Leadership
Staff
James Savage
Program Officer for the Enabling Environment for Human Rights Defenders Program
Read bioAbout the Fund
President and CEO, Fund for Global Human Rights (US)
Read bioPresident and CEO, Fund for Global Human Rights (US)
“When governments and others in power recognise the core values of human dignity and freedom, individuals and societies at large flourish. For this to happen, we need to make sure those who experience human rights abuses have the best resources to advance long-term solutions and vigilantly monitor their progress. The Fund for Global Human Rights is at the forefront of supporting people the world over who are rising to this challenge and building a better future.”
Regan E. Ralph is the president and CEO of the Fund for Global Human Rights and has directed the organisation since its founding. Prior to launching the Fund, Regan was vice president for health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center in Washington D.C. where she led advocacy, policy and educational strategies to promote the quality and availability of health care for American women. From 1992-2001, Regan helped build and ultimately directed the Women’s Rights division of Human Rights Watch, where she developed campaigns to ensure the prosecution of sexual violence in conflict as a war crime, to secure recognition of gender-based persecution as grounds for asylum, and to promote women’s rights in countries including Russia, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Pakistan, and Mexico. Regan is a graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School and studied international law at the London School of Economics and Arabic at the American University in Cairo. She serves on the boards of EG Justice, Crisis Action, and WITNESS, the advisory council of the Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship programme at Georgetown University Law Center, the advisory committee of The Council for Global Equality, and the global practitioner council at Stanford University’s programme on Social Entrepreneurship. Regan is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Human Rights Funders Network.
Vice President for Programmes
Read bioVice President for Programmes
“Supporting frontline human rights activists on their own terms isn’t only the right thing to do, it’s the best way we can enable deep and lasting social change.”
As Vice President for Programmes at the Fund for Global Human Rights, David B. Mattingly leads an international team of activist grant-makers to resource human rights movements and build stronger, more sustainable human rights organisations. Since joining the Fund in 2005 as one of its first programme officers, David helped shape the Fund’s signature model of supporting frontline activists on their own terms and providing the funding and technical support that can boost their success. Prior to assuming leadership of the programmes team, he built grants portfolios for rights groups based in Latin America, North Africa, and West Africa; coordinated an initiative to strengthen the capacity of Mexican activists to promote public policies that expand human rights protections; and developed the Fund’s grant-making strategy to challenge rights abuses related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. After earning a BA in International Development from American University, David monitored human rights in indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico. Prior to joining the Fund, he worked at the Moriah Fund, where he helped manage grant-making programmes promoting indigenous rights, environmental protection, and women’s and reproductive rights in Central America, the US, and globally. David is particularly passionate about land and resource rights and climate justice and serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
Director of Finance
Read bioDirector of Finance
Taylor joined the Fund in April 2020 as the organization’s first director of finance, providing oversight of the Fund’s financial management systems and collaborating with departmental leaders to help ensure the Fund’s financial sustainability and the development of growth initiatives. He has over a decade of experience working in the international non-profit sector finance and operations functions, specifically in the youth development and peace-building fields, including two years living and working in the townships and rural communities surrounding Durban, South Africa. Additionally, Taylor is an adjunct faculty member in Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies’ Sports Industry Management Program and has been teaching the Social Responsibility & Globalization in Sports course since 2013.
Taylor started his career with a top international accounting firm, working with an array of clients, including nonprofits. He earned his MBA from San Diego State University and a bachelor of science (Finance and Accounting double major) degree from Fairfield University’s Dolan School of Business. He also completed the Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate program at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Controller
Read bioController
“Too many people around the world suffer because their human rights are stripped away and their lives and situations overlooked. But the Fund stands for basic human rights for all people, and for anyone working to make a real difference on the ground. That’s why I love working here.”
Kim joined the Fund in April 2017 and serves as the controller, managing the organisation’s day to day financial operations. Kim has over 15 years of accounting experience. Prior to the Fund, Kim served as the controller for Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center, and as assistant controller at the American Geophysical Union. Kim is a graduate of University of Maryland where he received his BS in Accounting. Kim volunteers on several committees lending his financial expertise.
Vice President for Development and Communications
Read bioVice President for Development and Communications
“I believe all people should have a voice in how they are governed. That is why I’m a human rights activist. I also believe that social justice organisations should embrace the same values they preach to others. That is why I work at the Fund—because it does.”
Rona Peligal joined the Fund in July 2017 as vice president for development and communications. Rona brings to the Fund a unique set of skills: knowledge of human rights issues, fundraising experience, and the ability to create materials and messages to promote the human rights cause. Prior to joining the Fund, Rona served for two years as vice president for development at American Jewish World Service (AJWS) where, as a member of the Executive Team, she oversaw a transition in AJWS’s fundraising model, helped build the Board, and launched an $18 million reserve fund. From 1999-2015, Rona worked at Human Rights Watch (HRW) in two main capacities. For the first nine years, Rona served as deputy director of Development and Outreach, where she was responsible for raising approximately one third of HRW’s revenue from foundations and program-specific donors. For the latter six years, Rona was a deputy director of the Africa division. In that capacity, she oversaw HRW’s work on Nigeria, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other countries. In 2014, Rona authored an HRW report entitled “Whose Development?,” which investigated human rights abuses connected with iron ore mining in Sierra Leone. She has also contributed to HRW reports on LGBTI rights and women’s rights. Rona has a Ph.D. in African history from Columbia University, where she also specialised in women’s history. Rona speaks French and Swahili.
Human Resources Generalist
Read bioHuman Resources Generalist
Director of Information Technology
Read bioDirector of Information Technology
Sami Al Amil joined the Fund in July 2018 as director of information technology, providing oversight of the Fund’s IT infrastructure and systems, managing IT and security policies, and working with other departments to support the implementation of the leadership’s vision and strategies. Previously, Sami served as a deputy director of Counterpart International’s Internet Freedom project providing information security assistance, training, and support to human rights and civil society activists around the world. Sami brings over 15 years of a diverse global experience in IT operations, cybersecurity, online privacy, user support, and assessment of how to effectively safeguard an organisation’s infrastructure. Earlier in his career, Sami served as a senior technology officer for the National Democratic Institute in Iraq where he gained experience with a broad range of technologies while operating in an increasingly challenging environment. When not busy overseeing the Fund’s technology department, Sami can often be found with a camera in hand furthering an interest in amateur digital photography. Sami has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Information Systems, as well as a few other industry certificates.
European Project Manager
Read bioEuropean Project Manager
Naima joined the Fund in July 2015 and currently serves as European project manager. She is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where she studied French and Spanish, with an emphasis on post-colonial Francophone African literature. Whilst a student at Cambridge, Naima spent a year in Côte d’Ivoire during which time she interned for an international NGO. Prior to joining the Fund, Naima pursued graduate studies in Francophone literature and Anthropology at the University of California Berkeley. Naima speaks fluent French, advanced Spanish and is conversant in Swahili and Kinyarwanda. Naima is based out of the Fund’s UK office.
Senior Program Associate
Read bioSenior Program Associate
Lydia joined the fund in September 2016 and serves as senior program associate to support the Fund’s programmatic work, with an emphasis on the Enabling Environment for Human Rights Defenders programme, Before joining the Fund, Lydia most recently worked in criminal justice reform with an emphasis on ending the use of the death penalty and solitary confinement in the US. Before this she interned, worked, or volunteered at a number of organisations in Mexico City and Washington, DC with a focus on promoting migrants’ rights. Lydia is a graduate of Haverford College where she received a BA with honours in Political Science. While completing her MA in International Studies from American University’s School of International Service, she wrote her thesis on information gathering, decision making, and risk mitigation among Central American migrants in transit through Mexico. Lydia spent a year studying at Oxford University and a semester at the Academia Diplomática del Perú Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. She speaks Spanish.
Communications Content Officer
Read bioCommunications Content Officer
Digital Communications Officer
Read bioDigital Communications Officer
Development Associate
Read bioDevelopment Associate
Kelsie joined the Fund in February 2019 and supports the development department as the development associate. Prior to joining the Fund, Kelsie interned at the National Women’s Law Center and She’s the First. Kelsie graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, as well as a Global Health minor. As a student, Kelsie studied public health abroad in Thailand and worked on a woman’s empowerment programme in Kenya. She also conducted research across South Africa for her senior thesis, which examined reproductive politics through the international networks of crisis pregnancy centres.
Program Officer for Thematic Initiatives
Read bioProgram Officer for Thematic Initiatives
John joined the Fund as a program officer in June 2012. Most recently, he was with the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace based in the UK, where he developed and facilitated peace and human rights training programmes for victims and survivors of conflict and human rights abuses. He also has experience working with human rights organisations and networks in his native Sierra Leone and has authored a series of research publications on human rights, conflict, and peacebuilding in West Africa. John holds a PhD in conflict, security, and development from the University of Bradford. John is based out of the Fund’s UK office.
Grants Manager
Read bioGrants Manager
Jessie joined the Grants Management team in March 2018. Based in the London office, she oversees the grant-making operations for all thematic initiatives and the Southeast Asia programme, Prior to joining the Fund, Jessie served as executive officer for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, coordinating the operations of the Global Engagement Unit. She has previously worked for the Embassy of Mexico to the UK and has done voluntary work for various organisations in Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. Jessie has lived in Mexico, Singapore, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. She holds a MA in International Relations and French from the University of Aberdeen and is fluent in Spanish and French. Jessie is based out of the Fund’s UK office.
Grants Manager
Read bioGrants Manager
Martine joined the Fund in June 2016 and serves as the grants manager for the Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Migrants’ Rights programmes. Before joining the Fund, Martine interned with the Clinton Foundation’s Haiti programme, Martine is a graduate of Florida International University where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and minored in International Relations. During her undergraduate career, Martine served as a 2014 Women Who Lead Ambassador and a member of Phi Alpha Delta Pre Law Fraternity, and was awarded with the Excellence in Civic Engagement Medallion of Distinction by the Center for Leadership and Service. Martine speaks fluent French and Creole.
Director of Regional Programs
Read bioDirector of Regional Programs
Marianne joined the Fund in April 2018 as director of regional programs, providing support for the regional programme officers and coordination across the programme team. Marianne has played a leadership role at several international human rights organisation, most recently as director of research at Physicians for Human Rights. Previously, she served as director of programmes at OutRight Action International (formerly International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission), senior policy advisor at Amnesty International’s International Secretariat, and advocacy director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. She has overseen sub-granting programmes in Latin America and Africa and has conducted advocacy and documentation across many geographies. Marianne holds a Master’s of Law in International Human Rights Law from Essex University and a Master’s of Science in European Management from Ecole des Affairs de Paris. She also is an adjunct lecturer at Barnard College and the New School for Social Research. Marianne speaks fluent Spanish and Danish, and has a working knowledge of French and German. Marianne is based in NYC, where she spends her copious free time as an amateur sailor, dressmaker, DIY enthusiast, and mom.
Operations and Projects Officer
Read bioOperations and Projects Officer
Zoë joined the Fund in October 2018 and serves as the European operations and projects officer based in London. Prior to joining the Fund, Zoë worked as a broker in the London Insurance Market, where she founded the diversity network with the aim of bringing more diverse recruitment into the sector and encouraging more women in senior leadership roles. Zoë also created the Tower Hamlets School Outreach network, working with members of the financial sector to support and develop young people in the Tower Hamlets area through mentorships and intern placements. Zoë speaks conversant French and basic Farsi and is a chartered broker.
Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships
Read bioSenior Manager of Strategic Partnerships
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Read bioStrategic Partnerships Manager
Rebecca joined the Fund’s strategic partnerships team in May 2020. Prior to joining the Fund, Rebecca was the Executive Director of AdvocAid, a civil society organization working with women and girls in conflict with the law in Sierra Leone. She also spent seven years at BBC Media Action, including five years in Sierra Leone as Senior Projects Manager. Rebecca began her career at Crisis Action, in London and then Nairobi, coordinating organizations working together to protect civilians from armed conflict. She has a degree in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh and a MA in Conflict, Security and Development from the War Studies Department of King’s College London. Rebecca is currently a Trustee of Womankind Worldwide, a feminist organisation working in solidarity and partnership with women’s rights organizations around the world. Rebecca is based in the Fund’s European office in London.
Manager of Communications
Read bioManager of Communications
Robin is the Fund’s communications manager, working to build the organisation’s presence in Europe and change the narrative around human rights activism. Robin previously worked with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), where she spent six years designing and implementing complex media development programmes in a number of conflict and post-conflict countries. Robin is also the creator and manager behind the award-winning Indigenous Reporters programme, which has contributed significantly to the Indigenous rights movement across Canada through empowering Indigenous communities to tell their own stories, better engage with media and lead conversations about human rights issues. Her work has developed the capacity of local reporters and civil society leaders globally and has helped build an enabling environment for independent journalism in some of the world’s most challenging regions. Robin has also previously worked in nonprofit communications and fundraising, and as a multi-media journalist and filmmaker, producing four documentary films to date. Robin has a BA in Journalism and MA in Human Rights Law and Democratisation. Her passion for investigative research and deep interest in how technology is transforming traditional research methods is evidenced through the publication of her thesis on the use of new ICT tools for human rights documentation. Although Robin hails from Toronto, Canada, she has lived throughout Africa, Latin America and Europe—she now calls London her home. Robin is based out of the Fund’s UK office.
Learning & Assessment Manager
Read bioLearning & Assessment Manager
Indhira joined the Fund in September 2014 and is currently managing the Learning and Assessment programme, In this role, she coordinates the collection, management, and analysis of data around outcomes and impact, and is responsible for leading a cross-departmental working group as well as promoting learning and facilitating lesson-sharing within the Fund and with external audiences. Before joining the Fund, Indhira worked as a freelance consultant for a grassroots organisation dedicated to improving access to education for children in disadvantaged urban communities in Colombia. She earned a BA in Political Science and French at the University of Miami and later pursued an MA in Nonprofit Management at the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain. Indhira is a native Spanish speaker, is fluent in French and conversant in Portuguese. She is passionate about human rights issues, particularly those affecting women and girls.
Program Officer for the Enabling Environment for Human Rights Defenders Program
Read bioProgram Officer for the Enabling Environment for Human Rights Defenders Program
James joined the Fund in February 2016 as programme officer for the Enabling Environment for Human Rights Defenders programme, From 1999 – 2016, James worked for Amnesty International UK, where he led the organisation’s work for and with individuals at risk, including human rights defenders and most recently, served as director of its Human Rights Defenders programme. He has also worked in a variety of human rights campaigning and activism roles with AIUK including mobilising youth, student, and trade union activists. In 1994, James became involved in human rights activism with Peace Brigades International (PBI), taking a variety of roles working in PBI’s UK national group and International Office, and from 2002 – 2003 as a field volunteer for PBI in Colombia, which involved accompanying and supporting human rights defenders at risk from intimidation, stigmatisation, or attack. Currently, James sits on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York and the Funders Initiative for Civil Society (FICS)a collaborative donor initiative on civic space. He is co-editor of several academic journals special issues including the Journal of Human Rights practice’s “Protection of Human Rights Defenders” and the International Journal of Human Rights’ “Critical Perspectives on Security and Protection of Human Rights Defenders,” as well as co-author of ‘Power and Protection,” a multimedia resource from JASS (Just Associates). He holds a BA in History from University College London and a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of London. James is based out of the Fund’s UK office.
Program Coordinator
Read bioProgram Coordinator
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Read bioStrategic Partnerships Manager
Frances Tennyson joined the Fund in May 2014 as strategic partnerships manager to help drive forward the Fund’s fundraising and outreach activities with institutional donors in Europe. Frances has worked for over 15 years in the international development, human rights, and social justice sectors, with extensive experience in fundraising from trusts, foundations, and government donors, as well as expertise in managing complex grants. Her previous experience includes five years at the global development charity CARE International working across programmes and Funding teams, heading up the International Fundraising and Grants Management team at the charity Sue Ryder, and a short term at Latin American House Association co-organising the UK’s first ever film festival focused on the cultures and struggles of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Frances holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of London and a postgraduate certificate in International Poverty Reduction from the School of Oriental & African Studies. She has a passion for writing, fluency in Spanish, and a deep interest in Latin America having spent time living and travelling in the region, in particular Chile and Cuba. Frances is based out of the Fund’s UK office.
Grants Manager
Read bioGrants Manager
About the Fund
You can help the Fund transform lives. Your gift will help create a world where everyone can enjoy and access their human rights.
Makela needed an ally. A 60-year-old survivor of domestic violence, she now faced the prospect of losing her rightful home—in the middle of a global pandemic.
After years of abuse, Makela’s husband had abandoned her. When a judge granted them equal shares of their family land in the Mukono District of Uganda, he sold his portion, remarried, and left Makela with their children. Five years later, sick and strapped for cash, he returned to torment her. With their two older sons, he broke into her house and beat her, vowing not to stop until she surrendered her share of the land.
When the local authorities refused to help, Makela reached out to the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP), a women’s rights organization based in Kampala. There, she met Tina Musuya, CEDOVIP’s executive director and a fierce champion for survivors of abuse.
As COVID-19 surged, governments around the world responded with curfews and stay-at-home measures intended to limit community spread. In Uganda, the state issued a strict lockdown that severely limited movement. But for women facing domestic violence at home, lockdown entails its own life-threatening risks.
“Quarantine measures increased face-to-face exposure of victims to perpetrators,” says Tina. “The Uganda police registered over 3,000 cases of domestic violence in just one month.”
In response, Fund-supported organizations like CEDOVIP stepped in to provide crucial support to women trapped at home with their abusers.
After hearing her story, Tina helped Makela bring her case to the Nakifuma Magistrate court, which granted her a protection order that prevented her sons, her estranged husband, and his relatives from stepping foot on her property. CEDOVIP also offered Makela financial support, which she used to cover transportation costs to and from court, to install metallic doors on her house, and to pay for medical treatment after she sustained injuries in a violent encounter with her sons.
“When I reached out to CEDOVIP, they listened to my case and took all necessary measures to support me,” says Makela. “It has now been three months of calm and peace.”
With the Fund’s support, Tina and CEDOVIP have been able to help at least 300 survivors like Makela access the emergency services they need, including medical care and legal support. They’ve provided personal protective equipment to staff, other activists, and community members. And through their community engagement and advocacy, they’ve successfully lobbied the Ugandan state to respond to the escalating crisis of gender-based violence. In May, Ugandan President Yoweri Musveni spoke publicly about the increase in domestic violence.
“I feel proud that we were able to hold various actors including government departments accountable to protecting women and girls from violence,” says Tina. “As a result, the Uganda police force set up toll free help lines for survivors of violence to call for support and many other actors set up emergency response services.”
The Fund’s support has been a crucial resource during the pandemic, says Tina. “The Fund stood with us at this difficult time … and checked in with us to know how we were doing. This was true feminist sisterhood that kept us motivated.”
Uganda’s tough approach to COVID-19 has successfully slowed its spread, but the deleterious effects of strict lockdowns are likely to linger. “More than ever, CEDOVIP’s work is urgently needed to ensure that the gains made on gender equality in Uganda are not pushed back,” says Tina.
Makela’s story, like so many others, is a moving testament to the immense impact of local action. Across the globe, courageous frontline activists like Tina are fighting for the rights of people facing injustice, inequality, and hardship. The Fund is proud to provide the financial and strategic support they need to succeed.
Your donation will help local activists save lives and build back a better world.
In recent months, Nigeria’s #EndSARS protests have captured the world’s attention. The successful movement to disband the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has mobilized millions to march against police brutality—and the ensuing violent crackdowns have left scores of people wounded or dead.
As founder of the Fund-supported nonprofit Spaces for Change (S4C) and secretariat of the Action Group on Free Civic Space—a coalition of more than 60 organizations working to defend activists in Nigeria—Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri knows firsthand what the country’s security forces are capable of.
For months, she’s been part of a team fighting to end abuses perpetrated by these same state agents during the country’s COVID-19 crisis.
Since emergency preventative measures were introduced at the end of March, S4C has led a country-wide effort to monitor, document, and analyze the government’s response to the pandemic. Their COVID-19 Tracking Team maintains a database of state-perpetrated human rights abuses.
“Shortly after the Nigerian government ordered a lockdown,” Victoria says, “the country began to record a rapid increase in human rights violations.”
The government’s militarized pandemic response allowed security forces, including SARS, to operate with impunity and wanton brutality. Across the country, police and other operatives are accused of targeting civilians with overt violence.
In April, six member organizations of the Action Group on Free Civic Space, including S4C, launched a helpline offering free legal services to anyone whose rights have been violated during the lockdown.
With emergency support from the Fund, the legal teams at each organization combined resources to build a stable of attorneys ready to intervene and secure justice. On standby 24/7, the lawyers offer pro bono services including securing bail, giving on-the-spot legal advice, and providing representation in courts.
When Glory, a 34-year-old Edo woman in Lagos State, was arrested and detained for 12 days without charges, she called the Action Group Legal Helpline. Victoria sent a team of lawyers to secure her release.
“I was separated from my husband and two young children,” says Glory, who fell ill and suffered a miscarriage in detention. “If Mrs. Victoria had not intervened in my case, I might still be in detention now.”
By the end of June, the Action Group Legal Helplines project had intervened in more than 100 cases involving unlawful arrests like Glory’s, physical assaults, domestic violence, and even murder.
To resource their invaluable work, the Fund’s Enabling Environment Program awarded its first COVID-19 emergency grant to S4C. “Without the timely support of the Fund,” says Victoria, “the Legal Helplines Project would never have been possible.”
Although Nigeria has eased its lockdown—and SARS has been disbanded—Victoria is worried that many restrictions could become permanent and abuses will continue.
“Together with my team at Spaces for Change and members of the Action Group on Free Civic Space, we shall continue to spot and push back against emergency measures that are being repurposed to further close civic space,” she says. “We’ll stay focused on this mandate, during and beyond the COVID era.”
As tensions between preventative measures and fundamental freedoms linger, the work of human rights defenders like Victoria is more important than ever. The Fund is proud to provide Victoria with the flexible funding and strategic assistance she needs to effectively check government overreach and defend civic space in Nigeria.
Your donation will help local activists save lives and build back a better world.
Displaced by conflict at age 11, Naw K’nyaw Paw has traveled the world campaigning for peace in Myanmar.
As general secretary of the Fund-supported Karen Women’s Organization (KWO)—a leading women’s rights group of more than 60,000 Karen minority women—she’s advocated in Geneva, New York, and Washington for the human rights of her community. In 2019, the U.S. State Department presented her with its International Woman of Courage award for her unwavering commitment to building peace.
But alongside her lifelong dreams of peace and equality for the Karen people, she’s never lost sight of their basic needs. As she says, “It’s very difficult to just focus on training [activists] when people are hungry.”
When the novel coronavirus began to spread in Myanmar, preventative measures disrupted aid, restricted travel, and made earning a living impossible for internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees living in camps along the Myanmar-Thailand border.
The government’s official line may have been “no one left behind,” but some in the camps say they’ve survived only because of K’nyaw Paw and the extraordinary work of KWO.
“When travel was under lockdown and restrictions were in place, my community was in big trouble,” says Naw Hser Eh, a 63-year-old Karen woman living in the Ei Tu Hta IDP camp, home to more than 2,000 Karen people who have been displaced by one of the longest ongoing civil conflicts in the world. “[KWO] really saved our lives.”
Myanmar’s central government has largely excluded ethnic minorities from their pandemic response, failing to even translate important health information into many indigenous languages. With the Fund’s support, KWO has stepped in to distribute thousands of masks, deliver hygiene products to women, and translate critical information about prevention and protection against COVID-19 into the Karen language.
“KWO helps the most vulnerable people in our community,” says 54-year-old Saw Kler Paw, who also lives in the Ei Tu Hta camp.
In addition to health care, KWO also provided clean drinking water and food to families in the camps—five kilograms of rice per person, each month. “Due to KWO’s support, we did not go hungry” says Saw Kler Paw. “We did not starve.”
Alongside service provision in refugee camps, IDP areas and conflict-affected communities, KWO has continued advocating for peace and equality in Myanmar. Earlier this year, K’nyaw Paw successfully lobbied the Karen leadership to change discriminatory state laws that undermined women’s rights. “When these laws are implemented in our communities,” she says, “they will have a big positive effect on the quality of life for Karen women and children.”
But despite these great strides, the pandemic looms large in Myanmar and some fear that the worst may lie ahead. After a deadly second wave in October, COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. Humanitarian aid to Karen camps has been declining for years, limiting access to basic services. In August, flooding destroyed dozens of houses. And after a devastating drought during rice growing season, the crops that many Karen families rely on won’t last long.
“We are worried that this virus will come to our areas,” says Naw Hser Eh. “If that happens, how can we survive it? We still need K’nyaw Paw and KWO’s help.”
Like locally rooted activists around the world, K’nyaw Paw is a vital lifeline for her community, and a source of hope for tens of thousands of vulnerable Karen people who depend on KWO. The Fund is proud to stand with K’nyaw Paw and to ensure that the women activists of KWO have the resources they need to ensure the health, safety, and survival of their community.
Your donation will help local activists save lives and build back a better world.
When Aminita*, a 25-year-old Fula migrant living in Agadir, Morocco, was pregnant, she had no idea how to obtain a birth certificate for her baby. Without that critical piece of paper, her child would be unable to access services like health care and education in Morocco.
Then, at an information session for migrant women on reproductive health and family planning, she met Patrick Bogmis.
Patrick is the founder of the Fund-supported Association Lumière sur l’Émigration Clandestine au Maghreb (Light on Irregular Migration in the Maghreb Association, or ALECMA), a grassroots association of Sub-Saharan African migrants who advocate for the needs of their community in Morocco.
He helped Aminita and her husband understand their rights and navigate the process to obtain the document their baby was entitled to, ensuring the infant would have access to health care and other vital services during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ALECMA has done so much to benefit migrants, especially woman and children,” says Aminita.
Aminita and her baby are two of an estimated 700,0000 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa living in Morocco. Long a country of transit, Morocco has become a default destination for thousands of people migrating from Sub-Saharan Africa as entry to Europe has grown increasingly difficult.
Patrick understands as well as anyone the challenges that they face. Originally from Cameroon, Patrick migrated to Morocco in 2011. Along the way, he experienced firsthand the dangerous—and often deadly—conditions that migrants endure in pursuit of opportunity and a better life.
In 2012, Patrick formed ALECMA to raise awareness of the enduring racism and institutional violence that migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa experience. Composed entirely of migrants, the Rabat-based group has taken a bold approach to improving the lives of the migrant community in Morocco. With the support of the Fund, ALECMA works to improve access to basic social services, elevate their voices to influence policies that affect them, and provide vocational and other training to help them thrive in a new country and culture.
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely exacerbated already poor conditions for migrants. “The coronavirus health crisis has disrupted the daily lives of migrants who, for the most part, work in the informal sector,” says Patrick. And the loss of livelihoods has been compounded by barriers to accessing health services and overcrowded living conditions.
Thanks to support from the Fund this spring, Patrick and the activists of ALECMA have helped meet the needs of hundreds of women and child migrants in Rabat and the surrounding areas. As the Moroccan authorities issued preventative measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, ALECMA worked with other organizations to ensure that information was translated into multiple languages and readily available for migrant communities. They have also delivered food and sanitary kits that contain crucial items like soap, laundry detergent, and disinfectant wipes.
“The restrictive measures prescribed by the authorities have increasingly contributed to the vulnerabilities they face,” says Patrick. And despite promised government reforms and an influx of international funding, conditions remain exceedingly poor for hundreds of thousands of migrants in Morocco and protections are woefully limited.
But the community has a courageous champion in Patrick. “ALECMA will continue to fight for the defense, protection, and promotion of human rights,” he says. “The basis of ALECMA’s work is hope.”
Across the globe, millions of people have survived harrowing journeys and overcome immeasurable hardship to seek safety, equality, and opportunity. As major political, economic, social, and environmental transformations continue to drive displacement, millions more will follow. The Fund is proud to have supported Patrick and ALECMA since 2014 with the flexible funding and strategic support they need to protect and promote the human rights of migrants in Morocco.
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Your donation will help local activists save lives and build back a better world.
2020 has been a devastating year for world hunger. Across the globe, food insecurity—the lack of reliable access to sufficient amounts of nutritious food—is on the rise, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions to food supply chains, and climate change. According to a joint report by the World Food Programme and more than a dozen partner organizations, 135 million people are acutely food insecure and around 183 million more are at risk.
Out of necessity, however, comes innovation. And in response to hunger, Fund-supported activists around the world are pioneering new ways to feed their communities.
Miriam Miranda is the executive director of the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (Honduran Black Fraternal Organization, or OFRANEH), a social movement supported by the Fund that protects and promotes the rights of Honduras’s Afro-Indigenous Garifuna people. As the elected leader of OFRANEH and a leading Indigenous rights activist, Miriam has witnessed the staggering effects of food insecurity firsthand.
Large-scale industrial and tourism-related development projects threaten Garifuna lands where Indigenous communities have fished and farmed for generations. Local activists accuse corporate interests and the national government of colluding to seize and exploit their territory.
“They’re taking land that we were using to grow beans and rice so they can grow African palm for bio-fuel,” Miriam said in a 2015 speech. “Food sovereignty is being threatened everywhere.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely aggravated food insecurity in Honduras. “This pandemic will starve us,” Yensi Velásquez, a mother of two, told the World Food Programme earlier this year.
But with the government’s capacity stretched thin and international aid falling short, local leaders like Miriam have stepped up to feed hungry families. And after years of hard-fought resistance to exploitative development projects, the Garifuna have developed innovative ways of ensuring access to food.
This spring, within days of the pandemic reaching Honduras, OFRANEH organized ollas communitarias—or community pots—in nearly 20 Garifuna areas. Building on a long-standing tradition of communal eating borne of economic hardship and scarcity, the community pots are a collective solution to a common problem.
“It’s not easy, and the risk of [food] shortages is high,” writes one activist from OFRANEH. “However, what little we have, we share.”
Inspired by this Garifuna tradition, other Fund-backed activists in Honduras have followed suit, establishing community pots in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. As the Garifuna say, “Aura buni, Amurü nuni”—me for you and you for me.
Beyond ensuring everyone in their communities has food on the table, OFRANEH has also coordinated a public health response. Community members have sewed fabric masks, made and distributed hand sanitizer, educated people on how to protect themselves from the virus, and provided medicinal tea and information on herbs and nutrition that can help boost the immune system.
While OFRANEH has successfully pivoted to provide much-needed immediate support to their communities, they continue to address and advocate against the systemic inequality and corruption that makes Garifuna people, and other minority groups, more vulnerable to the effects of a pandemic in the first place.
To this end, they are connecting with other groups serving Indigenous communities to help maximize complementary grassroots COVID-19 responses and speaking out via the media about the need for greater transparency in how aid and emergency resources are distributed throughout Honduras.
“Just as we managed to survive the extermination and exile at the hands of the British,” says Miriam, “we will survive COVID-19.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted minority communities, including Indigenous peoples like the Garifuna. But through times of crises, visionary leaders like Miriam work untiringly to ensure their communities have continued access to resources, relief, and their fundamental rights. The Fund is proud to provide Miriam and OFRANEH with the critical support they need to succeed.
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