When Women Move Forward, the World Moves With Them

by Rebecca Staffend (New York City)

This is the philosophy of the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), an international organization working to improve the lives of women and girls in developing countries. Now in its thirtieth year, CEDPA’s Global Women in Management Program cultivates the executive skills of professional, mid-career women in developing countries who work in non-governmental, community and faith-based organizations. Alumnae reinvest the skills they learn in workshops through health services, educational programs, advocating policy reform, and demonstrating national leadership.

The real impact of CEDPA’s Global Women in Management program is felt worldwide through the direct influence of alumnae, who go on to utilize their enhanced leadership abilities and address the diverse needs of their immediate communities.

Lavinia Fiori Reggio’s lifelong commitment to the underprivileged was affirmed while helping to create a new Colombian constitution in 1991. Now the executive director of Fundación Marina, a marine conservation organization in Bogata, she has convinced fishermen to cease the use of dynamite and encourages cooperative sustainability in deep sea work. Ms. Reggio states, “If people really understand the environmental problems that are affecting their daily life, people will change the activities that are causing negative impact.” Her involvement with CEDPA was spurred by a desire to do more with women in the poor and fisherman-dependent seaside communities where Fundación Marina works. Ms. Reggio envisions the economic impact of women’s businesses that advance both conservation and the economy, such as eco-friendly lodges to serve a growing ecotourism market.

In Papua New Guinea, Margaret Rombuk became frustrated by very limited access to health care due to the prohibitive cost of private doctors, and absence of health education for the poor. She now teaches women about the dietary needs of infants as well as proper breastfeeding practices. Last year, her organization Susu Mama’s (which means “breastfeeding mothers”) saw nearly 106,000 women and 22,000 babies in 15 urban clinics with a staff of only 5 nurses. Of her training with CEDPA, Ms. Rombuk states that she is “in the field doing my job so everything I’m learning [here] is completely new—about project management, management skills, and strategic communication.” Armed with these new skills, Ms. Rombuk is now better prepared to “get the message to the rural people in the villages so they can have a healthier life.”

Cesaltina Nunda is one of over four million people displaced due to almost 30 years of civil war in Angola. Fortunate to have received six years of schooling in South Africa, Ms. Nunda believes strongly that a great challenge to improving the status of women in Angola is that they “don’t believe in themselves and they cannot stand up for themselves.” She works with Angola 2000, a non-profit whose mission is to strengthen individual and institutional capacity in conflict resolution and peace building skills. She says “we need to train women in leadership skills and motivate them more and, in that way, we’ll get more feedback from the community.” Of her experience with CEDPA’s Global Women in Management program, she said she will take new insights, confidence, and a renewed belief in herself back to Angola. Proud to have presented a program before the U.S. Congress, she also states that “If you are open to possibilities, you will always find the potential in yourself.”

Sixty percent of the illiterate people in Bahrul Ulumiyah Suheb’s small Indonesian town are women. She states that “in villager’s meetings… almost all the participants are men. Women in the village are not represented in decision making.” In order to “to change the monopoly of men in public” she has worked diligently to establish women’s clubs so that they may become as informed as the men and contribute ideas. Most of the rapidly-growing clubs meet in homes where they share information, participate in microcredit initiatives, and receive skills training. For example, they have disseminated information regarding “how to choose the best candidate with the best vision,” in preparation for a governor’s election. Ms. Suheb’s organization has also sponsored public dialogues on the empowerment of women, and a seminar in medical insurance for the poor. An elementary school teacher, Ms. Suheb is also an active volunteer with the non-profit Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia, which focuses on abolishing illiteracy. Her participation in CEDPA’s training will support her capacity building efforts in local communities, ideally to include the addition of maternal health and voter education programs.

Headquartered in Washington, CEDPA has trained more than 5,000 women, men and youth who now lead the change for women and girls in countries “from Albania to Zambia.”

The Global Women in Management program is comprised of a four-week intensive learning project management, proposal writing, and other management skills to run an effective organization in hopes that they, too, will teach others what they have learned. An alumna is paired with each participant to act as an active mentor for an additional year. Among CEDPA’s partners is the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls’ Initiative, a sponsor of the Women in Management program since 2005. The Initiative additionally supports CEDPA’s Better Life Option program in Nigeria.