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As we mark the 2010 International Women's Day, under the theme "Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all," we spotlight women who are making a mark in their communities - with World Vision's support.
By Nathalie Fauveau
Coumba is a very active woman in her community. She is committed to making the community a better place for children and their families.
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Six years ago, Coumba was nominated president of a women’s welfare group in her community. They women know that she wants to bring about positive change and that they can count on her.
She has two sons – Amara, 11, and Ibrahima, 10. Amara has been a sponsored child for the past six years, and Ibrahima was just recently sponsored. They both go to school and Coumba is keen on ensuring that they get a good education.
Coumba, like many women, didn’t do much outside her household. Her husband’s meagre earnings were not enough to feed her family, so she set out to earn some money to take care of her children’s basic needs.
She knew of a small underutilised field outside her village, which belonged to the community. With her family’s well-being and that of the other women in her village in mind, Coumba made an appointment with a World Vision program manager and proposed a project to transform the empty field into a vegetable garden run by the women in the community.
She explains: “I went to World Vision and it took exactly one month between the time of my proposal and the field’s inauguration (about a year ago). I presented the idea and World Vision said ‘yes’ immediately and provided the funds to get us started. I am so thankful for all the support we get from World Vision.”
World Vision financed the construction of a second water well (the field had one, but it wasn’t enough) and a fence.
The women are thrilled with the project and often go about their chores singing or beating the drums. “I’m impressed with the work that World Vision does, especially for children, so it was an honour to be able to work with them,” Coumba says.
Coumba also took the necessary steps to get the field signed over to the women’s group, a move that ensures strong ownership of the project among the women.
The women cultivate all types of vegetables and fruit trees in the field. Thirty-five women work in the field during the morning shifts and 34 during the afternoon shifts. This arrangement gives them half a day to take care of their responsibilities at home.
The money generated by the weekly sale of the vegetables (at a local market) goes into a common fund from which they pay the field expenses and their wages.
“We are saving up some of the money so that next year we can use the profits to function independently,” Coumba said.
As in Coumba’s case, World Vision empowers poor communities, families and individuals, and improves their capacity to become self-sufficient.
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