Shift power to local women community

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Nadra AlMahdi

Sudan

Mar 3

Joined Jan 22, 2009

Shifting Power 

means Building Stronger Communities

Shifting power towards communities is about dismantling top-down approaches and centering the voices and needs of those most affected. It's a complex process, but it can lead to more sustainable and equitable solutions. 

We need to :-

Shifting Power in Action:

Community Land Trusts: These organizations give communities ownership over land, allowing them to control development and ensure it benefits residents. 

advocate/issues"

Participatory Budgeting: This process allows residents to directly allocate public funds, giving them a say in how resources are used.

Challenges: Securing funding for community projects can be difficult, with funders often favoring established organizations over grassroots initiatives.

Navigation: Building strong relationships with potential donors, highlighting the community's capacity, and demonstrating measurable outcomes can increase funding chances.

Recommendation: Community leaders can network with grantmakers who prioritize community-led work.

Empowering Women:

Grantmaking Reforms: Funding processes should be accessible and transparent, with diverse review panels and criteria that value lived experiences.

Capacity Building: Provide training and resources to women-led organizations to strengthen their grant writing and proposal development skills.

#ShiftThePower:

Power as Collective Agency: To me, power is the ability of people to make decisions and shape their own futures.

Shifting Power in Development: The development sector often overlooks local knowledge and expertise. Shifting power means giving communities the resources and decision-making authority to address their own challenges.

Vision: Imagine a future where communities are self-reliant, leading development initiatives and collaborating with funders as equal partners.

Challenges and Risks:

Resistance from Existing Power Structures: Those who benefit from the status quo may resist change.

Capacity Building: Communities may need support to develop the skills and resources to manage projects effectively.

Challenges: In some cultures, top-down hierarchies are deeply ingrained, making community empowerment difficult.

Opportunities: Social media can be a powerful tool for community organizing and communication.

Equitable Relationships:

Funders as Partners: Funders should engage in co-creation with communities, providing resources without dictating how they're used.

Shifting the Narrative: We need to move away from the language of "charity" and focus on collaboration and shared goals.

Collective Action:

Building Alliances: Communities can form coalitions to strengthen their collective voice and advocate for change.

Sharing Knowledge: Documenting and sharing successful models of community-led development can inspire others.

By working together, communities, funders, and policymakers can shift power towards a more just and equitable future.

My experience.

In North Kordofan, Bara, in a village about 6 hours away from the city of El Obeid. 8 hour from khartoum capital of SUDAN

I received a grant from the British organization Panos to write about those affected by desertification in the region, with a focus on women’s issues.

I was able to obtain the address of a girl from the area who works in the Ministry of Agriculture to be a helper and guide for us to get to know the people of the village, their beliefs, and their local language.

We have drawn up an action programme.

We used a partner organization operating in the region to provide logistical support.

The stories were for the purpose of participating in the United Nations World Environment Day in New York.

It was a competition between us and another team in Ethiopia, also made up of Ethiopian journalists. The most inspiring stories will receive financial prizes and a grant to attend the United Nations World Day in New York.

I received training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a period of 3 weeks.

Then I returned to Sudan to the region of North Kordofan Al-Obeid, then Bara, which is 11 hours away by bus from the capital, Khartoum.

We went to the local community and met with the village mayor to coordinate a meeting with people identified by the mayor for their ability to describe their needs.

We met with them and conveyed their expressive and inspiring stories, and we were able to win the publication of our stories and photos about desertification in North Kordofan at the United Nations Environment Exhibition in New York, by defeating the team of Ethiopian journalists.

Then I worked on my own story involving the elder women in the local community there.

The education rate was monitored and it was completely non-existent. Girls get married at the age of ten. They give birth and the little girl grows up to fetch water and firewood to prepare food from the nearby valley. Then she gets married again and life continues.

Society is empowered by male hegemony to approve of women.

There are wisdom that inspire women with poetry.

The midwife whom women seek for advice, and nothing else.

There are no schools for girls in the village, and the nearest school takes 6 hours on foot.

In order for there to be a change in society and a transfer of power, women must be educated.

To teach them how to find financiers.

I searched for organizations that support international education.

I sent her pictures of the area. We submitted a feasibility study and obtained the approval of the local government to sponsor the establishment of a primary school for girls there. After six months and intensive language courses, light began to invade the minds of the little girls.

We returned again to prepare training courses for women's literacy and first aid.

Poverty was great there

The biggest problem facing women was transporting water from long distances on their heads, which led to the miscarriage of many pregnant women there. Panos London took up the need and dug a water storage tank that supplies water to 6 other nearby villages.

As for poverty, we coordinated with another foreign organization to finance gardens in front of homes in which women grow bambi, vegetables, and peanuts.

The organization gives them seeds and they plant and water their crops

The organization takes the production, sells it on the market, and gives the proceeds to the women.

I returned again to the region to give courses on women's economic empowerment.

Women there collected their money from agricultural revenues to finance renaissance projects in the village.

Electricity was introduced, and a health center was established to provide care for pregnant women and vaccination for children.

A preparatory school was established.

Then women were able to join the local parliament of the state.

Two were elected to represent the states in Parliament in Khartoum.

A woman can change the entire world if she puts economic power in her hands

It cannot be implemented unless partners, financiers and decision-makers believe in it.

That society is a successful woman and then a successful society.

Women were able to make decisions on behalf of their society and formulate a reality they wanted that fit their ambitions and future goals in a better reality and a more beautiful future for their children.

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