myMADRE

On Earth Day and Every Day, Women Protect the Planet

For Earth Day, MADRE released this statement celebrating the great strides women around the world and in our sister organizations are making to combat climate change and environmental degredation.

It’s easy to feel desolate about the terrible damage being done to our planet by resource exploitation, industrial agriculture, pollution, deforestation, fossil fuel consumption and more. The BP oil spill, the nuclear crisis in Japan and the mounting threat of climate change can leave us feeling hopeless about the fate of the planet.

Women worldwide in the communities of MADRE’s sister organizations refuse to give in to despair. They’re focused on creating solutions, both local and systemic, with the support of MADRE members. So this year, for Earth Day, let’s take this chance to remind ourselves of the good news. In communities across the globe, our sisters are on the cutting edge of sustainable alternatives to climate change and environmental degradation.

Clean Water in Kenya

In Kenya, MADRE has partnered with the Indigenous Information Network (IIN) to pioneer improved ways to conserve and manage water in rural communities. We work with women who know well the threats they face: droughts intensifying Kenya’s water crisis, women losing hours each day in the search for water and diseases like cholera spreading when scarce water supplies are shared with livestock.

And they know the solution. Working with IIN in multiple communities, we facilitated the repair of water tanks and pipelines to provide clean water for Indigenous women and families. We also built separate water troughs for their animals, to prevent the spread of disease and control soil erosion around water sources.

Seeds for Life in Nicaragua

In Nicaragua, MADRE helped create a seed bank for women farmers. Our Harvesting Hope Project also trains women in small-scale organic farming and livestock management.

Through the seed bank, women are now able to cultivate, save and share local, organic seeds from one growing season to the next. The program emphasizes sustainable land use and safeguards traditional Indigenous knowledge of how to conserve biodiversity and natural resources. We’ve also supported the creation of local farmers markets so that the women can earn income from the produce they grow.

Collective Organizing in Sudan

Women farmers in Sudan are often the backbone of their community, struggling to ensure food for their families in the midst of drought and unpredictable seasons triggered by climate change. But discrimination against women by government agencies often denies them access to the seeds, tools and training that could help them boost their harvests.

With the support of MADRE and our partner organization, Zenab for Women in Development, these women banded together. They formed the first Women Farmers’ Union in Sudan, sharing resources and combining their efforts to generate harvests that sustain their communities. They have built a cooperative model of land management and crop harvesting, and the ripple effects of their success have ensured that their communities thrive. With income from their harvests, women have been able to send their daughters to school and even to put a roof on a school where the women have come together to learn to read.

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These are local solutions that change women’s lives, over and over again. We must learn from these successes. They show us that the path to a sustainable, greener future is already being charted – by Indigenous women in rural Kenya, by small-scale organic farmers in Nicaragua, by unionized women in Sudan. All of this is happening thanks to the support of MADRE members who understand that women in communities hold the key to solutions that we all need.

Blog Action Day 2010 - MADRE's 'Water Rights Are Human Rights' Project in Kenya

This is the last of three blogs we are posting today as participants in Blog Action Day. This year's Blog Action Day topic is water. Our first two blogs discussed two MADRE projects - 'Clean Water for Gaza' in Palestine, and 'Women Waterkeepers' in Nicaragua - both of which work to secure access to clean water for people in the communities of our sister organizations.

Access to clean water is a human right, and yet women and their families around the globe still struggle, everyday, to obtain it. Lack of access to clean water also had broad-reaching consequences. Water-borne illnesses significantly impact a population's health, productivity is lessened due to these health problems, and women and girls must spend their time and energy fetching water and caring for the sick, instead of contributing to productivity or going to school.

In Kenya, climate change and environmental degredation have intensified the water crisis. When people in the United States flush the toilet, they use as much water as most people in Kenya use in an entire day. The Indigenous Maasai Peoples of Southwest Kenya do not have a centralized system to bring water into their community. As a result, women must walk to the nearest spring to collect water. The spring is 2.5 km away and also serves as a watering hole for livestock. The water is thus not only difficult to access, but also highly contaminated, leading to a high incidence of water-borne diseases, including cholera, typhoid and scabies. MADRE and our sister organization, the Indigenous Information Network (IIN), are working together to make clean, easily accessible water a reality in this Indigenous Kenyan community.

To do this, a water purification system has been put in place that will be managed by members of the community. This system will not only eliminate contaminants from the drinking water, but will additionally transport the water to the community, thereby drastically reducing the amount of time these women have to spend obtaining water.

For more information about MADRE's projects, and information on how to donate, click here.

A Closer Look at the MDGs: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Millennium Development Goal 2 aims to Achieve Universal Primary Education and more specifically to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, girls and boys alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Access to education can have lasting effects toward eliminating poverty and promoting economic, political and social empowerment. While the Millennium Development Goals would be incomplete without addressing universal access to education, they simultaneously fail to address the quality or content of education as well as the social forces that keep children (and primarily girls) out of school.

From Our Sister Organizations: Indigenous Information Network (Kenya)

MADRE works to make universal education a reality through a number of projects in Colombia, Sudan, and in other countries around the globe. In Kenya, MADRE is working with the Indigenous Information Network to support the Kilgoris Girls' School. The Kilgoris Girls' Secondary School is one of few schools that provide secondary education to girls in this rural region of Kenya. For families living in extreme poverty, girls are often married off at a young age in exchange for a dowry, seen as an important source of income. However, girls married at a young age are at a higher risk of maternal mortality, loss of basic freedoms and human rights, loss of mobility, and trauma caused by early sexual relations and miscarriages. They are also often subjected to the painful practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), since uncircumcised girls often bring in a lower dowry. By supporting the Kilgoris Girls' School, MADRE is not only helping girls to attend school, but we are also providing them with a safe space where they can grow and learn without the fear of a forced marriage.

For more information, read MADRE Talking Points on the Millennium Development Goals: Five Years Left.

Inadequate Sanitation Poses Risk to Kenyan Women

We all know that people have different physical needs in terms of sanitation services, whether it is due to menstruation or women's increased need for privacy.

Last month saw Amnesty International voice its concerns over the issue of Kenyan women’s access to safe and accessible sanitation services. In a report released by the organization, it was stated that women were particularly affected by the poor sanitation conditions in the slums and informal settlements. Not only are these women subjected to the indignity of inadequate provisions, which prompts many to wait till nightfall to use what facilities there are, but security in these areas is severely lacking. This means that women are at risk of gender-based violence and vulnerable to rape while trying to bathe or use the toilet. 

Presently, violence against women in these slums and settlements is unfortunately a common occurrence with the offenders rarely brought to justice. This needs to change, which is why many human rights organizations, are calling on the Kenyan government to ensure that proper facilities are provided for the people of these slums and that security measures in the form of better lighting and policing are introduced.

In such insecure situations, MADRE and our sister organizations in countries such as Haiti have helped to provide women with flashlights and whistles, which have been essential in providing security for women and girls in these communities, where there are no street lights and no reliable police protection. 

However, not only are poor sanitation conditions an issue because of the danger they present to personal security, there are also major health risks that are a consequence of these inadequate provisions. A lack of access to clean water, a basic human right, is another massive challenge facing the people of these Kenyan slums. Climate change has had a significant impact, with drought and contaminated water confounding the already difficult situation that many Kenyans are in.

To a Healthier World

In recognition of World Health Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today sought to bring awareness of the rising urbanization of the world’s population.  He noted that developing countries will see the most rapid increase of urbanization, a trend that can eventually lead to more pollution, disease (infectious and non-communicable), sanitation problems, and crime and violence.  He stated, “to a large extent these problems lie beyond the direct control of the health sector. Improving urban health therefore requires sound policies across all areas of government and awareness among all sectors of society.”

In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a campaign titled, “1,000 cities, 1,000 lives,” asking that people to share their stories of improving health. With this awareness, comes the hope that solutions for improved urban planning and investment will come about, such as “designing areas to promote physical activity and passing regulatory controls on tobacco and food safety,” or improving housing, water and sanitation conditions.

MADRE continues to join these efforts to ensure the right to health for women worldwide.  As we posted on the MADRE website today:

Health is not only the absence of disease or infirmity, but also a state of physical, mental and social well-being. The strongest determinants of health are the social, political and economic forces in our lives. How healthy we are depends enormously on our access to nutritious food, clean water and medical care, on the levels of violence and stress in our lives, on our working conditions and on the opportunities we have for love, pleasure and fulfillment.

For instance, MADRE has established small chicken and pig farms for the Ixil women in Guatemala. For these women, these farms not only serve as a source of income and food security but as a means to improve diet and nutrition. For Haiti’s earthquake survivors, MADRE continues to provide funding for medical supplies, antibiotics, water purification tablets, and food through its partnership with Zanmi Lasante Clinic. In Palestine, MADRE has partnered with Midwives for Peace to improve standards of midwifery practices and to decrease maternal and infant mortalities. In both Nicaragua and Kenya, MADRE has partnered with local organizations to provide water filtration and purification systems to decrease the onset of water borne diseases.  Read more about these programs here.

Constitution Building in Kenya after 2007

The push for a new constitution has been through a tough journey in Kenya. Since gaining independence, there have been many attempts aimed at constitutional review. The issue of constitutional review has been a political bargaining chip, and this has placed the process largely in the purview of the political class to the exclusion of other groups of interests, particularly women.

It was not until the National Constitutional Conference (popularly known as Bomas) was constituted, that women, through interest groups, were afforded the space to participate in the review process. The constitutional committee of experts, an independent group of 12 permanent members reviewing the document, features only 3 women members.

The 2007-2008 riots which erupted in Kenya after president Mwai Kibaki was declared winner of the disputed election on December 27, 2007 created a stalemate in the constitutional review process from almost all actors - whether government or civil society.

At their CSW event, the Federation of Women Lawyers, Kenya (FIDA) noted that women in Kenya need to participate in the review and decision-making process now more than ever because it is in the nation's interest that a new constitution be ratified before 2015. However, many issues important to women are not being fully discussed in the drafts of the constitution, which will force many women's interest groups to vote against the new constitution.

Beyond the question of constitutional building, FIDA called out for the Kenyan government to double its efforts to implement the Sexual Offences Act, to amend the Sexual Offences act and to criminalize marital rape, adult female genital mutilation, to pass reproductive health legislation in order to reduce maternal mortality rates and to more effectively integrate reproductive health and human rights into school curricula.

However, the situation looks grim. As reported by IPS News on March 11, 2010 Kenya's Parliamentary Select Committee (another committee able to review the constitution) deleted numerous sentences referencing basic human rights, including the right to social security, to health care services, and reproductive health care and emergency treatment. It also excluded Kenyan’s right to education, including the right to free and compulsory pre-primary and primary education as well as available and accessible secondary and post-secondary education. Rights to housing, food and water were also taken out of the document. 

Kenya has tried to renew its constitution before. In 2005, the proposed document was denied ratification by national vote. Women's groups in Kenya are emphasizing that these recent drastic deletions to the constitution suggest that parliament does not have an interest in actually passing a new and effective constitution.

Helping Hands Campaign: Empowering the Women of Tomorrow

MADRE’s sister organization in Kenya, the Indigenous Information Network (IIN), is working with the Kilgoris Girls’ School in the Transmara Area, Kenya to educate and shelter 400 young girls who are escaping Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or forced marriages. The school has asked us to provide the girls with feminine hygiene and school supplies.  

More than anything, these girls want the chance to go to school. They know that education is the key to improving their own lives and for raising awareness about the rights of women and girls in their communities.

You can help these courageous girls by providing pencils, composition books, rulers, erasers, crayons, markers, chalk, and chalkboard erasers. Donations of pads, cleansing wipes, and OTC Tylenol/Midol are also needed.

If you don’t have the supplies to donate, but still want to make a contribution to these girls, make a monetary donation to help alleviate the costs of shipping supplies to Kenya.

How to Donate Supplies:

Simply mail your donation to:

MADRE
Attn: Helping Hands
121 West 27th Street Suite 301
New York, NY 10001

Helping Hands can pick up your donation in Manhattan if it is too large for you to mail. You may also drop off your donation at the address above during our business hours, 9:30 am – 6:00 pm.

In Harm’s Way: The Impact of Kenya’s Restrictive Abortion Law

At the CSW this week, the Center for Reproductive Rights released its report, “In Harm’s Way: The Impact of Kenya’s Restrictive Abortion Law.” As they explain on their website:

Every year, at least 2,600 women die from unsafe abortion in Kenya; 21,000 more women are hospitalized annually with complications from incomplete and unsafe abortion, whether spontaneous or induced. As grim as these numbers are, they do not capture the number of women killed or disabled by unsafe abortions who never visit a health facility or whose cause of death is not recorded.

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In Harm's Way clearly demonstrates that the weaknesses in Kenya's healthcare system documented in these reports are further exacerbated when it comes to a medical procedure that is perceived as illegal and heavily stigmatized.

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The Center has been working on issues related to Kenyan healthcare for several years and, in two previous human rights fact-finding reports, has documented violations of women's human rights with respect to women's experiences with family planning, pregnancy, and childbirth in Kenyan healthcare facilities as well as the barriers to quality healthcare experienced by women living with HIV. These reports have laid the foundation for understanding the complexities of Kenya's healthcare system as well as its strengths and weaknesses. For more information and for a copy of the report, visit: http://reproductiverights.org/en/kenyahome.

This video has more:

In Harm's Way: Unsafe Abortion in Kenya from Center for Reproductive Rights on Vimeo.

Listen In: An Indigenous Peoples' Rights Activist Speaks Out from Copenhagen

A few days ago, we had the chance to speak with Edna Kaptoyo, a program officer with the Indigenous Information Network-Kenya, about her participation at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.  Below is a short excerpt of what she had to say about Indigenous organizing on climate change.  We have also provided a transcript below, including links to more information.

Transcript:

I’m Edna Kaptoyo. I work with the Indigenous Information Network-Kenya, and I am the program officer. I am in charge of climate change and forests.

From the start, it wasn’t really receptive of Indigenous Peoples because we weren’t given a chance to give an opening statement at the plenary, as we were accorded that status at other meetings. So, we had to settle for other times in the other plenaries where we were given a few minutes to give in our deliberations.

In terms of participation I would still say that there was less space.  Despite the fact that we were there in great numbers and really had a lot of input to give to the Conference of Parties.  And we did actually have to use Indigenous people who came as party delegations to try and push our issues. 

In other meetings we were allowed to participate in the informal working groups and go out when it was time for them to make a decision, but this time we couldn’t even get in.  Even the plenary access was really restricted, and we couldn’t get to the plenary because we had to have sometimes a special badge for the opening plenary.  They had given less badges which could not even cover half of the Indigenous Peoples who were there.

The message we tried to bring was built up from the Anchorage meeting we had—the Global Indigenous Peoples Summit on Climate Change, held in Alaska in April—where we came up with a declaration.  And then to Bangkok where we developed our policy statement. Basically, we are talking about the principles that should be observed by Parties, and the first one was the rights of Indigenous Peoples as stipulated in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Secondly, the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples and their full and effective participation in the process at national, regional and international level. And thirdly, respect for the traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, as a science that can be used to combat and cope with climate change.  So, those were the three messages in the policy documents.

Indigenous people, we had a series of protests—peaceful protests—and one of them was on the REDD program, the reducing emissions from degradation and deforestation.  And we actually made a human chain, and we did it in the Bella Center where the venue was. We went around and said we were calling for “no rights, no REDD.”  So, if you don’t give us, if you don’t have our language in REDD on rights, we are not going to support the REDD program. And actually we had a lot of support and the text that came in this week—the negotiating text—they actually removed the brackets on the language that was on the respect of Indigenous Peoples rights.

My impression is for the first time at least, first looking at the global aspect is we, Indigenous people, for the first time came out in great numbers, worked together, and we were from all over the world and really worked together to really push on our suggestions, our text proposals at the climate change meeting. Secondly also I think, for the first time, I think we are making at least a first step.  It is really where the Indigenous Peoples are trying to organize themselves. Because the Forum was not really that strong but now it is getting stronger and really try to get structures around it.

Thirdly, it was also a challenge, we had these communications in terms of giving information back and the feedback mechanism and its good because we had Indigenous People from the local level participating and because they are getting the impact there they are very willing to bring information back to their communities.

I think we made a major step in trying to create and to look at what the position of the government is and where they could support us.  And I think when I get back I also have to tell them what happened and what were the setbacks and what were the achievements and then you have to strategize again how to continue participating.  Because this Conference of Parties, this is not the end of the meetings and not the end of, in terms of getting the rights of people into the text and also in the climate change convention itself.

Three Years Without Rain: Kenya on Verge of Total Crisis

Kenya has experience three consecutive years of failed rains, and it is now facing the worst drought in nine years. 

Families have been displaced; forced to leave their homes and their way of life, to live in areas where there is some water so their children and remaining livestock do not perish. This news article describes how Hawa Hassan, along with many others from her village, journeyed for days leaving her home and her life behind to move to a settlement with access to water. “I can't feel good about being in a settlement,” she says. “It has been forced on me. I don't wish it for my life.”

Some families have undertaken desperate survival strategies, including removing their children from school to work. Others watch as their children die of hunger, knowing they may face the same fate.

Many Kenyan communities rely heavily on livestock and the maize crop, which is very susceptible to climate change.  Now, they painfully watch as their fields turn to dust and their herds die of thirst.

Over a million people are currently in desperate need of aid and the World Food Programme (WFP) has described the crisis as a "very difficult situation." WFP has distributed aid to about 2.6 million people, out of the 3.8 million that need help. And if those numbers are not staggering enough, the Kenya Red Cross estimates up to 10 million people could face hunger and starvation within six months due to poor harvest, crop failures and rising commodity prices.

As one elderly woman so devastatingly predicted:  "If the rains fail, we are all in trouble. It's not just going to be the animals dying. We'll die too, and it's not going to take long."