Women for Women International

Women for Women International is an international organization advocating for women's rights.

Organization and mission

[http://www.womenforwomen.org Women for Women International] is a humanitarian organization that provides financial and emotional support to women survivors of war. Their programs help women achieve self-sufficiency through direct aid, rights education, job skills training and small business development. In 2005, the organization distributed $9.3 million in aid to 30,000 women. The organization was co-founded by Zainab Salbi.

History

Since 1993, Women for Women International has helped thousands of socially excluded women, who are often a family's sole breadwinner and caregiver, to overcome the horrors of war and civil strife — family loss and widowhood, rape, murder, forced migration, poverty, starvation, trafficking and torture — in ways that can help them rebuild their lives, families and communities.

The organization was founded by a wife and husband, Zainab Salbi and Amjad Atallah, who were motivated to act after learning of the plight of women in rape camps in the former Yugoslavia and the slow response of the international community. The organization launched its activities by creating "sister-to-sister" connections between sponsors in the United States and women survivors of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In its first year, Women for Women International worked with eight women, distributing about $9,000 in direct aid. As the organization gained experience in the field, its staff came to understand that financial assistance alone was not enough to create deeper change in the lives of women who had lost everything. Women, especially those widowed by war, needed to develop marketable skills, cultivate an understanding of their rights and potential as women and create secure ways to earn an income for years to come. In so doing, women could gradually build the strength and stature they needed to survive the horrors of war and eventually become active members of their communities.

Since 1993, Women for Women International has expanded its operations to serve more than 120,000 women survivors of war and distributed $33 million in direct aid and microcredit loans. Women for Women International now serves women in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan and builds one-to-one connections with more than 23,000 sponsors in all 50 states of the U.S. and 55 other countries.

Countries of operation

*Afghanistan
*Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Colombia
*Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Iraq
*Kosovo
*Nigeria
*Rwanda
*Sudan

Awards

2006 Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Award
In September 2006, Women for Women International was the first women's organization to receive the [http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/main.asp?id=38 Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Award] , the world’s largest humanitarian prize of $1.5 million. [http://www.hiltonfoundation.org The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation] presents the annual award to an organization that "significantly alleviates human suffering."

"Women and children bear the major burdens of the unprecedented number of wars and civil conflicts raging worldwide and are often left to rebuild their lives without the basic necessities for survival or a viable means to earn a living and take care of their families," said Steven M. Hilton, chairman and CEO of the Hilton Foundation. "Women for Women International has demonstrated that it can create change and stability within a society by providing women survivors with the tools and resources to rebuild their lives. The organization also gives women the training and confidence to engage in their communities', and ultimately their nation's economic, political and social structures," he added.

Commenting on the Hilton Prize Jury's selection of Women for Women International, Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Harvard professor and Hilton Prize juror, said, "Women for Women International has sharply identified the nature and complexities of a much neglected need associated with wars—the urgency of providing rehabilitation to people, particularly women, left destitute, impoverished or displaced by the hostilities." He added, "The organization is already protecting millions of lives from short-term agony and long-term ruination."

External links

* [http://www.womenforwomen.org/ Women for Women International homepage]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/nglive/washingtondc/f2006/single/salbi.html The Other Side of War] written by Zainab Salbi, forward by Alice Walker, published by National Geographic, photography by Susan Meiselas, Sylvia Plachy and Lekha Singh.
* [http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/7623.htm Charity Navigator Rating]

* [http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?gotoNext=/reports/partners/guidestar/showDpLink.jsp&ein=52-1838756 Guidestar Basic Listing]

Videos

* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=PD6BxE_nLrQ Organizational Video] Women for Women International Overview
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=egHc6EoybqQ The Other Side of War] images from the book with Alice Walker reading her preface.
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=g78oC1jo7dI Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Award Ceremony] Zainab Salbi accepting the 2006 prize