“IT IS WOMEN WHO WILL BRING AFRICA OUT OF POVERTY”
While we would like nothing better than to see Stephen Lewis’ hopeful words come true, it will not be without the hard work of many. With Mother’s day upon us, we look at the small ways in which Canadian women are helping African women bring themselves and their families out of poverty.
Mother’s day offers people in many western countries a formal way to thank our moms for what they give us. True to its origins in goddess worship, this annual event lets every mother enjoy some well-deserved appreciation.
But what of those mothers whose dinners are cooked over a fire after walking to the well for water with a baby in the sling? Mother’s day is as foreign to most rural African women as microwaves, tap water and strollers. How could Africans begin to thank this significant group of people whose work is truly never done?
“I’d give them a day off—maybe even a weekend,” says Tania Archer, a University of Ottawa student in international development and globalization who travelled to Benin with CACHA in 2007. “Of course, this is out of the question in Benin.”
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“...100 women showed up, proud to have been asked for their input on and participation in the project!” |
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Means for an end to poverty
Humanitarian groups, together with financial institutions, are considering another kind of gift to third-world women: Microcredit. Often focussed on women, who usually lack access to finances, microcredit offers small loans for self-employment projects with the potential of bringing people out of poverty.
As volunteers on the CACHA mission to Benin discovered, the women there have ideas for such projects in abundance.
“We initially met with ten or so women in the village of Aklampa to explain the project,” says Geneviève Alary, healthcare management professional in Montreal and CACHA volunteer.
“After consulting with one another, they asked that we reschedule for the following day so they could invite their “sisters.” The next day, over 100 women showed up, proud to have been asked for their input on and participation in the project!”
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“When women have more money, they invest in family nutrition, education and health, and have fewer children in the long term.” |
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A fund of one’s own
Supporters of microcredit maintain that when women have more financial independence, all kinds of good things result.
“When women have more money, they invest in family nutrition, education and health, and have fewer children in the long term,” says Tania Archer, who is working together with Geneviève Alary on the CACHA Benin microcredit project. “The problem is that while men can usually find paid work, women usually cannot. Nor do they have access to credit.”
Hurdles
The trip was exploratory, allowing the two women to foresee not only the potential benefits but also the difficulties facing the project.
“For this project to succeed we need to be there for longer than three weeks,” says Tania Archer. “And there are economic hurdles, such as demand. Say we lend money to a woman so that she can buy a better sewing machine. Will there be demand for the extra clothes she is able to make?”
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“Equality is now legal, but between the application of a law and the changing of a culture, there will always be a lag.” |
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A woman’s place
But a more formidable hurdle by far to exiting poverty in Africa is gender inequality. Benin recently instituted a new family code in 2004 that recognizes the equality of men and women. Polygamy is now illegal, and girls and women can now legally inherit money and property from deceased parents.
“Equality is now legal,” says Geneviève Alary, “but between the application of a law and the changing of a culture, there will always be a lag.”
In a country with an infant mortality rate of between 10 and 15 percent, where malaria is the major cause of death of children under five, projects such as microcredit have the potential for improving the poor conditions.
“In the women’s eyes, I saw that same glimmer of hope that I’ve seen in the Canadian women I’ve worked with,” says Alary.
Doing a lot with very little
As a healthcare management professional in Canada, Alary couldn’t help but compare what she saw CACHA and partners accomplishing in Benin with the system at home.
“Our healthcare system is overloaded despite the resources we have at our disposal,” she says. “Our healthcare professionals depend overly on diagnostic tools to do their job. The experience in Benin only confirms with me that it is still possible to do a lot with very little.”
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“If you want to get to know the people, to truly see and understand them, you need to be there.” |
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Women working for women
CACHA volunteers often cite the ability to achieve great things with small resources as one of the most important reasons for working with the group, along with transparency and sustainable, targeted work.
“The field work is real,” says Tania Archer. “CACHA does what it says it’s going to do. There is no money disappearing. There are no big hotels. Everyone from the founder to the student stays with the local people. If you want to get to know the people, to truly see and understand them, you need to be there.”
Fieldwork with CACHA also gives students invaluable practical application to theoretical university programs.
“I thought I had learned so much in the last three years, but when I got to Benin I realized how much more I had to learn,” says Archer. “It was overwhelming. But now I have a step up on other students because of this experience.”
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