News Archive (2008 - 2005)

“The power of movements is the power to use the power we have but don’t always know that we have”, said Geetanjali Misra, a leading Indian women ’s rights activists to 2000 women’s rights advocates who gathered in Cape Town for the opening of the 11th AWID International Forum on Women’s Rights and Development.

We the leaders of the World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, World YWCA and the World Student Christian Federation – enjoined by the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office in Geneva, hereby make this solemn and urgent statement in the wake of the latest Extra-Ordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of States on the crises in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The World YWCA is attending the sixth African Development Forum (ADF) from November 19-21 at the United Nations Centre, Addis Ababa with the theme: ‘Gender equality, empowerment and ending violence against women’.

Des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont fui leurs maisons dans l’Est de la République Démocratique de Congo (RDC) suite à la reprise des combats entre rebelles et factions milices. Les Nations Unies rapportent que la majorité des personnes déplacées à l’intérieur du pays sont des femmes et des enfants.

L’insécurité et la violence tourmentent cette province depuis des décennies. Un rapport présenté en 2008 par le Conseil des Droits de l’homme confirmait le fait que des groupes armés non étatiques mais aussi des groupes armés étrangers non étatiques ont commis des violences sexuelles atroces « qui visent la destruction physique et psychologique complète des femmes, avec toutes les conséquences que cela entraîne pour l'ensemble de la société. »

“ Women, men and children in Haiti need the support of the international ecumenical community, including advocacy at the global level. As we witness first hand the devastating effects of the 2008 hurricanes and the rising food prices, we stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti and pray for hope and peace” said Marie-Claude Julsaint, World YWCA Programme Director for Americas and the Caribbean.

As the YWCA movement continues to grow, newly affiliated YWCA member associations have gathered in Geneva, Switzerland for an International Training Institute (ITI) on capacity building and leadership training facilitated by World YWCA from November 24- 28, 2008. The YWCAs of Honduras, Indonesia, Burundi, Sudan, Mozambique and Congo Brazzaville were affiliated at the World YWCA Council 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya and the ITI provides an opportunity to develop the organisational capacity of the newly affiliated member associations.

From the Barack Obama for President Campaign to World YWCA Fundraising Coordinator, Lynn Sorrentino understands the word change. Sorrentino has joined the World YWCA team from Seattle, Washington as the Fundraising Coordinator and is excited about the challenge the new role will bring. “I made the decision to join the World YWCA primarily to work on big challenges such as fundraising in challenging economic times, friend raising for the World YWCA, social networking, public relations and promoting the mission of the organisation,” says Sorrentino who holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Humboldt State University, California.

Geneva, November 25, 2008 : As the world prepares to celebrate 60 years of the Human Rights Declaration, the undeniable rights of Palestinians continue to be violated. For nearly a year now, the Gaza strip has been under siege and earlier this month Israel tightened the blockade in response to renewed rocket attacks out of Gaza.

In the year 2007, at least 529,000 women died in pregnancy or childbirth and 99% of those deaths occurred in the developing world. Equally shocking is that for every woman who dies in childbirth, around 20 more suffer injury, infection or disease – touching approximately 10 million women each year. Add HIV into this mix and the challenge for women grows.

As participants of the current World YWCA International Training Institute (ITI) shared some of the challenges they face in their newly affiliated YWCA member associations, clear similarities began to emerge.