Women and Children First

In Ethiopia, they say አመሰግናለሁ 'Ameseg-nalehu' – meaning thank you. We’re thrilled to announce that, thanks to the incredible generosity of BBC Radio 4 listeners and our community of supporters, our recent appeal raised an outstanding £41,275! The first £10,000 of donations were trebled through matched funding provided by supporters of the charity. Your support will help more of the charity’s work helping women through pregnancy and childbirth. Your support means we can save more lives by setting up more community health groups, which will give women the skills and opportunities to take local action on issues that concern them. Thank you so much for joining us on the journey to improve women’s health. You can read more about the work these vital donations will support over on our website - https://lnkd.in/eQ9uz2aJ

In Malawi, girls from one of the community health groups pooled together their resources to buy uniforms for 3 children who couldn’t afford them. With the uniforms, they can now stay in school and continue their vital education. Every day we see the amazing things these young, passionate, and determined girls do for their community. It is a privilege to see first-hand the effect the health groups have an effect on all people in the local community. We hope these young children will be able to learn, grow, and achieve whatever dreams they may have.

In Kaponda village, Malawi, a group of 18 young women who called themselves the "Superfans" is tackling two major challenges in their community: poverty and teenage pregnancies. Through pig farming, they’ve found a way to create economic opportunities while educating women on reproductive health. After raising 40,000 Malawian Kwacha (approximately £18) they invested in a pig, which has now given birth to piglets. The group plans to pass on the piglets, allowing members to start their own small farms, creating a ripple effect of economic empowerment. Their inspiring efforts don’t stop there. The girls will also sell some piglets to fund a nursery school, which will double as a hub for family planning education. It is incredible to see how the communities we work in are harnessing their power. Mica Lam, Programmes Officer at Women and Children First, says “By raising what we might see as a modest amount of money, it has led to not only a sustainable income-generating venture but also a future initiative aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy by educating parents about sexual and reproductive health issues. It’s for the entire community. This story serves as a powerful testament to the fact that, despite research telling us that developmental crises disproportionately impact young girls, they can inspire change through their creativity, determination, and compassion for their communities.” You can read the full story on our website - https://lnkd.in/ekgt_Z2U  

Tickets to our Christmas comedy night are now on sale. The show, taking place Monday 2nd December at the Leicester Square Theatre, has a cracking line-up. Jenny Eclair is headlining Christmas Comedy in aid of Women and Children First. She was the first woman to win the Perrier – the UK’s top comedy award – in 1995. Since she’s toured multiple sold-out shows countrywide, starred in BBC1’s Grumpy Old Women, appeared on Taskmaster, and published Jokes, Jokes, Jokes: My Very Funny Memoir. Jenny Eclair says, “I’m so looking forward to taking part in this Christmas fundraiser for Women and Children First, championing brilliant women to run important community health groups that support women through the challenges of pregnancy and childbirth, whilst sharing the stage with loads of fellow comedy greats!!!” Also starring are Nish Kumar (Live at the Apollo, The Mash Report), Michelle De Swarte (Spent, Never Mind the Buzzcocks), Edinburgh Fringe Award winner Amy Gledhill, double Chortle award winner Lorna Rose Treen and our MC and ambassador, Vix Leyton. Money raised supports our work in setting up community health groups in the world’s most rural, remote areas, enabling more mothers and their babies to survive and thrive. See the comments for the link to get tickets!

Our recent achievement was the wrap-up of the enhanced children's toy project in Ghana, which was developed in partnership with AfriKids. In its proof-of-concept phase in Ghana's Talensi District, the project has demonstrated its practicality and feasibility - the toys, adorned with reminder images about nutrition and care practices, proved to be a valuable tool for increasing caregiver knowledge while also supporting early childhood development. Feedback from local and national officials as well as experts has been really positive, highlighting the innovation's potential for scalability. We now have the building blocks to take this innovation to the next stage of the innovation development journey. Read more about the project’s results and next steps in our upcoming blog!  

Last week, we were delighted to attend the Third Sector Awards as a shortlisted nominee in the Small Charity Big Achiever category. Although we did not win, we were thrilled to be nominated and had the most wonderful time at the event! It has allowed us the time and space to connect with our supporters, partners, and colleagues outside of our usual work-related meetings. Huge congratulations to HEARTBURN CANCER UK for winning the category! It was a time for us to celebrate all we have achieved with those who have supported us over the years, and we hope to participate in more events like this in the future. Thank you to Third Sector and Ansvar Insurance UK!

Shifting knowledge about the life-saving power of community health groups remains one of our main strategic goals. Thank you to our funders for making this possible!

🙌 Young women like Lencer inspire and motivate girls in their communities (and us!)

Hear Beth, our CEO, talk about our life-saving project in Malawi. Together with MaiKhanda Trust, we are harnessing the power of radio to deliver our community health groups. Alongside our partners we have created an engaging radio show to facilitate the delivery of effective and trustworthy sexual and reproductive health education! You can read more stories from Malawi, such as the one about the girls building a washroom, over on our website.    #womenshealth #empoweringwomen #sexualandreproductivehealthandrights #sexualhealth #malawi    The Innovations in Health, Rights and Development, or iHeard, project aims to contribute to the reduction of barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights for adolescent girls and young women in Malawi. It is led by a consortium of: CODE, Farm Radio International, & MSI Reproductive Choices and is funded by the Government of Canada. 

Today, on International Day of Charity, we at Women and Children First reflect on the evolution of charity and its vital role in creating lasting change. Over the years, charity has shifted from being just a provider of aid to becoming a powerful force that empowers communities. Our work goes beyond simply offering assistance. We partner with local organisations to uplift women and children in some of the world’s most remote and rural communities. Our approach provides the tools that communities can use to come up with their own locally-designed solutions. And oftentimes, these solutions can be simple yet life-changing. In Malawi, where we are delivering sexual and reproductive health and rights education to young women alongside MaiKhanda Trust, one community group got together to build a washroom in their school. This gave them a space to change with dignity and privacy during the girls’ periods, encouraging four of them who had dropped out of school to come back and continue their education. It is the communities that know what they need, and we empower them to act upon these needs. You can read more on this story over on our website - https://lnkd.in/ebNvMcE6 By empowering individuals, we enable them to take control of their own lives and ensure long-term change. Together, we’re creating stronger, more resilient communities—where charity is not just a handout, but a hand up. #InternationalDayofCharity #Empowerment #SustainableDevelopment #WomenandChildrenFirstUK #Charity