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Take action this Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the strides made by women and to acknowledge the challenges that still remain. To mark this month, and International Women’s Day on March 8, we hosted the “Embrace Global Equity for Women & Girls” event. It was a wonderful celebration of global progress, a chance to learn from leading organizations fighting against gender inequality and a reminder of the opportunities awaiting us when we work to empower women and girls around the world. Want to take action for global gender equality this month too? This event is the right place to…

Collage of photos of women and girls around the world

Beating the odds. Meet Rosemarie, Rozina, Martha, Agnes, Zainab and Hanna.

Addressing gender inequality isn’t something that can be handed down from the top — we must empower the people affected to create lasting change. Our charities know this. When they look at the issues facing women and girls, they understand the best way to solve this is to involve the entire community and give women what they need to enact their own version of change. Here are six women who, with the right tools, resources and support, overcame obstacles for themselves, their families and their communities. This is the kind of work that will change the world. The best way…

How to be a global champion for women and girls

In case you missed it, Global Impact hosted an event this week on how to be a champion for women and girls. Here are the takeaways and how you can get involved! We had a wonderful time speaking with Zayid Douglas, Technical Advisor for Gender Integration at World Vision US and Michelle Van Akin, Disaster Risk Management Team Manager, Child Protection and Gender Based Violence Specialist at Plan International. Plan International USA (Plan) is a girls rights organization working in international development and humanitarian aid, putting girls first in the design and implementation of their programming. World Vision is a…

Girls smiling with books in front of them

Helping women and girls in the fight for equality

Women and girls are often the faces of poverty. And they are essential to overcoming it. You have likely seen the statistics – women have fewer resources and less power compared to men, and they can experience further inequality because of their class, ethnicity and age. Yet, we have also seen the difference made when women have equal job opportunities, health care, education, decision-making power and freedom from violence. When women and girls can make their own choices and exercise their collective voice, amazing things happen. That is why we are devoting the month of October to focus on women…

Did you think the Salvation Army was just a thrift store?

For a long time, I only knew The Salvation Army for the thrift stores and the bell ringers that we see around the holidays. What I didn’t know until more recently is that they impact lives both here at home and around the world through the Salvation Army World Service Organization (SAWSO). SAWSO has spent over 40 years helping people across 131 countries improve their circumstances, maintain their health and gain financial independence. The charity’s vision is to serve as a dedicated resource committed to responding to the global interests of The Salvation Army USA by: Developing sustainable solutions for…

A group of Girl Scouts walking together wearing their vests with their backs to the camera.

How USA Girl Scouts Overseas is fostering the next generation of global citizens

What started in 1925 with 18 girls in Shanghai has now grown to include almost 13,000 members in 90-plus countries around the world. USA Girl Scouts Overseas (USAGSO) supports daughters of military, foreign service and American expat families as they move to new international locations, giving them the same opportunities for familiar traditions (cookies!!) and quality leadership training as stateside Girl Scouts have. This overseas program offers a much-needed sense of security and stability while continuing Girl Scouts’ mission of building courage, confidence and character within each member. Girl Scouts living overseas gain unique skills and experiences that are a…

Images

Title: Rosina
Charity: Accion
Country: India
Photo Credit: Accion

Title: Providing Clean Water
Charity: Action Against Hunger
Country: Ethiopia
Photo Credit: Peter Caton for Action Against Hunger

Title: Livelihoods Support in Bangladesh
Charity: Action Against Hunger
Country: Bangladesh
Photo Credit: Fabeha Monir for Action Against Hunger

Title: Emergency Response
Charity: Action Against Hunger
Country: South Sudan
Photo Credit: Peter Caton

Title: Emergency Drought Response
Charity: Action Against Hunger
Country: Madagascar
Photo Credit: Stéphane Rakotomalala

Droughts in Grand Sud, Madagascar, have sharply increased in both frequency and intensity in recent years. Bearing the full brunt of the effects of climate change, families who live in this region have seen drastic impacts on their livelihoods and health. In 2020, there were virtually no rains and this trend continued in 2021. Historically low rainfall levels depleted the few sources of clean water that existed in this chronically dry region. As a result, water-borne illnesses such as diarrhea have increased sharply. And, without rain, there could be no harvests. Food insecurity and malnutrition have increased dramatically. Action Against Hunger’s teams are on the ground, treating malnutrition and helping farmers adapt.

Title: Supporting Refugees
Charity: Action Against Hunger
Country: Uganda
Photo Credit: Solomon Serwanjja

Uganda is home to more than one million refugees, who are welcomed to the country with a small plot of land, the ability to work and go to school, and more. To help both refugees and the communities that host them, Action Against Hunger works with groups of farmers to help them learn new skills, grow new crops, and make the most of the limited land and water they have.

Title: Dalia Awad
Charity: Anera
Country: Palestine, State of
Photo Credit: Ibrahim Zaanoun

Title: Firas hopes to open a food business with his mother
Charity: Anera
Country: Lebanon
Photo Credit: Hisham Mustapha

Title: Two Participants of the Cooking and Food Preservation Course
Charity: Anera
Country: Lebanon
Photo Credit: Hisham Muthapha

Videos

Success Stories

WORLD VISION: Empowering Kenyan girls with a new tradition

When facing a problem as widespread and culturally significant as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, what should the solution be? Enacting and upholding laws? Educating to raise awareness? Eliminating poverty, so parents have alternative income than a daughters’ bride price?

Gueule Tapée District in Dakar 3rd Deputy Mayor inside the Town Hall discussing local and national issues with local women.

AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE: Claiming A Seat At The Table: The Feminization Of Politics In Senegal

In Senegal, women were largely excluded from politics until recently. A collective of women activists that AJWS supports, Association des Juristes Sénégalaises (AJS), has worked to change this — and is shifting Senegal’s entire political landscape in the process.

Night and her husband in a field in South Sudan

RISE AGAINST HUNGER: Night Is Expanding Her Farm and Increasing Crop Yields in South Sudan

Along the Imatong Mountains in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state, 46-year-old Night lives with her husband and two of their children. Night is a farmer, and she used to buy whatever seeds she could afford from the local market. The seeds she could afford were typically low quality, leading to low crop yields and food shortages for her and her family.

A couple sitting next to each other and smiling

TOSTAN INC.: Marieme Bamba: Women leading holistic, sustainable transformation in her community and beyond

Marième Bamba is a pillar of her community, leading holistic, sustainable transformation in her village and beyond. She never got the chance to go to school, was married at the age of 12, and bore her first child at 13 years old. Today, her life has completely changed – she serves as a member of her village’s Community Management Committee and is a Social Mobilization Agent for the abandonment of Female Genital Cutting. This change came about as Marième participated in Tostan’s three-year Community Empowerment Program, where she learned vital skills through human rights-based empowering education, the ability to read and write, social mobilization, local democracy and income-generation and project management. Using the broad skills and knowledge she’s gained, Marième is a leader for the development and holistic well-being of her village – as it is defined by the community themselves. “Before Tostan’s program…we lacked important information because we hadn’t…

FREE THE SLAVES: “I still have hope in my 50’s…”

Last year Free The Slaves joined HopeBox, an NGO based in Vietnam, to serve survivors of domestic abuse and slavery. While working in the city of Hanoi, Free The Slaves and Hope Box had the privilege of meeting Tina*. This is Tina’s story of overcoming fear and finding freedom with FTS. All the abuse started when her husband accused Tina of seeing another man. This later turned into constant accusations and heated arguments that resulted in physical and sexual abuse. Oftentimes, when she refused to follow her husband’s sexual demands, he became violent toward her. At the height of the pandemic, her husband forced her to work for various employers doing house chores. Her husband would collect the money for every task she finished directly from her employers. After work, she needed to go home right away to serve her husband and learned that she must not set her foot…

FINCA INTERNATIONAL, INC.: Prossy Nalule

At FINCA, we operate in over 40 countries worldwide with a mission to provide economic opportunities and security for women. Women’s empowerment is a cause that is dear to our hearts because we know from our experience that women can lead their communities out of poverty.