the HIV pandemic and require training on how to deal and live with this situation. Working with existing organizations, WWWA offers training in the management and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Mary Magdalene Tal, founder and director of WWWA, shared how WWWA has seen a positive change in people attitudes to learning about HIV/AIDS. At first it was hard to encourage refugee women to go to HIV/AIDS awareness workshops as they were scared to be identified as an infected women. But now, 90% of calls WWWA receives are from people wanting to learn more about HIV/AIDS.

Mary is a refugee from Cameroon and as educated as she is, she found it so hard to get any type of support. She was inspired to create an organization that provided support especially to refugee women. Mary worked before with the Human Rights Media Center as a refugee project coordinator and at Ilitha Labanthu, where she gave legal advice and assisted abused women and children with their court cases.

Towards the end of the workshop, the facilitator had us participate in different team-building activities that involved putting together a lego-like toy. After the exercise, we all reflected on what made the exercise a success or not, bringing up the main idea of how when people are trusting each others strength and knowledge, as well as respecting each other, we can achieve many things.

It’s great to see that WWWA has hired staff members from different refugee communities, DRC, Cameroon, Nigeria, and many more. Mary shared with us that the "common goal is to keep the war behind us and find peace by building trust."

As Epiphanie Mukasano, a Rwandan refugee and WWWA member writes,

"I am the woman
you despised the other day
throwing out wicked words
which cut like a sharp knife

I am that woman
at whom you threw burning pots
and whose clothes you scornfully tore away
chasing me with a broom out of your house

I am the woman
who wandered naked
in the dark street
wondering where to go

I am the woman
full of scars, but
I do not hold a grudge

Today I am stretching out my hand
Will you take it?"

Labels: Refugees, South Africa

Blog Archive