Members' Spotlight Archives

KAIROS’ Women of Courage Empowers Women Peacebuilders

by Cooperation Canada | Sep 26, 2019 | Gender Equality, Members' Spotlight, News

The Women, Peace and Security Group – Parliamentary Visit (Photo submitted by KAIROS)

Throughout Gender Equality Week, CCIC will highlight the work that some of our members are doing to advance gender equality. This blog post was written by Rachel Warden of KAIROS Canada.

“Knowing the Organización Femenina Popular has allowed me to recover my life project, to believe in myself again, to give myself the right to feel joy, to heal emotionally and psychologically. Now, I also believe that I can help other women so that they might not experience violence and so that they believe in peace.” – Nancy, who participated in a training on Colombia’s Peace Agreement, spoke about the impact of the Organización Femenina Popular, a KAIROS partner, on her life.

This is one of many stories of change we heard during the first year of KAIROS’ Women of Courage: Women, Peace and Security (WPS) program. Participants in the program spoke of claiming their rights to heal and take legal action.

In just one year, the program undertook critical steps towards transformative change for women victims and survivors of violence in the Global South – despite regional difference, escalating security threats and political challenges.

The WPS program is based on solid evidence that women victims and survivors of violence in armed conflict and post conflict situations are empowered through psychosocial and legal support. This support helps them heal, restore their self-esteem and realize legal rights, becoming key voices in peace building processes.

Partners include: Héritiers de la Justice, in the Democratic Republic of Congo; National Council of Churches in the Philippines; South Sudan Council of Churches National Women’s Programme (SSCC-NWP); Organización Femenina Popular (OFP), in Colombia; and Wi’am: Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, in the West Bank.

During the first year, KAIROS and its partners achieved significant results despite challenges. Partners reported that a total 4,700 direct beneficiaries were reached: more than 1,000 women survivors of gender-based violence received psychosocial, over 600 women and men participated in gender awareness training and more than 1,100 women and men participated in training sessions on national and international frameworks.

Furthermore, close to 800 women were trained as human rights facilitators and 109 campaigns were organized, advocating for legislation, law reform and implementation that related to women, peace and security, including campaigns directed at male allies in government, multilateral organizations and media.

“These lessons on human rights have certainly opened my eyes to see the imbalance not only in our households, but also in our institutions,” said Captain John Jeremiah, a Chaplain who participated in SSCC-NWP’s training on gender justice and human rights.

A unique component of this program is the focus on South-South and South-North gatherings and exchanges. In November 2018, an inaugural South-South gathering brought all partners together in Toronto to share experiences and strategies. Partners later travelled to Ottawa for important meetings with Parliamentarians, government and other civil society organizations.

Key international days and events such as the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women (November 25-December 10), International Women’s Day (March 8) and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) provided opportunities to highlight the partners’ work and advocate for women peacebuilders.

KAIROS launched the WPS program in 2018 in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, which injected $4.5 million over five years to support the work of these grassroots women-focused organizations. This support is made possible with matching funding from KAIROS member churches and development agencies, religious communities and individual donors.

KAIROS’ partners are a testament to the courageous and effective work of grassroots women-focused programs in peacebuilding and are a concrete example of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy in action.

Rachel Warden

Partnerships Manager, KAIROS Canada

Rachel is KAIROS’ Partnerships Manager. She has been involved in the human rights and social justice work of the churches for more than 20 years and in solidarity and social justice movements for much longer, starting with the anti-apartheid and divestment movement and the Nicaraguan solidarity movement in high school and university.

She holds an honours degree in International Development Studies from the University of Toronto, and a graduate certificate Gender and Peacebuilding from the University of Peace of the United Nations in Costa Rica.

Rachel is an experienced Popular and Adult Educator and fearless flute player and member of the Fallen Angles musical group. Finally, but most importantly to her, she is the mother of two beautiful, wise, compassionate and independent young women.

Bridging the Gap in Gender Equality and Adolescent Nutrition Education

by Cooperation Canada | Sep 24, 2019 | Gender Equality, Members' Spotlight, News

Nutrition International launched a free online course titled Adolescent Nutrition and Anaemia to help fill a gap in available training and education and to support action in this very important area.

Throughout Gender Equality Week, CCIC will highlight the work that some of our members are doing to advance gender equality. This blog post has been written by Dr. Marion Roche, Senior Technical Advisor for Adolescent and Women’s Health and Nutrition, with Nutrition International.

After the first 1,000 days, adolescence is the most rapid period of growth and development. It is also a period when lifestyle and dietary habits can be formed and offers a window of opportunity for interventions to improve nutrition at this critical period. Despite this, adolescents are often missed by health and nutrition interventions, as until recently they had not been viewed as a priority.

This is especially true for adolescent girls, who are particularly affected by malnutrition, partly due to their specific biological needs.

Iron deficiency anaemia is recognized as the number one cause of disability adjusted life years―defined as lost years of optimal health―in adolescent girls 10 to 19 years of age globally.

Anaemia is an indicator of both poor nutrition and poor health and results in negative health consequences, including decreases in potential school performance in children and adolescents due to slowed cognitive and socioemotional development and difficulties in concentration. For adolescent girls, this can mean challenges focusing in school and a lack of energy to participate in community or household activities, therefore disrupting their educational opportunities and economic empowerment. In addition, should an adolescent girl become pregnant, iron deficiency anaemia can put both the mother and her baby at great health risk.

Although the importance of adolescent health and the devastating impacts of iron deficiency anaemia have been acknowledged globally, there is currently no one-stop-shop for information about adolescent nutrition and anaemia. There is a need for greater focus on, and more resources allocated to, improving nutrition for adolescents around the world as this is a critical period of growth and development. Nutrition International’s online course on Adolescent Nutrition and Anaemia helps bridge this knowledge gap.

We worked with experts in the field, learning specialists and course designers to develop this thorough course for more than a year in order to bring the highest caliber information in an easy-to-use video format for use by adolescent nutrition program officers, implementers, partners, nutrition graduate students, health providers, policy makers and decision makers.

We’re thrilled at the enthusiasm that has been shown for the course already, as well as the positive feedback we’ve received. The knowledge acquired through this course will build the capacity of individuals and organizations to better understand and address the nutrition of adolescents, ultimately working to overcome gender inequalities and to improve nutrition for adolescents.

We must build our global capacity to support girls to feel empowered to have access to adequate health and nutrition, to have equal opportunity to receive quality education and to eventually participate in the workforce.

More information on the free registration and the Adolescent Nutrition and Anaemia Course full syllabus is available at our website here.

Marion Roche

Senior Technical Advisor for Adolescent and Women’s Health and Nutrition

Marion Roche joined Nutrition International in 2011 and is the Senior Technical Advisor for Adolescent and Women’s Health and Nutrition. In her role, Marion supports and provides strategic direction to Nutrition International’s programs that advocate, build capacity, and generate evidence to improve adolescent girls’ and women’s health and nutrition.

Marion leads the design, introduction, scale-up and evaluation of adolescent nutrition interventions – a growing area of interest and investment, globally.

Marion works with national governments and partners to strengthen access to delivery platforms for adolescent and women’s nutrition interventions, including weekly iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation to prevent anaemia. Her goal is to support adolescent girls and women to thrive and be valued.

With over 12 years of experience in public health nutrition program implementation, and implementation research, Marion has worked extensively to improve maternal, infant and child nutrition with a focus on innovative interventions.

Marion has expertise in behaviour change communication, community and global nutrition, infant and young child feeding, intervention design and evaluation, implementation research, qualitative research and social marketing. She has a PhD in Nutrition, a MPH in Global Health and a MSc Nutrition.

Empowering Women in Unexpected Ways – The Interconnection Between Gender and Blindness

by Cooperation Canada | Sep 23, 2019 | Gender Equality, Members' Spotlight, News

With limited access to clean water in her small village in Kenya, Anne contracted blinding trachoma. She lost all vision in her right eye and some in her left. Through Operation Eyesight’s SAFE program (which stands for Surgery, Antibiotics, Face washing and hygiene education, and Environmental improvement), Anne received surgery to treat the trachoma. Her pain is gone, and her remaining vision in her left eye has been preserved, allowing her to continue to provide for her nine children.

Throughout Gender Equality Week, CCIC will highlight the work that some of our members are doing to advance gender equality. This guest blog post was written by Dr. Mary G. Alton Mackey, Board Director of Operation Eyesight Universal.

Blindness is a gender issue. Blindness discriminates. Fifty-five per cent of the world’s blind are women and girls. More than 20 million women and girls are blind, and 120 million are visually impaired. Four out of five people who are blind don’t need to be.

And this injustice is magnified in developing countries. Women face additional barriers to accessing eye care that men don’t: lack of education, limited decision-making power, restricted access to financial resources and a lower perceived priority.

One reason for the disparity is that women live longer than men so they are more likely to develop age-related, non-communicable eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma and macular degeneration. But despite the fact that more women than men are affected by the condition, cataract surgery rates are lower for women.

And this is only part of the picture.

Women and girls are at greater risk of contracting trachoma, an infectious eye disease that leads to irreversible blindness. Seventy per cent of those affected by blinding trachoma are women. Very young children are at risk for trachoma, and three times as many girls as boys suffer from it.

Women and girls are at increased risk for infectious eye diseases because of their traditional roles. Women and girls carry the burden of taking care of their relatives who suffer from trachoma or other eye conditions. Not only does this increase their risk of contracting trachoma themselves, but it often limits their opportunities to go to school or find employment.

Women who are blind carry the double burden of discrimination because of their disability and their gender, which can lead to social exclusion. This impacts their ability to do day-to-day activities, increases their risk of injury, and leaves them more vulnerable to violence and depression.

To achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Health Organization’s VISION 2020 goals, eye care programs must eliminate all forms of inequity in access to eye care for women and girls. Eye care programs must recognize that women and girls have different needs, preferences and constraints, and women and girls should be at the centre of eye health programming.

Organizations must work with local communities to understand the barriers women face, take affirmative action in training and human resource development to ensure there are more women in the health care system, and remove the barriers to access to services. In addition, programs should integrate eye health services into maternal and reproductive health facilities to give pregnant women access to eye health screening that is not provided routinely, and provide outreach to villages where eye disease remains largely undiagnosed and untreated.

Operation Eyesight works with local hospital and government partners to provide quality eye care services to everyone – regardless of gender, age, ability to pay or other personal circumstances – while working to address the many root causes of avoidable blindness and remove barriers to health care, specifically and deliberately targeting the barriers for women and girls. I’m especially proud of Operation Eyesight’s focus on community outreach and education. We train community health workers – women who live and work in our target communities – to conduct door-to-door eye screenings and educate families about eye health and general health topics such as prenatal care, nutrition and immunization. This approach allows us to reach women and girls who might otherwise go unreached, ensuring those with eye health issues are referred to a partner hospital or vision centre for treatment. Community health workers also refer women and their families to primary health care facilities for pre/postnatal care, vitamin A supplementation, immunizations, etc. These are just a few examples of how Operation Eyesight is embedding SDG 5: Gender Equality into our everyday work.

Dr. Mary Alton Mackey

Operation Eyesight Universal donor and Board director

Dr. Mary G. Alton Mackey is an international consultant in food and nutrition with extensive national and international experience in health, food, and nutrition policy and program areas. Her expertise includes bilateral project management, project identification, proposal development, project implementation and evaluation (for both bilateral and non-governmental organizations).

It was Operation Eyesight’s community-based, sustainable approach that enticed Mary to join the Board.

“Integrating high-quality clinical activities with community outreach that encourages healthy behaviours through water, hygiene and sanitation is exactly the approach needed in the fight against avoidable blindness.”

New CCIC Member: MEDA

by Cooperation Canada | Sep 4, 2019 | Members' Spotlight, News

We are happy to welcome MEDA as CCIC’s newest member! MEDA – Mennonite Economic Development Associates – is an international economic development organization whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty.

Since 1953, MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) has been implementing effective market-driven programs globally.  MEDA combines innovative private sector solutions with a commitment to the advancement and empowerment of excluded, low-income and disadvantaged communities (including women and youth) with core expertise in market systems and value chains, climate-smart agriculture, financial services, and impact investment. MEDA partners with local private, public and civil society actors, strengthening individuals, institutions, communities and ecosystems, and thereby contributing to sustainable and inclusive systemic change.

MEDA works to:

Alleviate poverty
Support sustainable business growth and livelihoods
Help women move into more valued and equitable roles in their economies
Support businesses and small entrepreneurs gain access to financial services including investment, adopt clean technologies/climate-smart approaches, and minimize their environmental footprint
Improve local economies

For more information, visit their website here.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief: A Long-Standing History of Responding to Injustice Around the World

by Cooperation Canada | Aug 21, 2019 | Members' Spotlight, News

Interview with Rev. Dr. Karin Achtelstetter, Executive Director of CLWR

As we commemorated World Humanitarian Day just a few days ago, we wanted to profile one of our members who has had a long experience working in humanitarian assistance around the world. In this edition of Spotlight on our Members, we spoke with Rev. Dr. Karin Achtelstetter to learn more about the work of Canadian Lutheran World Relief.

CCIC: What do you think other organizations can learn from CLWR’s work?

Karin Achtelstetter: Next year is our 75^th year responding to disaster, conflict and injustice around the world, and we’ve learned a lot in that time. But I think the most important thing isn’t what we’ve already learned—it’s that we’re still learning. That posture is critically important in our sector.

I’m proud that we’re continuing to grow as we learn from the local organizations we partner with around the world, as we learn from the people our projects serve, and as we learn from our colleagues in this work through networks like CCIC. One of the ways that learning has shaped us the most is in the way we respond to the global refugee crisis – everything from emergency humanitarian assistance to long-term development support to refugee resettlement in Canada.

CCIC: Since World Humanitarian Day was only a few days ago, could you share how CLWR works to address the humanitarian-development nexus and to address both short-term needs as well as long-term sustainable development?

KA: Our story as an organization begins with displacement, with help given to refugees of war back in 1946, and we’ve grown to an organization that focuses on a holistic response to displacement, forced migration, and food insecurity.

Much of our humanitarian assistance work around the world continues to focus on internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees in places like Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC, South Sudan, Jordan, and Myanmar. Approaching this work from a human rights-based perspective means that we must not only pay attention to meeting short-term needs, but also address the ongoing barriers to advancing human rights and improving quality of life.

So, in a place like Myanmar where so many Rohingya have been displaced, we’re working with women and girls in IDP camps to provide basic language, literacy and leadership skills so that they can take a more active role in community decision-making processes and accessing services. With a view to the future, these skills will also prepare them for future resettlement as it will allow for increased interactions with their ethnic Rakhine neighbours.

“Approaching this work from a human rights-based perspective means that we must not only pay attention to meeting short-term needs, but also address the ongoing barriers to advancing human rights and improving quality of life.”

CCIC: CLWR have designated young adult board members. How do you perceive the role of young people in your work and how has your board been influenced by those young adult members?

KA: Young people aren’t just the future of our work – they’re our present. We’re so proud that as our founding generation passes the torch, there are so many young Canadians who are so committed to challenging injustice.

Youth engagement can’t just be a way to try to convince young people to donate, because they want and deserve more than that. We need their perspectives and we need them to challenge us as an organization to be the best we can. Their voice is so valuable, so a board without young adult board members is unthinkable for CLWR. Young adult board members very often bring new perspectives to critical discussions about our work and future, and they make sure we’re linked to their communities and hearing those voices we need.

CCIC: We are proud to have CLWR among our membership. What does CLWR value about its membership with CCIC and how would you like to see this relationship grow in the future?

KA: CLWR really values its engagement in various CCIC working groups including the Food Security Policy Group, the Humanitarian Response Network, and the Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Group. Having the chance to network, learn, and advocate with other CCIC members on relevant issues strengthens our ability to carry out our mission and provide quality programming. As a primarily Winnipeg based organization, we are excited by CCIC’s recent efforts to provide more opportunities to members outside of Ottawa/Toronto and would like to see this continue to grow.

“Young people aren’t just the future of our work – they’re our present. We’re so proud that as our founding generation passes the torch, there are so many young Canadians who are so committed to challenging injustice.”

Rev. Dr. Karin Achtelstetter

Executive Director of Canadian Lutheran World Relief

Rev. Dr. Karin Achtelstetter is Executive Director of Canadian Lutheran World Relief.

Prior to CLWR, she was the General Secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication. She also has extensive experience working with CLWR partners including The Lutheran World Federation, ACT Alliance and the World Council of Churches.

As an ordained Lutheran pastor and through her years of executive leadership experience, she has firsthand experience working with churches, grassroots communities and project partners around the world.

In her work with CLWR, Karin champions a focus on empowering girls and women throughout CLWR’s programming.

Hospital-Based Community Eye Health – a Model to Empower Local Communities

by Cooperation Canada | Jul 24, 2019 | Members' Spotlight, News

Aly speaking with one of Operation Eyesight’s beneficiaries in Kenya. The man had just received cataract surgery at the new eye unit at Kerugoya County Referral Hospital, Operation Eyesight’s partner hospital in Kirinyaga County.

Interview with Aly Bandali, President & CEO, Operation Eyesight Universal

CCIC: Congratulations on being recognized by Charity Intelligence as one of the Top 10 Impact Charities of 2018.  What do you think earned Operation Eyesight Universal that recognition?

Aly Bandali: I believe we received this recognition because we leave a lasting impact in the communities we serve. Over a decade ago, Operation Eyesight made the decision to move from an aid agency to a development agency. That was the catalyst, because then the focus of the organization shifted from giving a hand out to giving a hand up. With this mentality, we developed our Hospital-Based Community Eye Health model, which focuses on empowering local communities to take ownership of the issue of avoidable blindness.

Operation Eyesight taps into local resources rather than sending human resources from Canada, which helps us leverage our buying power and gain an economy of scale when we’re working internationally. It’s also empowering for communities to know that there are fellow community members helping other community members – local Kenyans helping Kenyans, for example. This helps us leverage donations and maximize our impact in many ways.

CCIC: Operation Eyesight Universal applies a unique model of Hospital-Based Community Eye Health. What do you think are some of the lessons you have learnt from applying this model that other organizations might be able to learn from?

AB: Operation Eyesight has always maintained a firm commitment to sustainability and quality, and the development of our model based on these two factors gives us the ability to focus on leaving communities versus staying in them. Empowering communities to develop their own health-seeking behaviour is a way for us to work ourselves out of a community, rather than be known for being in that community on a long-term, dependent basis. Ultimately, our goal is to work ourselves out of business!

Our model shares the focus between supply and demand. Most NGOs tend to focus on supply, building capacity in the community when it comes to hospitals, equipment and training. But unless the community is empowered and creates their own demand, there’s no sustainability in that. Other organizations can learn from our model, linking supply to the communities themselves, so they can own it and be part of the development, and building the trust as you link the two together.

Another part of our model that others can learn from is the focus on leveraging research done by others in the past. For example, focusing especially on women as community health workers has a significant impact on building communities, developing trust and sustaining relationships with our partner hospitals. In the countries we work, women and girls are typically underserved because of cultural biases towards men and boys. By giving women the opportunity to become community health workers, we provide them with opportunities to contribute to the economic growth and social activity of their families and communities. We also ensure women and girls are given the same level of access to eye care services and the same quality treatment as men and boys. When a girl can see to go to school, it’s going to have a generational impact on her ability and her family’s ability to be productive, educated and socially engaged.

CCIC: What goals and milestones are you particularly looking forward to working towards in the coming year(s)?

AB: Having a list of countries where we are no longer needed, and ultimately working ourselves out of a job.

CCIC: Operation Eyesight Universal is new to the CCIC community, welcome! Why did you become a CCIC member?

AB: Your president and CEO, Nicolas Moyer, paid me a visit and told me about the refocus of the organization, the new strategic direction CCIC is headed in, and the role you play in facilitating connectivity and networking. This appealed to us because it gives us an avenue for building as well as being part of the international development community here in Canada. We look forward to having a peer network and leveraging CCIC’s expertise to develop key relationships. We’re working on the international stage, but because we’ve been based in Calgary for 56 years, we’re a bit isolated from the main centres like Ottawa and Toronto. Being a member of CCIC gives us the ability to connect with like-minded organizations nationally.

Aly Bandali

President & CEO, Operation Eyesight Universal

Aly Bandali is the President and CEO of Operation Eyesight Universal, a Calgary-based international development organization that works to prevent blindness and restore sight in developing countries around the world.

Aly has enjoyed a 25-year career in human resources and leadership in Calgary in non-profit, technology, and oil and gas. His speciality areas include leadership development, talent management and human resource business strategy. He has been described as a leader who is business-focused, entrepreneurial, results-oriented, innovative, professional and passionate about making a difference.

Aly holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta. He has served in a number of volunteer leadership roles in the HR community in Alberta and nationally. He was awarded the Fellow Chartered Professional in Human Resources Designation in 2016 by CPHR AB (Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Alberta) for exceptional service, impact on the HR profession and HR career.

As a father of two wonderful children, Zaman and Ayesha, and husband to Farah, Aly places high value on strong family and community connections. He values honesty, integrity, and giving back to the community.