MADRE has recently given seed grants to budding organizations in the Philippines, Uganda, and Tanzania to support Indigenous and women's rights.
Our seed grants are designed to nurture an innovative, new initiative and give it the resources it needs to grow. Read on to see what your support has made possible.
Defending Young Women's Economic and Educational Rights in Tanzania
MADRE partners with the Pastoralist Information Development Organization (PIDO) in Tanzania to defend rights and provide opportunities for Indigenous Maasai girls. Prolonged droughts in the region on the border of Tanzania and Kenya have led to an increase in forced child marriages, as families turn to dowries as a source of income and survival.
Our grant to PIDO will advance climate justice and the rights of adolescent girls, by investing in their work to fund girls’ education, economic rights, and intergenerational leadership. This will ensure that present and future generations of girls become leaders and play a key role in community decision-making on how to defend against climate change. Watch the video above to hear more from Martha Ntoipo, PIDO founder.
Urgent Assistance for Displaced Lumad Peoples in the Philippines
Entire communities have been displaced by the systemic and cruel persecution of Lumad Peoples by President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime. The Lumad are denied security, food, water, medicine, and other basic needs. MADRE has partnered with a local organization, Karapatan, to provide immediate support, like food, for displaced people.
This grant will also help us to identify new partners and ways to deepen our work with Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines.
Launching a Women’s Human Rights Defenders Network in Uganda (WHRDU)
Women human rights defenders in Uganda face sexual and gender violence in retaliation for their work to demand rights. And the perpetrators often enjoy total impunity for their crimes.
Our seed grant to WHRDU will help to launch and convene a network to create shared activist strategies and to protect against dangers facing women human rights defenders in Uganda.
This network will be critical in building connections between activists, amplifying their voices, and maximizing resources through better coordination.
