Women in Humanitarian Dynamics

Where: Yaounde, Cameroon

Area of Work: Education, Engaging Men and Boys for Gender Equality, Women's Economic Empowerment

Women in Humanitarian Dynamics (WIHD) supports displaced and marginalized girls and women to establish a separate source of livelihood independent of their spouses that can improve access to education, employability skills, stable income, and self-confidence. Funds are achieved through creating livestock micro-businesses for women in targeted communities with a commitment to invest in education. WIHD started this journey in 2015 with 22 Women and 57 girls, and today, they have created 480 livestock micro-businesses and have seen 555 teenage girls graduate secondary school. They also offer counsel on career choices, and more recently, through the project negotiated peace dialogues in communities affected by war in Cameroon.

The objective of the intervention is to join efforts to set new records and achievements for women and girls that can help them raise funds to overcome patriarchy and inequality associated with socio-economic instability collectively. The distinguishing feature is to reduce the gender gap in education systems by making it accessible, affordable, and sustainable for every girl.

The intervention has been in three folds (3x6 approach); payment of emergency Tuition and fees; training, mentorship, and income through offering short term cash-for-work ($10/day each day) livestock business opportunities and rehabilitating community/productive assets such as constructing new buildings, drilling wells, expanding and maintaining roads leading to markets, health facilities and schools. The challenges that patriarchy had created have been broken in terms of gender division of labor, leadership, and education. Groups of women are able to capitalize on their financial stability to get wider acceptance from the community. The livestock micro-business provides them a dignified income opportunity that is enabling them support in the education of their female children. Special groups of women are also trained and certified as agricultural technicians to act as community leaders and mentors to ensure proper maintenance for successful implementation and sustainability.

Photos provided by WIHD

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