Welcome!
Famous Hollywood actress Roseanne Barr has said, “The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” In 1956, this is exactly what 20,000 South African Women did: they marched onto the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the apartheid pass laws. They took their power into their own hands – without regrets, and without hesitation. Today, we celebrate National Women’s Day in memory of all those women who took charge of their own power and fought for equality.
This issue of Development e-News focuses its attention on women from all walks of life and looks at their varying roles in society. In our first story, we explore the broad topic of women’s issues in Women facing obstacles in Africa, providing a snapshot of the challenges they face and the fact that there has been an increase in the number of support groups both locally and internationally. In support of this, our second story discusses the launch and aims of the new UN agency, UN Women in UN Women trailblazing gender equality and women empowerment – and the positive effects it has on the legal representation and equality for women. Our third story, Mothers milk saves lives
highlights a women-focused NGO in Cape Town, Milk Matters, which encourages women to donate breastmilk for orphaned and abandoned infants, as a result of their mothers suffering from HIV/AIDS.
The issue not only spotlights the current gender climate, but also provides references and links for you the reader to find out more information about each project and how you can show your support and get involved. Our fourth story, Show you care by volunteering looks at ways to boost staff morale and employee productivity by encouraging philanthropic initiatives within a company setting and provides keys to implementing a successful volunteer programme for your company.
Our fifth story, Grandmothers taking charge in SA townships, explores the enormous plight of these women as they take on the many roles of mother, father, friend and caregiver, whilst surviving on and sharing their meagre incomes with their families.
We also acknowledge the importance of gender equality in our sixth story, It takes two: Women and men must work together for gender equality. On that note, we would like to wish you a wonderful and memorable Women’s Day and share with you ways of commemorating the event in Celebrate Women’s Day, with a poem written to inspire you.
We hope you enjoy our newsletter and gain profound insight into female issues and the broader development sector. Please contact us if you have any questions, would like to further discuss topics or request more information on our services. You can email and phone us, or connect through our various social media channels (all information below).
Looking forward to connecting and most importantly, Happy Women's Day!
Many thanks,
The team at Creative Consulting & Development Works
Women facing obstacles in Africa
The African continent is rich in its culture and natural resources. A recent African Development Bank
report predicts that economic growth in Africa will surpass 7% this year and since 2000, the region has experienced the third-fastest economic growth in the world. However, there are still major issues faced by women in Africa, including poverty, especially for women in the rural areas, the highest childbirth mortality rate in the world, child marriage, where more than 25000 girls under the age of 18 are married every day, property and inheritance rights, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, which in many areas is commonplace, a high rate of gender violence (at least one in six women will become the victim of gender violence in her lifetime) and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, the list goes on…
Read more... 
UN Women: promoting gender equality and empowerment
According to a report by UN Women, about 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime and more than 2.6 billion live in countries where marital rape is not a criminal offence. Furthermore, 61 countries severely restrict women's rights to abortion and 50 countries have a lower legal age of marriage for women than for men. Despite these frightening statistics, women across the world are more empowered than ever before. Almost every country has pledged their commitment to ruling out discrimination against women.
However, there seems to be a gap between promising equality and actually delivering it the women it affects – hence the formation of UN Women in 2010 by the UN General Assembly, which brought together all the UN gender equality agencies under one leadership. It’s official launch took place on January 1, 2011 after the agency developed their policies and standards further, and marked an important day in the lives of women all over the world.
Read more...
Mothers milk saves lives
Breast milk may be best according to many new breasfeeding mothers and doctors, but what if that mother is HIV-positive?
According to the 2010 survey by Statistics South Africa, an estimated 40,000 children in South Africa are infected with HIV each year, which reflects the number of mother-to-child transmissions annually. And, according to the World Health Organisation, AIDS is one of the main contributors to SA’s infant mortality rate. South Africa’s 2009 National Antenatal Survey showed that 30% of pregnant women were HIV positive, which was indicative of the need for effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Read more...
Show you care by volunteering
Former American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, Muhammad Ali once said, "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth." In accordance with this quote, many South African companies have taken it upon themselves to establish staff volunteerism in an effort to boost productivity through engaging in philanthropic initiatives.
Read more...
Grandmothers taking charge in SA townships
Mother, father, friend and care-giver. Just some of the many roles South African township grandmothers have to fulfil as a result of the untimely death of their own children from HIV/AIDS. According to Statistics South Africa 2010, about 700,000 children have been left orphaned by their parents and are either heading up the households themselves, or relying on grandparents to care for them. Furthermore, according to the Human Sciences Research Council, about 3% of South African children aged 18 or younger are HIV-positive. Horrific statistics indeed and were it not for the generation of extraordinary ‘supergrannies’, many of these children would not have any care or support.
Read more...
It Takes Two: Women and Men must work together for gender equality!
As we celebrate Women’s Day 2011, it is important to keep in mind the need for an equally empowered and informed male population that will help to drive gender mainstreaming into the wider consciousness. The relational nature of gender mainstreaming necessitates the full participation of men as partners in social equity to establish gender conscious norms, which act as the unspoken values that influence social behaviour. While the repercussions of oppressive patriarchy are still felt even in this modern South African democracy, the focus cannot be placed solely on the empowerment of one gender at the expense of another. There has to be a concerted effort to work together to avoid imbalance.
Read more...
Celebrate Women’s Day
Every year, South Africa celebrates Women’s Day on August 9 to commemorate the auspicious day 55 years ago when 20,000 women of all ages and races from every corner of country marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to take a stand against the proposed legislation of the Urban Areas Act (requiring all Africans to carry a 'pass' – an identification card that further eliminated a freedom during apartheid).
Read more...
What's Up - 17th Edition
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Our Research Unit completed an extensive Winter Visitor Tracking Survey for Cape Town Roots Unlimited and visited tourist hotspots throughout the Western Cape interviewing tourists on their perceptions, background, and experiences in the region
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We are also busy preparing for an endline survey for John Snow Inc. (JSI). The KAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) survey focuses on cancer stigma and includes qualitative and quantitative data collection in three South African Provinces.
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We are also conducting a panel study for the Department of Economic Development and Tourism on pre- and post-2010 FIFA World Cup SMME (small, medium, micro-enterprises) performance.
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We are presenting a paper and exhibiting at the South African Monitoring & Evaluation Association 3rd Biennial Conference in Gauteng from the 5th to the 6th of September 2011.
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We are completing an Impact Assessment of the Poverty and Development Course implemented by HOPE Africa.
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One of our staff members recently attended the TEDx Stellenbosch Conference, which brought speakers from all over the world to discuss the events theme: Cities Africa.
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Our Communication Team has been working diligently to complete various publications and marketing material for our communication clients. These include two publications for the Southern African Aids Trust and ongoing research and uploading of the 'HIV this Week' blog for UNAIDS.
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We are also working on the next edition of a national newsletter for the National Alliance for the Development of Community Advice Offices (NADCAO). Along with the writing and newsletter creation, Michelle Cruywagen, our Communications Co-ordinator is visiting various offices throughout the country to conduct interviews and site profiles of Community Advice Offices.
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Our Research Team has grown and we welcome Paul Dube as a Researcher. Paul holds a Masters degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cape Town and will be contributing to projects and utilising his extensive knowledge and expertise in the fields of Law, Politics and Criminal Justice.
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We recently bid farewell to Lilian Kaplan, who started with us a year ago as a Research Intern before being promoted to Research Assistant. We wish her well in her new role at Mothers2Mothers. We also bid farewell to Phindeka Mfiki who recently graduated.
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We are excited about some of our new internship offerings, which include positions at organisations focused on the prevention of violence against women, a theatre-arts consortium and a refugee asylum seeking centre.
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We also launched our international street team and are recruiting young adults from the US, UK, Germany and France to help promote our internship programme and serve as our ambassadors.
If you are a non-profit and are interested in hosting one of our international interns, or if you are an international graduate and would like to intern with us or one of our host organisations in South Africa, please contact Jessica or Tiara at internships@developmentworks.co.za.
We are excited to continue working with our various established clients and look forward to new possibilities as the year continues!
We say a big thank you to the consultants and fieldworkers who have helped us in our extensive fieldwork projects and communication campaigns and have contributed their knowledge, time and expertise.
Contributors and Contact
Lindy Briginshaw (Director); Michelle Cruywagen (Communication Co-ordinator); Susannah Clarke (Research Co-ordinator); Jessica Lomelin (Project Co-ordinator); Charlene Yared-West (Contributor); Sue Maude (Bookkeeper) and Jacques van Niekerk (Technologist)
Contact
For more information about Development Works or the Development Works Newsletter, please visit our website, email media@developmentworks.co.za or call +27 21 448 2058.
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Photo credit: UN Women, World Food Programme, Milk Matters, Grannies a GoGo
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