Dawn Marie Lemonds, formerly Soroptimist International Programme Director and Quadrennial Project Liaison 2003-7, writes about the partnership with Women for Women International (WFWI), an organisation that supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives. Soroptimist International worked with WFWI for the Quadrennial Project Project Independence – Women Survivors of War and in the "Join me on the Bridge" initiative on International Women’s Day 2010-12.
In 2003- 2007 Soroptimist International engaged in arguably the most "personal" of quadrennial projects that any Soroptimists had been able to do internationally……we directly sponsored individual women through WFWI’s educational programs in Bosnia, Rwanda and Afghanistan.
I was one of the blessed Soroptimists who had several opportunities to actually meet many of the women we sponsored and listened with pride to the joy expressed by the participants about their journeys from despair to empowerment, poverty to self sufficiency! Their stories of unspeakable tragedy to triumph will resonate in me forever and I personally felt privileged to support their walk!
Over 1000 women received this gift of renewed life through Soroptimists and Soroptimists continue to support many of the initiatives developed by Women for Women International. They feel a direct connection to the women they sponsor and know that women are being EDUCATED to LEAD through the work of WFWI! I hope that you are encouraged to look at some of the amazing new initiatives of WFWI like SHARE and find opportunities to continue our partnership!
Soroptimists have raised over £1.25 million for WFWI’s life-changing work, much of it through sponsorship. Brita Fernandez Schmidt, Executive Director of Women for Women International UK, writes about her personal experience of sponsoring a woman in Bosnia.
When I first started sponsoring four years ago, my first sister was from Bosnia. She happened to be of similar age and also mother of two children. I was lucky in that she was able to write to me and we exchanged a few letters throughout the year of my sponsorship. I remember getting a letter from her where she told me what it meant to her to know that I cared enough, even though I did not know her, to support her financially, enable her to learn new skills and write to her. She also told me that she had used some of her monthly stipend to buy tulip seeds and that she was going to plant them in her garden so that she would always remember me.
There are so many things that went through my mind in that moment. One was that my support gave my sister the strength and courage to believe in herself and allow herself to embrace this new opportunity and develop her skills and a new life for herself and her family. So my money had helped her, but the connection with me had possibly helped her even more – so I had been able to contribute directly to creating change and hope.
Another thought that went through my mind was what a privilege it is to reach out and support someone else and share that journey and how much you actually get back. No wonder that one of the 7 ways of achieving happiness is to give. So today I want to invite you to reach out to another woman in one of the countries where Women for Women International operates and support her – it will transform her life and yours!
Find out more about sponsoring a woman with Women for Women International.
You can also read about Alliance from Democratic Republic of Congo (pdf), who was sponsored through WFWI and was one of the case studies of women affected by violence for our International Women’s Day action, Enough is Enough: End Violence Against Women.
Image: Dawn=Marie with sponsor sister Almasa in Bosnia & Herzegovina during the Quadrennial Project: Project Independence – Women Survivors of War.