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| Women for Women |
This week’s Wednesday’s Woman comes to you from Sperk*’s monthly contributor, Anna Mahler who writes at The Mommy Padawan. She shares my passion for recognizing women who have seen suffering and have taken it upon themselves to do something about it. This week her choice for Wednesday’s Woman is no different.
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| Anna Mahler |
After you read her Wednesday’s Woman submission, visit her
space in the Web, The Mommy Padawan.
Padawan means student. But she is
also a teacher, a teacher who has taught me a lot and I am grateful.
Wednesday’s Woman – Zainab Salbi
"I find it amazing that the only group of people who are not fighting and not killing and not pillaging and not burning and not raping, and the group of people who are mostly — though not exclusively — who are keeping life going in the midst of war, are not included in the negotiating table.” (Zainab Salbi on women and war)
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| Zainab Salbi |
I was introduced to Women for Women International after
learning about Lisa Shannon and the work she has been doing to women in the DR
of Congo. I wanted to learn more and find out what I could do to help. This is
where I learned about Women for Women International and the programs they have
for sponsoring women in the Congo and other countries in need.
Reading through the website, learning about their programs
and even the vision of the organization is truly inspiring:
Our VisionWomen for Women International envisions a world where no one is abused, poor, illiterate or marginalized; where members of communities have full and equal participation in the processes that ensure their health, well-being and economic independence; and where everyone has the freedom to define the scope of their life, their future and strive to achieve their full potential. (source)
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| Screenshot via TED |
Zainab Salbi is the founder of Women for Women International
and has served as the CEO from 1993 to 2011.
Zainab was born in 1969 and was no stranger to living with a
war at your doorsteps. "I was born
in Baghdad and lived there until I was 19," she says. "I learned to
coexist with war. You wake up with the sound of a missile hitting a neighbor,
and you say, 'OK, it's not me today.' And you go back to sleep." (source)
Zainab started Women for Women at the age of 23 with $2,000
from her wedding. A newlywed, she and her husband skipped their honeymoon and
flew to Croatia after hearing reports on the news of refugee and rape
camps. Once there, they spent months
helping women survivors and Zainab gathered information to help her create
Women for Women International.
I personally can't imagine being that young and having the
strength, maturity and bravery to make the choices and take the actions this
woman did. And if that is not inspiring enough, visit the home page of her website, ZainabSalbi.com:
I was born and raised in Iraq, I lived and worked in many war zones, I encountered displacement, I tasted loss, death and pain, and I believe! I believe in the possibilities of change. I believe in joy, in laughter and in dancing until the end. I believe in love and in forgiveness, and I am a witness to the possibility of healing. It is TIME for the new story to emerge. Welcome to my website.
To have lived and seen so much pain and loss and still have
that much hope, positivity and love in your heart is incredible, it is a
miracle and a blessing for each person who comes across it.
Zainab Salbi also an author of two books; a national
bestseller "Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in theShadow of Saddam” (with Laurie Becklund) that documents her life under Saddam
Hussein’s rule and “The Other Side of War: Women's Stories of Survival andHope."
Since 1993, the organization has helped 316,000 women survivors of wars access social and economic opportunities through a program of rights awareness training, vocational skills education and access to income generating opportunities, thereby ultimately contributing to the political and economic health of their communities.
