Posts Tagged ‘Gender Equality’
Women and Men Leading Together
“So God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
– Genesis 1:27
In the Beginning
In the beginning, God created — God separated the land from the sea; made plants and animals, fish and birds, men and women. When it was finished, God looked around at all that had been made and called it very good.
As a woman, I (Nancy), have sometimes struggled to understand what very good means for me. Like so many women across the world, I grew up in a society that viewed men as superior to women.
I was taught to believe that God was a man and that women were the cause of all the troubles and hardships that humans currently face because women sinned first.
In my work as a Monitoring & Evaluation Manager and Integral Mission Coordinator at World Relief Kenya, I often engage with pastoral communities who hold very strong beliefs about women and their positions in society. There have been times when I have felt like I am not good enough due to the way people have reacted to me and the directions I give them.
And yet, despite all this, God is at work.
God’s Vision for Gender Equality
I never dreamed that working at World Relief would transform the way I view myself and other women. But that’s what happened when, in 2021, my colleague James and I walked through a curriculum called Women and Men Leading Together. World Relief is currently rolling out this curriculum to a majority of its international programs staff.
This curriculum lays out a biblical foundation for gender equality by looking at five key points:
- Imago Dei – we are made in the image of God
- Patriarchal Cultures – how they harm both women and men
- Jesus’ Radical Example of Redemption and God’s Original Design for Marriage
- The importance of using rules of interpretation when reading scripture
- Organizational Leadership and countering gender inequality in the workplace
Over the course of eight weeks and seven learning sessions, we learned that men and women are created equally in the image of God, a concept often referred to as Imago Dei. And while men and women are two different expressions of God’s image, the authority to “practice dominion over all the earth” has been delegated to us equally.
We also gained a deeper understanding of the patriarchal cultures we live in, and how cultural norms can often trap both men and women into harmful gender stereotypes.
Culture often tells men that they must be the protector and provider and that they should be the opposite of women, never showing any emotion or gentleness. On the contrary, women are told they are weak, less than men and should yield all leadership and authority to men.
Both of these viewpoints, however, fall short of God’s desire for the freedom and flourishing that God intends for each one of us, regardless of our gender.
God’s Word is Powerful In Us
As we worked through the curriculum, I (James) gained an expanded understanding that everyone — women and men — are gifted and can serve in any capacity. A person should not be judged because of their gender, and everyone deserves equal respect. Jesus, himself, had women in his inner circles. He taught them and invited them into leadership alongside him.
The training helped me to be even more deliberate in being mindful of others, especially across the gender divide. We are all gifted and endowed, and we need to support one another.
The biblical references were very enlightening and helped me see that some of the arguments against gender equality that I had grappled with previously were based on a misinterpretation of scriptures. I now feel more equipped to advocate for gender fairness in the community, and I have the knowledge and basis needed to back up my viewpoint.
For me (Nancy), learning about the examples of powerful women in the Bible like Deborah, Esther, Ruth, Naomi and Priscilla was very encouraging in my faith. I am stronger and more confident and have begun stepping up to lead more in my local church and at my place of work.
The Holy Spirit revealed to me that I am a child of God, fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. I should not fear anything for God is always with me and will never forsake me. As Psalm 121 says, my help comes from God.
Carrying the Vision Forward
The transformation we have experienced and the understanding we’ve received has now given us the opportunity to teach and train others on our team, in preparation for incorporating more gender-equality work in our programming.
We have noticed that many women in our workplace, especially in our field offices, seem to lack the confidence God longs for them to have. They often stay silent or hesitate to address others in public settings. It is up to us as leaders to walk with these ladies, intentionally giving them roles in workshops as a way of building up their confidence as they grow.
Research from the World Economic Forum, Pew, Harvard Business Reviews and others have shown that organizations are more successful where women are equally represented in leadership.
Not only that, but elevating women in leadership and leading alongside one another as equals is a call to be counter-cultural. We get to follow Jesus’ example and counter the effects of gender bias in the workplace.
Men also have a very vital role to play in combatting gender inequality in the workplace. In most cases, gender authority and imbalance is in favor of men. Men, therefore, have to use their positions of authority to be the agents of change that are needed to create a gender-equal world. And men can begin this transformation by changing how they treat their wives, daughters and mothers right within their own homes.
As we, and others across World Relief’s global offices, continue to engage with this training, it is our hope that our fellow staff members, church partners and volunteers can approach this curriculum with an open mind, be willing to learn from what was God’s original intention at creation and adjust our actions accordingly.
In Kenya, we have already seen our entire staff team be more keen on reducing gender bias in our day-to-day work and conversations. Moving forward, we are committed to assessing our progress not just through our interactions with one another, but through our staffing and leadership structure, mainstreaming gender activities across all our programming, and working to ensure our policies and procedures align with our gender-inclusive vision.
We are grateful for the work that God is doing in us and among our team to bring healing and restoration to our world. God’s word is, indeed, more powerful through us because of the work the Spirit has done within us.
Nancy Nasirumbi Owola joined World Relief in 2017. She is a social entrepreneur with a passion for serving the most vulnerable through teaching business skills to those disadvantaged or underprivileged in the community. Nancy has worked in community development since 2006 and has also worked as a consultant, offering technical support to 20 Kenya Community Development Foundation partners in Value Chain Development & Enterprise Development. Her professional background includes entrepreneurship, monitoring & evaluation, business administration & management, and marketing. Today, she serves as the Integral Mission Coordinator as well as the M&E Evaluation Manager for World Relief Kenya.
James Wanda joined World Relief Kenya in May 2020 as the SCOPE and National Health Manager. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Moi University and has a Diploma in Project Management from Kenya Institute of Management. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Health at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. With more than 15 years of experience in public health programming, he’s worked with organizations such as The Walter Reed Project, Catholic Medical Mission Board, Jhpiego Kenya and AMREF. Prior to joining World Relief, he worked as a Project Manager and acting Executive Officer for Kenya Pediatric Association. James believes in justice and fairness to all and service to humanity is his call.
Love Rejoices with the Truth
Combatting Harmful Beliefs
This is a story about a small village in Mzimba, a northern district in the Southern African country of Malawi. It is a story about love and the relentless pursuit of the truth—a truth that has set the village of Jenda free and paved the way for love to flourish.
Five years ago, the Ngoni people never could have imagined the transformation their district was about to experience. Though amongst some of the poorest people in the world, the Ngoni are a proud people, rooted in age-old traditions, closed to outsiders and cautious of change.
Before World Relief began working in Mzimba, life was dictated by tribal traditions that oftentimes perpetuated, or worsened, the cycle of poverty and suffering in the community.
The Ngoni people lived their day-to-day lives believing that:
- A malnourished child meant there was infidelity within the marriage.
- Girls were valuable solely for their bride price and should not attend school.
- Upon puberty, girls foreheads should be cut and scarred to reveal their readiness for marriage.
- If women did not bear sons, men may continue to marry as many women as they like. (Polygamy was commonplace.)
- Upon the death of their husband, widows must walk on their knees to the closest river without food or water.
- Pregnant women must not breastfeed or eat eggs.
- Witchdoctors were the only solution to sickness and challenges.
In many cases, these beliefs lead to chronic malnutrition, child abuse or gender injustices that could often mean the difference between life and death. Yet, this way of life went unchallenged for the Ngoni people, who had no expectations or hope of a different way — no opportunity to act on their natural instinct to love, and no relief for the suffering they endured.
Change Takes Root
In 2012, when local World Relief staff first arrived in the village of Jenda, villagers were guarded. They sent local pastors and leaders to meet with the outsiders, doubting the significance of the gathering, in some cases even fearing it was a scam. Little did they know, this meeting would be the beginning of a vibrant transformation. One that revealed life-altering truth, rooted in love and that would lead to the renewal of their lives, their people and their entire community.
As leaders around Jenda came together with World Relief staff in vision-casting seminars, community-based needs assessments and cross-denominational conversations, a wave of excitement and optimism began to spread. Like wildfire, 15 churches soon became 22, spanning 10 denominations and multiple villages across Mzimba as community leaders realized that a different life, and future, for their people was possible.
“We began to understand God’s vision for our community. A truth that had been obscured from us due to age-old cultural practices and mindsets. We learned God had a desire to see us and our community working together in unity to serve one another, love one another and to lift up our community. We learned to work together, to realize our part in helping the most vulnerable, to become self-reliant and to shed harmful beliefs that were hindering us.” — Church Network Committee Chairman
As community leaders and increasingly, community members, began coming together in conversation around these new truths, the tide began to shift.
“We began to understand poverty in a deeper way. We came to realize the power of knowledge, and of self-reliance. And we realized some of our practices must change if we were to lead better lives. — Modesta, Jenda Savings Group Participant
A Flourishing Community
As the people of Jenda gathered to discuss the needs of their village and their vision for the future, the community began adopting changes that gradually gave way to community-wide flourishing.
New cash crops were planted to include soya beans and groundnuts, yielding added household income. With the pooled profits, seedlings were planted to regrow trees that had been lost to deforestation, hundreds of thousands of bricks were molded for the construction of a new school and homes for teachers, a clean-water well was dug, and savings and agricultural groups were formed.
As each new need was identified, the community gathered together to raise money and invest back into their collective vision for their lives and the lives of their children.
But the changes were not just physical. Love and appreciation for the children of the village was instilled as community members began to understand the meaning of Imago Dei—each child created in the image of God and possessing inherent worth.
The value of the girl child and the importance of education for both boys and girls began to take root. Community members began looking out for their friends and neighbors, and families began to repair once broken relationships, thriving in a growing love, care and respect for one another.
Little by little with each passing year, leaders and community members alike began speaking out against harmful practices of polygamy, rites of passage, child brides and witch doctors.
Mothers groups were formed to keep children in school and protect the rights of children, especially girls.
Leaders from other districts began to visit Jenda to witness what, why and how such positive transformation was taking place. And Jenda’s influence was so great that even local government Village Development Committees took note—putting in place by-laws that forbade marriage under the age of 18 and required mothers to give birth in health-centers or local hospitals so as to ensure proper care.
A Flourishing Future
Today, the village of Jenda is unrecognizable. As you enter the center of the village, you pass a deep-water well, three primary school blocks, five well-constructed teachers’ homes, three large enclosed cultivation plots, two brick-molding kilns and a large field of newly planted trees.
The church, which sits as the center of the community with two classrooms, continues to be a place of planning and dreaming toward a flourishing future. Community members plan to build more schools and child care centers, a library and a recreation hall. They want to ensure all girls attend school and every disabled child has access to wheelchair and wheelchair accessible classrooms. And so much more.
Ten years ago, these plans were not even a thought, let alone an aspiration for the Ngoni people in Jenda. Yet today, they stand before us, proclaiming the gospel and the truths that have opened their minds, encouraged love and instilled a bright and bold vision for their future. It is a truth we can all rejoice in.
*At World Relief, our goal is to see local churches continue to serve the most vulnerable long after World Relief transitions out of the area. We do not seek to establish a long-term, ongoing presence in the areas we serve, but instead build capacity among local leaders to sustain the progress they themselves initiated. Once a community is able to meet their target goals, World Relief begins the process of graduating the community, which includes a time of reflecting and celebrating together. The Jenda community is currently set to graduate in 2023! Join us in celebrating and praying for this continuous transformation.
Francesca Albano currently serves as Director of Branded Content at World Relief. With a background in Cultural Anthropology and a graduate degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, she connects her interests in societal studies and global cultures with her training in brand strategy and storytelling. Francesca is especially passionate about grassroots community development and the treatment and advancement of women and girls around the world.
Get to Know Our Staff: DR Congo
Liliane Maombi is a passionate leader with 17 years of experience working in the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) health field in the Goma region of DR Congo. She holds degrees in nursing and reproductive health with a specialization in midwifery, and she cares deeply about coming alongside women as they heal.
Today, Liliane serves as World Relief DR Congo’s SGBV/HIV Officer. She joined World Relief in February 2021 and leads the team in fighting against gender-based violence and the prevention of HIV/AIDS. She approaches her work with creativity, leading awareness workshops, forming youth clubs, creating flyers and collaborating with local authorities and other NGOs to decrease gender-based violence and prevent HIV/AIDs. She cares deeply about the women she works with and feels it is God’s call on her life to come alongside them with compassion and mercy.
Though her work keeps her busy, Liliane took a few moments out of her day to share a bit of her personal story and about her work at World Relief.
We are grateful for Liliane and the rest of our team in DR Congo. We invite you to pray for them as they lead and serve others in vulnerable situations. On Sunday, May 22, 2021 Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano, erupted just six miles from the city of Goma where World Relief DR Congo has an office. The lava flow affected 297,016 people including two World Relief Staff who lost their homes. Our team is on the ground working to assess the needs of those affected. If you want to join World Relief in responding when and where disasters happen you can join us on The Path, and be a part of a community that is able to give monthly where it’s needed most.
Liliane Maombi started working with World Relief in February 2021. She supervises sexual and gender based violence/HIV programming as the SGBV/HIV Officer in the North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is her mission and passion to walk alongside and bring healing to women survivors of SGBV and/or HIV who have been marginalized in their communities. She received her BS degree in Reproductive Health, specializing in midwifery, from the Higher Institute of Medical Training of Goma in 2019. She also has received several degrees in the field of Nursing. Liliane has acted as an emergency health professional in the Goma area since 2003 for numerous international non-profit organizations, including CARE International, Save the Children, and the International Rescue Committee.
Our Commitment to Gender Equality
As we celebrate International Women’s Day and reflect upon the theme of #EachforEqual, we think it’s important for us, as leaders, to affirm and reinforce our belief in full equality and inclusion of women at all levels of leadership, as well as to demonstrate the ways we’re working toward achieving this within our own organization.
We recognize the importance of transparency when it comes to these issues, so we wanted to take some time to share with you how World Relief is working hard toward a gender-equal world — both within our programs around the world and also right here at home within the walls of our offices.
This past year, we piloted a gender equality Bible study for our Rwandan staff designed to help them break free from damaging cultural norms and behaviors and empower women to take on more leadership roles within our programs. We train our staff first because we know that God’s word can’t be powerful through us until it is powerful within us.
In 2020, we have begun rolling out gender equality training to all of our staff, arming them with God’s truth that both men and women are created in the image of God and are equally deserving of worth, dignity and respect. We saw the fruit of this effort at our recent meeting of international staff leaders where a full 50% of participants were women.
This year, we also welcomed three new women to our board, a 75% increase in female participation. Our Executive Committee also evolved to better reflect our stance on women in leadership across the organization. This group is now 45% female, and we have undoubtedly become a stronger team in this shift. Finally, we are excited to announce the appointment of WR Burundi’s first female Country Director, Cesalie Nicimpaye.
We believe that gender equality is a matter of both justice and stewardship, and we recognize that we are both more just and better equipped to fulfill our mission when we embrace the gifts, passions and experiences of women and men equally. For that reason, we will continue striving toward gender equality in everything we do. We, of course, recognize that we still have progress to make, but we are committed to this journey and to being #eachforequal, not just on IWD but every day.
Thank you for joining us on this important journey.
Blessings, Tim & Scott
Tim Breene served on the World Relief Board from 2010 to 2015 before assuming the role of CEO from 2016-2020. Tim’s business career has spanned nearly 40 years with organizations like McKinsey, and Accenture where he was the Corporate Development Officer and Founder and Chief Executive of Accenture Interactive. Tim is the co-author of Jumping the S-Curve, published by Harvard Publishing. Tim and his wife Michele, a longtime supporter of World Relief, have a wealth of experience working with Christian leaders in the United States and around the world.
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