On Opportunity International's website there is a banner across the top which reads:

A parking meter in Australia makes more money in

one hour than 2.7 billion people make in one day.

It is calling on people to support the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17. It is, however, very relevant for us here in this lucky country of Australia to reflect on it today - Blog Action Day 2008 - as we create awareness around poverty and its eradication.

70% of people living in absolute poverty are women.

All over the world, women are the carers and nurturers of children, husbands, ageing parents, sisters, brothers, cousins, in fact, all extended family members, friends and neighbours. If they can, they will do anything for them.

But so many women across the world are living in poverty. They do not have the economic resources to do what they need to do to make a difference in their own lives and those of the people closest to them. All the "care" and "nurturing" in the world cannot feed their children, for example, or educate them or keep them healthy. It will not change their tomorrows or create new and different futures for them.

If women can be empowered, they will change the world.

They will make every small gain a winner.

Yet, currently, women are excluded from the political decision-making process in most countries and therefore prevented from influencing a change in the structures and policies of their countries that disadvantage women enormously and keep them in poverty.

What can we do to support women in poverty to empower themselves?

As we stand apart in this lucky country of ours here in Australia, we may well wonder what we can do to contribute. What can we do to support women living in a poverty we cannot even imagine. We cannot afford to let ourselves be overcome by a sense of powerlessness to help. There is much we can do.

1.We can join the organisations that are working to empower women.

These women's organisations are all over the world and achieving great things. I want to introduce 5 with which I have had some involvement. There are many others, equally worthwhile.

International Women's Development Agency Inc. (IWDA)

http://www.iwda.org.au

It's an Australian non-government organisation that supports our indigenous women and women in the Asia-Pacific region.

Alola Foundation : Strong Women Strong Nation. Empowering Women In Timor-Leste

http://www.alolafoundation.org

This is the foundation established by Kirsty Sword Gusmão, the former First Lady of East Timor to empower the women of East Timor. How true is its tagline!

Unifem Australia and Unifem International

http://www.unifem.org.au/womenpovertyecon

This is the the United Nations Development Fund for Women - the women's fund at the United Nations.

Caritas Australia and Caritas International

http://www.caritas.org.au

This a Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development that does not discriminate as to whom it works with.

Opportunity International

http://www.opportunity.org.au/home.asp 

This website is an Australian branch of an International Organisation that is committed to providing microfinance (small loans) to allow women to start small business enterprises to lift themselves out of poverty.

Check out the details of a film - In Her Footsteps - made by a group of Australian women. It explores how microfinance is "influencing a silent yet powerful revolution amongst India's poor women" - http://www.inherfootsteps.com Watch for when it comes to your state.

2.We can give financially to the programs these organisations run to empower women.

These programs are all about giving a hand up, not a hand out. The repercussions have a ripple effect on the communities in which these women live.

Have a look at IWDA's Empower program, for example, where you can pledge a monthly donation to support its programs, or a one off donation if you prefer. As little as $80.00 AUD can

  • pay a month's wage for a local woman to help develop  women's              livelihoods in tsunami-devastated Sri Lanka,
  • provide literacy classes for 45 women a month in an East Timorese community.

Young people here in Australia would spend that much on alcohol in one night out. Those of us who are older would spend at least that on one meal at a restaurant.

Caritas has a program in Nepal providing women in rural communities with business building skills and helping them set up business enterprises through group co-operatives. Read about how this works on the website. The average amount of money the women get per month from these businesses allows them to send a child to school (paying both books and fees), buy extra food and pay for health care

3. If we have skills and training we can go much further and volunteer our time to work in these organisations in these countries.

4. We can live more simply, so that others may simply live!

 

 

 

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