myMADRE

Video: Distributing Whistles and Saving Lives

A Brief Video Glimpse of a KOFAVIV Gathering of Haitian Women Organizers

Since returning from Haiti a couple of weeks ago, I have been eager to share some of the video that we captured while we were there.  So as not to keep our blog readers waiting, I have pulled together this short video, providing just a very brief glimpse of the incredible work we saw our partners engaged in.

Keep an eye on this blog for more video as it becomes available!

Video: Born into War - Child Soldiers in Colombia

Press Conference on the New UN Women's Entity

Today, the UN held a press conference to announce the launch of the new UN women's entity to be called UN Women.  The full video of the press conference is below (or you can click here to watch).  Check it out to see how the UN representatives respond to questions like: Why call it an entity? What were the obstacles in its formation?  What in the mandate will make it stronger than previous UN bodies working on women's empowerment?  How will it be financed?  How will the Under-Secretary be chosen? 

Plus, keep an eye out for a nod to the role of the GEAR campaign in bringing this major development about.

Video of the Testimony by Malya Villard-Appolon, Haitian Women's Rights Activist, before the UN Human Rights Council

Earlier today, MADRE partner and women's rights activist Malya Villard-Appolon testified before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.  She spoke about her experience as a woman living in a camp for displaced people in Haiti, and she spoke about the devastating levels of sexual violence she has witnessed through her work to support rape survivors.

Below are two videos that document her testimony.  The first presents her words in the original French, while in the second, you will hear the voice of an English-speaking translator.

Human Rights Radio in Peru: Voices for Justice

The following piece was excerpted from a report Natalia Caruso (MADRE Program Coordinator) and I wrote for 2009 edition of the publication Youth Media Reporter.  Natalia recently returned from visiting the human rights radio project led by our sister organization in Peru, CHIRAPAQ.

 “Our dream is to have our own radio for our organization in Huayllahuara,” explained Luz Moya, a youth leader and representative of the Association of Peasant Women of Huancavelica-ASMUC. She had traveled eight hours in order to participate in a training on communications and radio for Indigenous women.

Her dream emerges from a long history of silencing Indigenous Peoples’ voices in Peru. In a nation only beginning to recover from decades of political repression and violence, Indigenous Peoples in Peru have fought to survive. Between 1980 and 2000, in the years of civil conflict, over 69,000 people were killed. Over 600,000 people were displaced and 4,000 “disappeared.” Of these staggering numbers, some three-quarters of the victims were Indigenous.  Indigenous youth have particularly suffered the impacts of disenfranchisement and lack of opportunity.

These numbers may illustrate the scale of the suffering created by warfare, but they are inadequate to reflect the individual lives and stories behind the statistics.

The Peruvian Indigenous rights organization CHIRAPAQ was thus founded to ensure that the voices and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples would not be ignored. Towards that end, CHIRAPAQ launched the “Sapinchikmanta” or “Voices for Justice” radio series in 1993. It broadcasts daily programs in municipalities across the country to demand recognition and respect for Indigenous communities.

Based in Vilcashuamán, Ayacucho, the radio program is produced and conducted by 10 young women and men from the surrounding communities. The programs are transmitted in both Spanish and Quechua, an Indigenous language.

Crucially, youth radio producers affiliated with CHIRAPAQ conduct trainings to embed and further develop the skills necessary to produce this media. In workshops held in public spaces, Indigenous youth gather to learn to produce short-programs, which are then broadcast on Sapinchikmanta radio.

In geographically isolated areas where transportation is seldom available, the Sapinchikmanta program reaches hundreds of people who might otherwise be left without access to necessary services. It provides vital information on sexual and reproductive rights, family planning, prevention of sexual abuse and domestic violence, prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and other critical health information. Beyond issues of health, Sapinchikmanta fosters discussion on intercultural and bilingual education, climate change, racism, discrimination, youth rights, women’s rights, Indigenous Peoples collective rights and political participation.

Such radio programs are often accompanied by workshops—on sexual and reproductive health, human rights, and radio production techniques—conducted by the youth leadership of the Sapinchikmanta program in rural areas. This connection is invaluable: a person who hears a program is able to create a link with CHIRAPAQ as an organization, build a community with other Indigenous youth and reinforce the identity of Indigenous Peoples.

Based on the idea that “information is power,” young Indigenous people like Luz Moya in Peru are using this radio program to empower their communities and to undermine discrimination and invisibility. The Sapinchikmanta radio programs are a reflection of young Indigenous people assuming a powerful role in their communities. By using microphones and recorders to collect music and stories, and producing a program on a specific topic, they amplify their demands and contribute to build a movement of Indigenous Peoples in the country.

Natalia recorded this video while visiting the radio project:

Video: Organizing for Haitian Women's Rights

If you didn't get a chance to attend the event last week on Haitian women's role in reconstruction or to check out the live Twitter feed, below is a short video with some highlights.

On Daily Life in Haiti

This week, Marie St. Cyr and Laura Flanders--both MADRE board members--sat down on Laura's show GRITtv to talk about Marie's recent return from Haiti.  The video is below.

MADRE Partner Tarcila Rivera Zea Speaks at CSW Session

Tarcila Rivera Zea, president of MADRE's partner organization in Peru, CHIRAPAQ, spoke during the morning session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 3.

Tarcila, a Quechua activist, spoke about the importance of including the voices of Indigenous women at both local and international levels.

Watch the video (in Spanish): 

Round-Up of the "Colombian Children of War" Video Series

Our online video series on "Colombian Children of War" has come to an end!  We hope that you found the videos we've been posting over the past two weeks worthwhile and that you had the chance to learn more about our work with our amazing sister organization Taller de Vida.

In case you'd like to revisit some of the entries in this series, here is the full list:

• Colombian Children of War Speak Out – A VIDEO SERIES (February 12)
• The Use of Child Soldiers Worldwide (February 13)
• What It Means To Be a Woman in Colombia (Feburary 16)
• Girls Growing Up in an Armed Group (February 16)
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Use of Child Soldiers (February 17)
• Partnership to Protect Children of War (February 18)
• Three Color Circus (February 19)
• The Power of Theater (February 22)
• Rapping at Fear (February 23)
• Sueños pa’ lante (Dreams going foward) (February 24)
• Bogota: Like Any Other City (February 25)