Human rights seem so self-evident, but unfortunately this is not the case. Women’s rights in particular are not always respected. The Mama Cash Foundation wants to change this.
About the foundation
The Mama Cash Foundation is the oldest international women’s fund. The foundation was founded in the Netherlands in 1983. Mama Cash supports women around the world who are committed to their rights on the intersection of issues such as money, body and voice. The Mama Cash Foundation supports around 100 women’s groups every year. Over the past ten years, the foundation has invested almost €19,000,000 in these groups.
It is shocking to know that of all people living in extreme poverty, 70% are women. It is also striking that domestic violence is one of the leading causes of death among women between the ages of 15 and 45. Mama Cash believes that every woman has the right to participate equally in creating a peaceful world. She provides her help mainly to women who are the most marginalized. We can think of disabled women, migrant women, lesbian women and young women.
The Mama Cash Foundation works together with domestic and foreign partner organizations to create a better world for women.
Supported groups
As mentioned earlier, the Mama Cash Foundation supports 100 women’s groups, all of which have wonderful projects. A few of these groups will be discussed.
The Sevota group is active in Rwanda. The founder of the group is Godelieve Mukasarasi, who lost her husband and two children during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Sevota is a support group for women who survived the genocide. These Rwandan women have often been abused, raped or are HIV positive. A large number of them have also had a child by their rapist. Sevota helps them rebuild their lives.
Another African women’s organization supported is the Womens Health Network. This group is active in Namibia. In this country, approximately 17% of adults are infected with HIV. Women who are infected are often forced to undergo sterilization. Jennifer Gatsi-Mallet, the founder of Women’s Health Network, said: ‘At one point we discovered that doctors were sterilizing postpartum women with HIV to prevent them from giving birth to more babies with the virus. Shortly after giving birth, they are forced to sign for it, even though they don’t actually know what it is about.’ Women’s Health Network is particularly committed to physical self-determination, but the group also fights for fair employment opportunities, for example.
The Women Rights Institute for Peace, abbreviated to WRIP, is a Kenyan women’s organization that, like Women’s Health Network, primarily strives for physical self-determination . In Kenya, many women fall victim to female circumcision. The WRIP protects women against these circumcisions.
Kaisa Ka Baguio is also a group supported by the Mama Cash Foundation. Kaisa Ka Baguio is committed to women in the Philippines . In 2009, the Philippines was hit by severe flooding that killed more than 1,100 people. Kaisa Ka Baguio wants to prepare women who work outside, such as farmers, for the consequences of climate change.
As in many other countries, women in Nicaragua are disadvantaged. In this Latin American country, women are used to abuse. Movimiento de Mujeres Por Nuestros Derechos Humanos wants to teach women to stand up for themselves. This organization wants to tackle sexual and domestic violence.
Ambassador
The Dutch singer and actress Angela Groothuizen has been an ambassador of the Mama Cash Foundation since 2006. Groothuizen has been to Sudan and Guatemala and has seen with his own eyes the work done by Mama Cash. She was very pleased with this. Groothuizen believes that it is necessary to address women’s rights. ‘In the Middle East, women are often not allowed to hold political positions or go onto the streets at all. Girls do not receive education in many countries. Women must be married to get the pill. When a man dies in Africa, his children inherit the land instead of his wife. Abortion is criminalized in many Latin American countries, even if the unborn child is fathered by a rapist!’ said Angela Groothuizen.
Support the Mama Cash Foundation!
Would you like to do something to improve the position of women around the world? Then you can choose to donate to Mama Cash. You can transfer your donation to ING Bank 528, attn. Mama Cash in Amsterdam. You can also donate online.
You can support the Mama Cash Foundation in many other ways. For more information, please visit www.mamacash.nl or email [email protected] . The foundation can be reached by telephone on the following number: (020) 5158700