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PRESBYTERIAN WORLD SERVICE & DEVELOPMENT
Women Peacebuilders Lead the Way
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PRESBYTERIAN
SUMMER 2021
presbyterian.ca
 By Jane Thirikwa, Global Partnerships Coordinator, KAIROS Canada
Located literally under the shadow of the West Bank wall in Bethlehem, Wi’am: Palestinian Conflict Transfor- mation Centre, offers female victims of gender-based oppression and violence just that—transformational change. Wi’am—a par tner of KAIROS Canada’s Women of Courage, Wom- en, Peace and Security program—is one of four women-led grassroots organizations that offer similar sup- port. The others are Organización Fe- menina Popular (Colombia), Héritiers de la Justice (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and South Sudan Council of Churches National Women’s Pro- gram (SSCC-NWP).
Often reserved and hesitant at the start of Wi’am’s workshops, partici- pants become more vocal and confi- dent after a few sessions.
“I always taught my children to respect women, but I never taught them to listen to a woman before,” said one participant, a mother of three. “But now, I know that my voice is important and that it should be listened to and respected within so- ciety.”
Wi’am, like other project partners, offers women psychosocial support, legal accompaniment and counsel- ling, as well as numerous workshops on gender-based violence, economic empowerment and human rights.
The Women, Peace and Security program began in 2018 when Global
A participant attends a Wi’am event.
PHOTO CREDIT: WI’AM: PALESTINIAN CON- FLICT TRANSFORMATION CENTRE.
Affairs Canada injected $4.5 million over five years to support the part- ners’ work. KAIROS—through its member churches and development
agencies, religious communities and individual donors—contributes 25 percent of the funding. PWS&D, which has supported the program since the beginning, contributed $65,000 in 2020, and again in 2021.
The program is grounded in the ev- idence-based theory of change that women can become key voices in peacebuilding processes when they are provided with opportunities to heal, restore self-esteem and claim their rights.
Since the program’s inception, partners have noted greater confi- dence among participants, measured according to autonomy, communica- tion, resilience and strength, con- necting to other people and ways of thinking; as well as positive changes
in relation to power structures and rights advocacy.
For example, the South Sudan partner holds a monthly prayer for peace gathering that attracts hun- dreds of women. According to the or- ganization, “Most women who have participated...have courage to speak in public and have become a voice to their families. Some are able to influ- ence male allies, especially the pas- tors from the churches, and many have the courage to speak to media outlets regarding the campaign for peace and justice.”
Additionally, partners have report- ed increases in participant numbers, services delivered and communities involved.
Because these organizations are part of the fabric of communities, they were able to respond imme- diately to COVID-19, reimagining and pivoting programs to address new challenges and vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. KAI- ROS’ Women, Peace and Security partners have reported dramatic in- creases in gender-based domestic and state-driven violence since the beginning of the pandemic.
As women shoulder the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for financial and diplomatic support for grassroots women-led organizations is needed now more than ever.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council’s resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, Oct. 30, 2020, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs announced $14.9 million in new funding for women peacebuilders globally, with $5 mil- lion of that targeted at grassroots organizations.
While this announcement is wel- come, Canada has a long way to go. The Canadian government’s pro- gressive Feminist International As- sistance Policy, created in 2017, has been hamstrung by limited funding, evident in Canada’s paltry official de- velopment assistance, which is well below the international standard of 0.7 percent of gross national income, at 0.26 percent.
Presbyterians can help these or- ganizations in two ways. The first is to suppor t PWS&D’s contribu- tion to the WPS program by visiting WeRespond.ca/donate.
The second is to urge the federal government to fully fund the Femi- nist International Assistance Policy by increasing its overseas develop- ment assistance to closely match the international standard, and to ensure that this funding reaches grassroots
Continued on page 33
    Impact 2020
 By Guy Smagghe, PWS&D Director
We are experiencing changing times and 2020 showed us clearly that we can face new challenges as a com- munity of God’s children, sharing in the abundance of creation. During these new challenges, we have been filled with gratitude. In this issue of the newspaper, we are pleased to share with you highlights from our 2020 Impact Report.
We are thankful for our par tners who reached out to those in need of support and kept us abreast of the changing needs at the grassroots. Rising to the occasion, our par t- ners helped us to provide critically needed food assistance in Afghani- stan and Yemen, life-saving thera- peutic nutrition to children in Haiti, economic empowerment and agri- cultural suppor t in Guatemala and Malawi, and health education and services in India, Nepal, Malawi and Afghanistan.
During the pandemic, partners’ ac- tivities had to shift and adapt but they did not stop, despite the challenges. We celebrate and give thanks for the persistent determination of field workers and countless community volunteers who work tirelessly to im- prove overall living conditions in their communities.
We are proud of our collaborations with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, ACT Alliance and KAIROS, which enabled us to multiply resources and reach out to thousands more people in places where our presence was most
needed—physically and spiritually. We are grateful for the support of the Canadian government in our response to the Lebanon explo- sions, which allowed us to access matching funds through Canadian
Foodgrains Bank.
With the help of Global Affairs
Canada, we also completed eight years of impactful maternal and child health programming in Afghani- stan and Malawi. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in maternal mortality in participating communities, and a lasting legacy in the clinics that were built to improve community knowledge on the impor- tance of antenatal and postnatal care of women and children. We celebrate these achievements with gratitude for the financial support from the Gov- ernment of Canada, and for the re- lentless efforts of our partners.
Finally, we are deeply grateful for your faithful support. More than ever before, we have been called to love our neighbour. In the past year, Pres- byterians have shown this love by contributing to the work of PWS&D. In 2020, local congregations, in- dividuals and legacy donors pro- vided PWS&D with an increasingly solid base to respond to the world’s needs. Together, we bring about a more sustainable, compassionate and just world. With your support, we are able to change lives in more ways than we could imagine.
For the full report and financial statements,pleasevisit WeRespond.ca/Impact2020.
  IN 2020, PWS&D AND ITS PARTNERS UNDERTOOK 46 PROJECTS
IN 22 COUNTRIES.
22 LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
231,683 people participated in food security, health, livelihoods and human rights projects
24 EMERGENCY RELIEF PROJECTS
51,268 people received food, water and sanitation, and other emergency assistance




















































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