The ABC of the Y-W-C-A
A delegation of the World YWCA arrived on the shores of Fiji on Sunday December 6, 2009 to meet with local YWCA members and national executives including young women. The visit reaffirms the connection of one of Fiji’s oldest serving women’s NGOs to the global movement, which today includes a membership of 25 million diverse women and girls connected through a network of principles and practice and committed to women's human rights, peace and justice for all.
This is the first visit to the Pacific region by the World YWCA General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda who is accompanied by the World YWCA Programme Director for Asia Pacific, Juli Dugdale.
Gumbonzvada was a keynote speaker at the recently completed Asia Pacific Breakthrough Conference on Women, Faith and Development Alliance held in Melbourne, Australia.
In Fiji, the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) has paved the way for women’s human rights activism and action, framed in the basis of a global movement said Gumbonzvanda in her response to the traditional ceremony of welcome extended by the YWCA of Fiji, in which she acknowledged the founding mothers of the association, volunteers and staff past and present and the future in the young women of the YWCA.
Gumbonzvanda emphasised the collective contribution of all women of the YWCA from the volunteers and staff to the next generation of leaders as she reflected on the impact 24 months in office as the General Secretary of the World YWCA, has had on her:
“It has been a profound experience to be of service to humanity through the YWCA… you are the movement, the women in countries… who organise and serve together and join in the web of sisterhood globally.”
She also reaffirmed that within the global women’s movement, the YWCA is one of the amazing great creations of women’s leadership in our century, as she explained the ‘A-B-C’ of the YWCA:
“Y is being young and good at whatever age we are. We are about remaining relevant as we respond to issues today, it is about an inter-generational perspective.
The second and profound letter is the W. The W is about us, women leading, being in touch with our own feelings and possibilities and leading in the transformation of our families. It is about women’s empowerment, human rights and women living in safe and secure communities, it is about celebrating that god created men and women, and rested (after creating women) because it was okay. Because women and men would lead together and be co-creators of life.”
The YWCA is also about the C said Gumbonzvanda:
“The C grounds us in the values of what it means to be part of creation. The C which always reminds us that ‘thy shall love they neighbour and live life in abundance’ – free of poverty. It is about access to education, health and reminds us that we must live life free of violence and that at moments of personal joy, it is about a sisterhood.
Being an association, she added, is not about being static but moving forward collectively:
“The A is about us as a movement, and not just an organisation. It is about collective knowledge in the world movement, and about sharing our experience in our region, and across the globe. It is about sharing knowledge, expertise and celebrating together, and knowing that a different world is possible because as the YWCA we stand in solidarity with each other.”
The visit by the World YWCA staff to the YWCA of Fiji is a time of mutual learning and a visit of solidarity, she said as she acknowledged that the YWCA of Fiji has a history of leadership, a history of women of Fiji who have been bold at the most challenging times, which she commended and encouraged in offering solidarity and support from the global membership and a movement of women experts on a range of issues:
“As we seek to find ways to ensure that we have more women in cabinet, sitting and negotiating a Constitution and even an electoral roll, in ensuring processes defined by the hopes and aspirations of this nation.”
In her welcome remarks, Juli Dugdale, the World YWCA staff member responsible for supporting 24 member associations in the Asia Pacific region, highlighted the programme priorities recently agreed at a regional training institute for the region. These include sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV and AIDS, violence against women, women’s economic empowerment and education. “The visit is an opportunity to hear about the history and to meet women who have made history through the YWCA (of Fiji),” says Dugdale.
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