What we are doing to make a difference
and how you can help

The Global Fund for Women is an international network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice, and the world’s largest foundation devoted exclusively to the advancement of women’s human rights. In its 20 years, the Global Fund for Women has given grants totaling nearly 62 million dollars to over 3,000 grassroots women’s groups in 167 countries.

Over the past three years we have invested over half a million dollars in Congo to help courageous women’s groups to continue their groundbreaking work to challenge and transform a culture of violence and impunity.

Over the next three years, the Global Fund will commit an additional million dollars in grants to the Great Lakes region — DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and the border region of Tanzania — and we will do everything in our power to encourage our peers in the philanthropic community to increase the resources available to local activists. We believe that to support and protect the women of Congo is to support all humanity.

TAKE ACTION 

1. Sign the solidarity letter posted on our website that will be sent to GFW grantee partners and advisors in the Congo. 
2. Make a tax-deductible donation to the Global Fund for Women, which helps support groups working to end violence against women and girls around the globe.  Donate at www.globalfundforwomen.org.
3. Join our partners V-Day and UNICEF in their campaign to stop the sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls of DRC. Write to the President of DRC, Joseph Kabila Kabange, urging him to end the violence against women and girls.
   You can find it here.
4. Tell your Congressional representatives that you care what is happening to women in Congo. Ask them what they are doing to end sexual violence at home and abroad. Your voice makes a difference!
5. Learn more about what is happening in Congo and how women are mobilizing for peace. Tell your friends – take collective responsibility.

Below are some of the groups the Global Fund for Women supports in the DRC:

Solidarité de Femmes pour la Défense des Droits Humains (SOFAD), 2007 winner of Frontline Award as Human Rights Defender, organizes human rights and gender equality dialogues; trains peace activists; forms Peace Committees/Tribunals & peace networks; provides counseling, medical & legal support to rape victims; documents abuses against women; exposes arms proliferation and more; mobilizes youth for Peace; SOFAD Drama, Music & Youth Clubs.

Réseau des Femmes pour un Développement Associatif (Women's Network for Community Development), founded in 1998 in Uvira, trains women in conflict resolution, women’s rights, and ethnic tolerance; undertakes documentation of rape as a weapon of war; lobbies the International Criminal Court; provides medical, psycho-social and legal support to victims of sexual violence; builds Internet, business management & credit skills for survivors of sexual violence, and more.

Fédération de Femmes pour la Paix et le Développement (Women’s Federation for Peace and Development), founded in 2002 in Uvira, fights for and defends the rights of women and children; educates women on their legal rights and provides psycho-social and medical support to survivors of violence; promotes peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic groups; advocates for legislative reform on rape laws, women’s representation in leadership; promotes the rule of law and accountability in the legal system.

Girls’ Education Against HIV, founded in 2002 in Bukavu, helps rape survivors rebuild their lives; offers community education on HIV prevention and care, and challenges cultural stigmas.

Solidarité des Femmes de Fizi pour le Bien-Etre Familial (Women’s Solidarity for Family Well-being), founded in 1994 in South Kivu, provides vocational training for former girl soldiers; forms girls’ education committees in 9 villages to build schools; provides remedial training for 120 girls at “Miss Schools”; furnishes medical and legal support to women living with HIV.

Voix ni Sans Voix ni Liberté (Voices with neither Voice nor Liberty) runs an Internet Café and a weekly radio show on women’s rights; installs faucets in villages; and gives seed grants to rural women.

Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Féminines (PAIF), winner of the 2006 Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy, fights against the culture of impunity in cases of violence against women; offers civic and legal education, and leadership training for women leaders; documents electoral fraud; runs radio and theater productions promoting women in decision-making; provides legal and medical support to rape survivors, and medical support to fistula sufferers.