Twelve years ago a group of Australian women decided that sewing lessons and nutrition talks were not the best way to help women in developing countries help themselves. Concerned that the projects offered by existing aid agencies around the world were very traditional and were not developed with women as their focus, they decided on a new approach: an agency run by women, for women, with projects controlled by female partners in the countries in which they were set up. Back then it was a radical idea. Women in Australia would be raising money to give their poorer sisters in Asia, the South Pacific, Africa and Central America the help they wanted - not the help aid agency bureaucrats decided they needed. That was in 1985, the year the United Nations held its massive conference on women in Nairobi, Kenya, and a time when there was an increasing awareness worldwide that women had special needs which needed special attention. So the Melbourne-based International Women's Development Agency (IWDA) was born. Last year, the agency, built on a dream, almost closed its doors for lack of funds. But a desperate appeal to its long-time supporters brought A$40,000 (about HK$234,000) in donations, the funding crisis was resolved and now, from the tiny East Melbourne office to which its reduced staff of four full-timers and two part-timers have moved to save money, it is rebuilding. IWDA director Avega Bishop says it is volunteers, women committed to helping other women, who are making that rebuilding possible, donating their time for everything from addressing envelopes and answering telephones to writing reports. They are helping IWDA fulfil its mission: 'To work in partnership with women from developing countries, with priority given to women experiencing oppression and poverty.' Ms Bishop says: 'Our philosophy is that it is the women who live and work in a community who know best what their problems are and what strategies are needed to overcome them. 'We are not saying that none of our projects involve men - many do - but they have a different starting point from other agencies that don't have that priority on gender-related issues. 'United Nations research shows that if you start with a woman you reach the family and the community most effectively, whereas if you start with a man maybe the benefits don't flow through to the whole family.' In practical terms that means finding the funds for short-term projects such as one in Fiji which is training women in the use of traditional herbal medicines, and working longer-term with partners such as a Philippine organisation running an anti-violence programme. IWDA's list of current projects reveals many tackling tough issues for communities around the world, not just those where women are poor. Domestic and community violence are typical such issues, and El Salvador and Vanuatu are among the countries where IWDA is running programmes against violence. But there are also problems specific to women for whom life is especially tough: food security in Cambodia, trafficking of Burmese women to Thai brothels and genital mutilation in Tanzania, for instance. Ms Bishop says many of IWDA's programmes aim to help women help themselves long-term, so that the benefits continue when the programme ends. 'For example in Cambodia we have programmes at village level to help women improve their livelihood - cow and pig banks, permaculture gardens.' Some of the programmes have strong links with, and migrant communities in, Australia. For example, IWDA has worked for six years with Women for Dignity and for Life in El Salvador which trains women to participate fully in municipal life with literacy, numeracy and leadership projects. There are strong links with the community of El Salvadoran refugees in Australia. But Ms Bishop says although the majority of projects involve Australia's neighbours, Asian countries, a connection with Australia is not a prerequisite. 'The idea is internationalism, that women can connect across international boundaries.' It is a notion IWDA is using in its fund-raising efforts. This year's major fund-raising programme WomanShare is based on having the 3,000 women on its database introduce other women to IWDA. With the theme 'money won't give a woman great ideas, but it will let her act on them', WomanShare uses the international sisterhood theme to make women feel they want to be involved in IWDA's work to improve women's lives. WomanShare organisers are issued with an information kit including pledge sheets and brochures about projects such as a campaign against domestic violence in Cebu City, the Philippines, and a midwifery training programme for East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, where two out of every 10 women die in childbirth. But much of IWDA's funds come from the Australian Government's aid agency AusAid. Projects are funded individually, with funds often including travel funds to visit the project. Ms Bishop says the women who are committed to IWDA in Australia have shown by their fund-raising and volunteer efforts that they believe it is too valuable to lose. An Australian group, active in projects in developing countries, is rebuilding after a funding crisis. Sue Green reports
