A Celebration of Women™

is elated to Celebrate the Life of this visionary, a young woman that persevered until her vision came true. Devoted to the education of girls, this powerhouse achieved her success in building a school in her village; after growing up as a child having to walk the five miles to school, after a morning filled with daily chores.

This woman is a pure inspiration and a true celebration for all the women of our world!

 

 

 

 

WOMAN of ACTION™

 

Bridget Nagomoro

 

 

 

It was Commissioner Bridget Nagomoro who first dreamed of creating a residential school for girls in her home village of Ibba, in the county of the same name in South Sudan – a dream which is now being supported by the Friends of Ibba Girls School.

She donated some family land for the school; Chief Severio also donated some land. Before construction could start recently on the first phase of building, affidavits for the transfer of the land to the School were needed. The signing was at a ceremony at the Commissioner’s office.

Bridget addressed the elders of Ibba about the project – some of them were formal witnesses to the signing.

The Guardian wrote: Bridget Nagomoro used to get up at five in the morning to fetch water from the stream, cook breakfast for the family, then walk the five miles to school. In the evening, she would eat at 10pm having cooked dinner, done the household chores and completed her homework.

It’s a familiar routine for girls in South Sudan, but Nagomoro was a trailblazer. She was the first girl from Ibba county – a community of 90,000 people – in landlocked Western Equatoria state to finish primary school. Being the only girl at her school was hard.

“Some of the boys used to threaten me because I got better results than them,” said Nagomoro last week during a visit to Britain. Now a local government commissioner in Ibba county, she wants to make it easier for girls to get an education by setting up a boarding school for girls aged 10 and above – the point at which most drop out because of the competing pressures from family, household chores, childcare and early pregnancy.

Nagomoro has donated a large plot of land for the school and enlisted the support of local chiefs and elders. She has sought assistance from contacts in the UK, including Professor John Benington of Warwick University Business School, whom she met when he held workshops in South Sudan.

Nagomoro was in the UK with Pia Philip Michael, the state minister of education for Western Equatoria, to report to British supporters who are helping to raise money for the school through the Friends of Ibba Girls School, a UK-based charity. Also on the agenda was the enormous challenge to girls’ education after decades of civil war, continuing unrest and a refugee influx from the north.

South Sudan, which became independent from Sudan in 2011, has one of the world’s worst indicators for education.

A Unesco report from that year said there were more than 1.3 million primary school-age children out of school in the country, which is second-to-bottom in the world ranking for net enrolment in primary education and bottom of the world league table for enrollment in secondary education.

The situation for girls is particularly dire. They are less likely to start school and more likely to drop out. A young girl in South Sudan is three times likelier to die in pregnancy or childbirth than to finish primary school, said the Unesco report.

The shortage of teachers is acute; the ratio of pupils to qualified teachers averages 100:1, but is double that in some states. Only 12% of teachers are women, another factor discouraging girls from attending school.

Another challenge is the lack of facilities. “80% of our schools are under trees and it rains nine months of the year,” said Pia. This poses problems for protecting textbooks, provided for primary schools by Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) for the first time this year.

Part of DfID’s aid programme is to support 2 million children in primary education by providing textbooks, building classrooms and offering education to children who drop out or start school late. Support for education is one thing, changing attitudes towards girls’ education another.

Bridget Building the First School Classrooms in Ibba

Pia spoke of a major campaign in Western Equatoria involving officials moving from village to village to spread the national message on educating girls. “We are engaging village chiefs on our education policies for girls,” he said. “We say to them, ‘Don’t leave girls behind.‘”

It is against this backdrop that Nagomoro is pursuing what she calls her dream of creating a boarding school for girls that will, to some extent, insulate them from the pressures that force girls to drop out. Enough funding has been raised from UK supporters to clear and fence the site for the school, and to instal two solar-powered water boreholes, one for the village and one for the school.

Building the first classrooms, toilets, kitchen and dining space is now under way; the plan is to open in February, with 40 10-year-olds.

Nagomoro was fortunate that her parents believed strongly in the value of education, both for her and her four brothers. She went on to secondary school and served as a nun before studying for a degree in education and returning home.

She still remembers what her father used to tell her: “A pen and a hoe, that is the future.”

 

We have some great news to share!

Friends of Ibba Girls School

Further FIGS funding has allowed for the next stage of the construction work to commence. This comprises not only the classroom block, but also toilets, a kitchen, a solar and generator block and completion of the second solar powered water bore-hole.

This is all to be completed in the targeted time of 4 months (March to June 2013). Our architect Malcolm Worby will be travelling to Ibba again on the 15th of April to inspect progress.

Steering Committee for Ibba Girls School

• Bridget Nagomoro(Chair), Bishop Wilson Kamani, Father Stephen Kumyangi, The Paramount Chief for Ibba; John Benington (representing the funders).
• Building Design and Architect: Malcolm Worby, Sustainable Building and Renewable Energy, South Africa.
• Building Project Manager and Contractor: Anisa Construction, Yambio.
• Education Advisers: Rev Pauline Walker, and the Education Teams of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, the Roman Catholic Church and the Government.

THE UK STUDY TRIP – May 11 to 27

In addition to the above meetings in London on Wed May 15, we have organised for Bridget and Pia a full programme of visits to schools, churches and local authorities, and meetings with Trusts and Foundations in Belfast, the Cotswolds, Coventry, Nottingham, and York – plus a private meeting at the House of Lords on May 22. Do contact us if you’d like more details.

RAPID PROGRESS IN BUILDING THE FIRST CLASSROOMS

Our architect Malcolm visited Ibba again in mid March to supervise the next stage of the building programme for the school – the first classrooms, kitchen, toilets, solar and generator block.

Malcolm sent us the following progress report from Ibba.

His photos will be posted on the website as soon as possible.

• The foundation trenches are now complete for all buildings: the Classroom Block, the Generator Room, the temporary Kitchen, and the Toilets
• The hole for the septic tank will be finished today
• The buildings have been aligned to take advantage of the larger trees, and to provide shade. The builders commented favourably that this is “unlike how we normally do it in South Sudan; we cut down everything, and the school is dusty and hot!”
• They are starting work on the foundations today, bringing in aggregate to place in the bottom of the trenches, prior to pouring the concrete ‘footing’ by the end of the week
• The foundation walls will start to be constructed in about 7-10 days, once the concrete has cured
• The septic tank construction will start by the end of the week
• All the necessary mud-fired bricks (10,000 of them!), sand and cement are already on site for the foundation walls and the septic tank
• The perimeter fence should be completely installed by the end of next week
• The water tanks for the borehole are currently being stored at Bridget’s compound, and will be placed once the fence is completed, and the solar panels, pump and equipment will then be installed

Local Jobs and Skills Training

Malcolm writes :“There is a very impressive complement of around 50 workers on site under the direct supervision of the Anisa site foreman (the same person who was in charge of the building of the gate house and entry road for the school, etc.), along with the skilled Anisa crew, who include block layers, welders working on the fence posts, crew chiefs running each work crew

There are over 40 local people from Ibba working at the site under Anisa’s supervision, as part of the local community ‘skills training programme’ we planned at the start of the project.

RAISING THE FUNDING TO COMPLETE AND OPEN THE SCHOOL

Over the next few months we aim to raise additional funding to build the dormitory block and teachers accommodation for the school, and to set up and train a Board of Governors for the school, to recruit the head-teacher and try to get the school open to its first 40 ten year old girls in Feb 2014.

See our website for how much we need to raise and how to donate.

Above all come and meet Bridget and the others from South Sudan to catch the vision for how to make a really worthwhile practical difference.

There are basically 3 ways to make a donation:

1. By cheque made payable to Friends of Ibba Girls School and sent to our Hon Treasurer at Ashlar, Icomb, Cheltenham GL54 1JE
2. BACS transfer for the credit of Friends of Ibba Girls School, Co-operative Bank; account no 65525782; sort code 089299. Please add your name as reference.
3. Via our website and Virgin Money Giving (although in this case there will be a charge to the charity of 2% plus credit/debit card fees)

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Please also sign the gift aid declaration form (click on the image below to download the form) if possible, as this will increase the value of your gift to us by 25%.

Volunteering

We are currently looking for volunteers to get involved with:

- Support to the FIGS fundraising sub committee
- Grass Roots Fundraising
- Research and Draft a Volunteer Protocol
- South Sudan Diaspora
- School Liaison
- Logistical Support for the visit of Bridget Nagomoro

If you are interested in getting involved please contact londonfigs@gmail.com to register your interest and find out more.

 

 

 

A Celebration of Women™

welcome this visionary, and worker bee into our global Alumni with open arms, looking forward to many future collaborations bettering the lives of all women, and educating young women and children.

 

 

Brava Bridget!

May 2013 – Indigenous peoples in Latin America have undergone an unprecedented mobilization in the past 20 years, but political participation, particularly among women, is still low, the United Nations said in a new report released today.

Intercultural Citizenship – Contributions from the political participation of indigenous peoples in Latin America, released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), cites several factors that have helped boost the political participation of indigenous peoples in the region.

These include an increased number of indigenous movements, which also benefited from communications technology, including mobile phones, the Internet and social media; the expansion of their rights after countries signed and recognized crucial international conventions; and an increased number of Government agencies advocating for indigenous issues.

At the same time, the report highlights the fact that indigenous women’s political inclusion has been a major challenge, since they face the ‘triple discrimination’ of being female, indigenous and poor.

“Indigenous peoples in Latin America improve political participation, but women lag behind.”, says UNDP

The report maps the indigenous peoples’ participation in parliament and shows that:

• Among Mexico’s 500 lower house representatives,14 are indigenous and four of them are women (2012-2015)
• In Guatemala there are 158 seats in parliament, 19 are taken by indigenous peoples, three of them are women (2012-2016)
• In Nicaragua of the total 92 deputies in the National Assembly during 2006-2009, three were indigenous peoples and two of them were women
• Among Ecuador’s 124 MPs, seven are indigenous peoples, two of them are women (2009-2013)
• In Peru, there are 130 parliamentarians and only nine are indigenous peoples, two of them are women (2011-2016)
• In Bolivia, where indigenous peoples are the majority of the population, of the 130 MPs 41 are indigenous, but only nine of them are women.

“Beyond women’s usual difficulties in breaking the political glass ceiling, especially in developing countries, indigenous customary law further hinders women’s political participation in the region,” states a press release on the report, which was released today during the 12th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that is meeting in New York.

“Even though women have the right to vote and several countries in the region have put in place quotas for women participation in political parties and public offices, indigenous women’s political participation – along with their sexual and reproductive health – are crucial issues that still lag behind,” it adds.

The report examines the region’s six countries with highest percentage of indigenous peoples and greatest progress in political participation: Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.

It finds that among Mexico’s 500 lower house representatives, 14 are indigenous and four of them are women (2012-2015).

In Guatemala, there are 158 seats in parliament, 19 of which are occupied by indigenous peoples, three of them women (2012-2016).

Of the total 92 deputies in Nicaragua’s National Assembly during 2006-2009, three were indigenous peoples and two of them were women. Among Ecuador’s 124 MPs, seven are indigenous and two of them are women (2009-2013.)

In Peru, there are 130 parliamentarians and only nine are indigenous peoples, and two of them are women (2011-2016). Bolivia, where indigenous peoples are the majority of the population, 41 of the 130 MPs are indigenous, and only nine of them are women.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are approximately 50 million indigenous peoples, about 10 per cent of the total population. However, in two countries, Peru and Guatemala, indigenous peoples encompass almost half of the population, and in Bolivia, they are over 60 per cent of the total population.

Even though in Mexico indigenous peoples cover only 10 per cent of the total population, Mexico and Peru contain the largest indigenous population in the region: about 11 million people.

“Beyond cultural barriers, indigenous peoples own little, often unproductive land, and live below the poverty line, which hinder their political inclusion,” said Heraldo Muñoz, UNDP Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Poverty levels among indigenous peoples have hardly changed, despite Latin America’s immense achievements in poverty reduction in recent decades, according to the report.

“The white-mestizo population has benefited, but not the indigenous peoples, as if they lived in a world secluded from the most positive aspects of development,” stresses the report, written mainly by indigenous leaders and experts.

Contacts

UNDP New York
Carolina Azevedo | carolina.azevedo@undp.org | Tel: +1 212 906 6127
UNDP Panama
Pablo Basz | pablo.basz@undp.org
 

In advance of the 21st Summit of African Union, to be held in Addis Ababa on 19-27 May 2013, the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, presents her congratulations to all African women and men on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the African Union.© African Union -African Union 50th anniversary logo

“The African Union is a force for solidarity and for peace across the continent,” said Irina Bokova. “For fifty years, it has promoted a more integrated and prosperous Africa — this role is all the more essential at this time when Africa is rising. UNESCO has always stood with the cause of African unity, and it will continue to support pan-African cooperation and the African renaissance.”

As one of its global priorities, UNESCO has worked closely with the Organization of African Unity since its creation, supporting its work to deepen regional integration, pan-African cooperation and inclusive development.

UNESCO helped to launch the Regional Conferences of Ministers of Education and of Ministers of Science and Technology, which laid the ground for the African Union’s Conference of Ministers of Education. The Organization’s support to the education goals of the African Union was strengthened with the creation of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal (BREDA). Support has ranged from educational planning and capacity-building, to teacher training and curriculum design.

Girls and women’s education have always been a shared focus.

In 1993, UNESCO organized the first Pan-African Conference on Girls and Women’s’ Education in Burkina Faso, and created, jointly with the African Union, a specialized center in Ouagadougou on this issue.

UNESCO was the first agency of the United Nations to provide assistance to national liberation movements on the continent in the 1970s, through a Regional Office in Lusaka. The Organization also established a special programme for a South Africa free of apartheid.

Supporting the great wealth of Africa’s cultural diversity, as well as African languages, has always been a pillar of UNESCO’s cooperation with the African Union – to strengthen social cohesion and promote inclusive, sustainable development by safeguarding and promoting Africa’s cultural heritage and the diversity of its cultural expressions.

UNESCO launched its flagship General History of Africa in 1964, just one year after the creation of the Organization of African Unity — to reveal and preserve the history, traditions and cultures of Africa and to share these with the world, highlighting the great contribution of African peoples to humanity as a whole.

The General History of Africa gave new impetus to integration on the continent through a new vision of the past. The first phase of the project closed in 1999, with the publication of eight volumes, in 13 languages. The adaptation for the pedagogic use of the collection was launched in 2008, and the volumes have been translated into Portuguese. UNESCO is now launching a 9th volume on modern developments, with the support of Brazil and close cooperation with African experts.

“UNESCO’s cooperation with the African Union builds on shared values, on common objectives and, as importantly, on a clear vision of the future of the continent as a dynamic and global leader,” said the Director-General.

Collaboration with the African Union focuses today on several key issues – promoting the goals of African States to provide quality education to all of their citizens; strengthening the foundations for a culture of peace across the continent on the basis of dialogue and reconciliation; and advancing science and technology for sustainable development across the continent. Promoting media development and training for journalists is another area of focus, as is safeguarding and promoting the cultural heritage and diversity of cultural expressions across the continent.

The young people of Africa are a core priority of all UNESCO’s action across the continent, working through an African Youth Strategy, to provide relevant skills, to promote civic participation and to ensure the voices of young people are heard.

All of this work builds on the goals set by the African Union, including through the consolidated plan of action for sciences and technology in Africa, the Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015), the Charter of African Cultural Renaissance, and other frameworks.

Recent flagship events have included the African Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Youth Employment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 1 to 3 April 2012, co-organized with the African Union, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa. On 26-28 March 2013, UNESCO, the African Union and the Government of Angola organized the Pan-African Forum on Sources and Resources for a Culture of Peace, in Luanda.

In the field of culture, UNESCO and the African Union have worked closely to safeguard Africa’s cultural heritage — tangible, intangible, and documentary – including in situations of conflict, as in Mali. This has encompassed also a strong focus on capacity-building for African cultural institutions, as well as support to African cultural industries and events – such as the 23rd Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), held last February in Burkina Faso.

UNESCO congratulates the African Union on its 50th Anniversary

UNESCO recently deepened cooperation with the International Centre for Research and Documentation on African Traditions and Languages (CERDOTOLA), based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to safeguard and promote African languages and African heritage, amongst its Member States — Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.

“This Golden Jubilee is a great moment for Africa and for the world,” said the Director-General. “This is a time to celebrate, and to look with confidence and determination to consolidating Africa’s rise. UNESCO will advance with Africa every step of the way.”

The first-ever Hay House World Summit is a little over a week away! Soon you will be able to enjoy a full 10 days of inspirational conversations, useful advice, and liberating exercises – but what if you just can’t wait until June 1st? Not to worry, 20 sneak-peek audio clips of World Summit interviews have just been released. That’s an hour of audio for you to enjoy right now!

Listen in as best-selling authors including Louise Hay, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Esther Hicks, Deepak Chopra, and don Miguel Ruiz, share their wisdom in passionate conversations. These are just a few of the sound-bites available to you now! Check out the entire list of clips to whet your appetite for topics ranging from health and nutrition to psychic abilities, inspiration and empowerment.

Louise Hay
Curious about what subjects come to light when Louise Hay and Reid Tracy sit down to chat? Take a quick listen to this audio clip to hear Louise delve into the complicated subject of forgiveness, and how she arrived at this freeing concept in her own life.

“The woman who started it all” – Louise Hay interviewed by Reid Tracy

Hay House is proud to introduce the first-ever Global Online World Summit – available in 3 languages: English, German, and Spanish!

The Hay House World Summit, premiering June 1-10, 2013 , will offer free access to more than 100 hours of enriching and life-changing conversations with your favorite teachers on our website. This extraordinary event brings together world-renowned experts and tomorrow’s rising stars, for exclusive conversations on a wide range of topics–providing insight and practical advice–sure to appeal to all of our listeners. We hope that you will join us for this entertaining and educational experience.

During these enlightening, never-before-heard interviews, you’ll have the opportunity to listen to your favorite authors share their personal moments of transformation. You’ll also discover new voices in today’s generation of spiritual teachers and learn how all these inspiring leaders apply their expertise to their own lives.

This rare and original content—more than 100 hours of interviews—will all be available at no cost, as streaming audio, on the Hay House World Summit website.

As a registered guest for this free 10-day online event, you can enjoy at least 10 new conversations by today’s top authors each day!

Register now and you will immediately receive six bonus videos giving you 10-minute previews of candid conversations between Hay House President Reid Tracy and these amazing teachers: Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Esther Hicks, Suze Orman, Cheryl Richardson, and Doreen Virtue.
 

Register today for our premier online event
The Hay House World Summit!

 
If you like what you hear, remember to register for the Hay House World Summit and listen to these interviews and more in their entirety!

The Hay House World Summit will bring together 110 hour-long conversations with world-renowned experts from the personal-growth field to share with you the practical, applicable ways in which they incorporate their teachings in their own lives . . . and how you can do the same!

Join us from June 1st to 10th to listen to all of these intimate conversations for FREE.

It takes place right in front of your computer or mobile device, click here for the full lineup.

This free 10-day online event begins June 1st. During each day of the Summit, 10 or more interviews will be made available to you. Listen anytime for a 24-hour period beginning at 11 AM Eastern (8 AM Pacific).

Be a part of the Hay House World Summit today and let these healing conversations with your favorite authors help you live your best life!

Register today for our premier online event
The Hay House World Summit!

You know those periods where things just seem to go your way?

It’s like you have an angel on your shoulder or some kind of protection. You hit a lucky streak and you know it.

Venus, Mercury and Jupiter will be conjunct in the late degrees of Gemini for the rest of the month. When the two benefic planets (Venus and Jupiter) conjoin, there are kisses out there, just waiting to land on the cheeks of some of us.

People with planets in the late degrees of Gemini will have good fortune for sure.

If you’re a Mercury-ruled Virgo, you should also fare well.

People with planets in the late degrees of fellow Air signs, Libra and Aquarius will catch some luck with this too.

For everyone else, please check the house in your chart where this stellium falls (roughly 21-29 Gemini). You can expect blessings in this area of your life and possible BIG (Jupiter) Good (Venus) News (Mercury)!

Heads up to Gemini born between May 20-30th. The Sun, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter will be in your sign between these dates. That’s a lot of action in one area.

Check out your Solar Return report to see what you can expect.

Have a great day!

Elsa P

ElsaElsa Inc. PO Box 440254, Aurora, CO, 80044