Connecting the dots
Dear Friends,
Did you know that women and girls are 14 times more likely to die in a climate-related disaster than men? Natural disasters can be seen as great equalizers — indiscriminate forces that can threaten anyone. But in reality, these catastrophes like floods, droughts or hurricanes kill more women, especially those of poor socioeconomic status. In many places, girls and women aren’t offered the chance to learn survival skills like how to swim, reducing their chances of surviving a flood. WEA is working with Vanastree, a women’s collective in Southern India, to coordinate trainings for women leaders to learn skills not only to survive but to thrive in the face of climate change. Our trainings will reach more than 4,000 people, empowering women leaders to launch and scale indigenous seed businesses and seed banks, build model farms, and improve farming practices. Below is a photo of women learning to swim and navigate in water, a part of our Seeds of Resilience Training happening now! It is time for women to be at the helm. $50 covers the materials for a woman to launch her seed growing business.
What does it cost you to cook a meal for your family? In some places, it is much more than grocery money. When a woman in Nigeria cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner over a wood fire, she suffers the equivalent of smoking between 3 and 20 packets of cigarettes a day. Over 93,000 Nigerians (mostly women and children) die annually from inhalation of smoke from indoor cooking (not to mention the deforestation that is destroying regions and increasing climate instability). In partnership with WISE, we will reach more than 13,000 people in Kaduna by training and funding 30 women entrepreneurs to build clean cookstove businesses, train their communities to adopt cookstoves, and form networks to advocate for clean energy. $15 covers the cost for a clean cookstove for a woman entrepreneur.Let’s fuel this work!
Do you ever think about what it takes to make a cup of tea? In some parts of the world it means turning on the tap. In other parts, it can mean a 4-hour walk to fetch water, the threat of violence, missed school or lost employment. With Numi Organic Tea (the leading global tea company in organic and Fair-Trade tea), we are changing this. Numi Foundation and WEA’s partnership is ensuring safe drinking water for the Tonganagaon tea community in Assam, India, where Numi sources its largest supply of organic, Fair-Trade black tea. Together with our Indian partners and the Tonganagaon community, we are equipping all 6,500 residents to create access to safe drinking water that will eliminate water-borne illnesses, improve nutrition, strengthen livelihoods, bolster women’s leadership, and improve school and work attendance. It all boils down to water. And it all boils down to us. $100 covers the cost of a community leader to take a water, sanitation and hygiene training.
What does fracking have to do with violence against women? A lot. The safety of North American Indigenous women and youth is threatened daily by the violence inflicted on them by oil, gas, mining and fracking industries. The impacts of this environmental violence include sexual and domestic acts, crime, murder and disappearances, trafficking, toxic exposures and illnesses, and harm to culture and Indigenous ways of life. In partnership with NYSHN, we are conducting community trainings and providing 5-10 seed grants to actions on the ground. See our extensive report and toolkit featuring Indigenous-led solutions to environmental violence and join us in #landbodydefense.
Photo: W.C.K.
We hope you will continue on this path with us as we grow our commitment, our capacity and our reach. Thank you for who you are. Together WE are WEA!
With gratitude,
Melinda, Amira and the WEA Team