The WP project - a proof of international networking and support
Thanks to a good and trustful cooperation among IAW members worldwide, the WP project has been successful ever since its beginnings. But let us not forget that all this was also made possible thanks to small or large donations and the careful handling of very tight budgets by our IAW-colleagues on site!
That’s why this time we report about some tasks of the WP team in Europe and the sponsorship.
First of all our thanks go once again to Gudrun Haupter, Germany, for her great commitment. Together with Ursula Nakamura, she started the WP project in 2017. This was possible thanks to her excellent contacts with several IAW organisations in Africa over many years. Her great experience in general and her many good ideas were very helpful. Due to age, Gudrun has now given up her mandate as co-coordinator of the WP project. We are wishing her good health.
Heidi Bodmer, Switzerland, who was previously involved in women’s projects in Bosnia, has been active in the WP team for some time and is the new co-coordinator. She likes this stimulating but also demanding job.
All information and enquiries go to the WP Co-Coordinators, where they are also dealt with accordingly.
In addition we are in regular contact with our IAW colleagues in Africa or Asia. This often happens by email, but also via social media. No wonder! Because in remote areas – and often even in larger cities! – the internet connections are very poor. So at least sometimes an message can be sent via WhatsApp. It is also not surprising that our IAW colleagues send us their impressive photos about their WP events by WhatsApp. Later on they can be uploaded, be it on the official IAW website or on our special WP website.
Maybe this is the key for the understanding of the WP project’s success:
When one sees the pictures of all these highly interested pupils attending schools in rural and impoverished areas then one can “watch closely” what is happening to the students during the WP events. When one also reads the reports written by our IAW colleagues, the organizers of these activities, then one gets fully aware of the positive effects on the girls:
Knowing the biological cycle is an important key to empowerment for life!
Publicity is important for the promotion of the WP project in general, and it is essential for the sponsoring. Therefore the support of the IAW members living in rather affluent countries for this promising project is essential. Maybe one is working within an IAW-member organisation, or as an individual IAW member, whatsoever one might find ways to raise some money.
We are presenting here just a few examples:
IAW board member, Dr. Sibylle von Heydebrand from Switzerland, being invited as a speaker on official conferences and talking about United Nations also mentioned the need for a better menstrual health management in the developing countries. She explained the WP project and asked for a donation.
When in April 2023 we had the chance to meet Anne Yotchou from Cameroon on her trip to Europe Sibylle quickly organized an interview with a weekly of the Basel region emphasising on the WP project.
Annemarie Heiniger and some members of the ADF-SVF affiliate in Basel are collecting each year money for women in developing countries during the 1st of May demonstrations. They refer to the women’s strike “Bread and Roses” in USA 1912 by selling red roses in the streets. This year they also disseminated WP flyers. The passer-byes paid a lot of attention to this action and supported it by donations.
