Women as Leaders

---

HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 29: Refugees and Displaced Women > Women as Leaders

---

In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

Developing programs without consulting the women they will serve makes the programs less effective.

Women should be involved in all plans and decisions that affect refugees and displaced people, and encouraged to become leaders in their new communities. This draws on existing skills and builds self-esteem, self-sufficiency, and safety, while reducing feelings of loneliness and depression. It also helps those who provide services to understand people’s needs and make programs more effective.

Here are some ways women can take leadership:

• Participate in planning the way the settlement is arranged—for example, where the latrines, gardens, and food, fuel, and water distribution points are located.
• Organize separate meetings for women and men about safety, basic needs, nutrition, and community involvement.

• Be aware of tensions that may be caused by the increasing involvement of women and girls, and talk to men in the community and camp leadership to encourage these changes.
• Help with campaigns to spread relevant information to the community about activities, training programs, and events.
• Organize community trainings and activities on nutrition, reading classes, health issues, sports, and music.

• Organize child care programs. Child care is an important way to help women participate in activities where they can talk with others about community needs and problems.
• Organize schools for children. The United Nations says that all refugee children have the right to an education, but few programs are available. Classes are sometimes overcrowded or there may be a shortage of teachers.

When we arrived in Honduras, we were weak from hiding in the hills and walking long distances to reach safety. There were many sick and malnourished children and old people with us. There was no food here for us, so the women all worked together to organize nutrition centers. Then we got the local parish to bring us some extra food for the centers, and we began to plant vegetables and raise chickens, goats, and rabbits to add to the food we prepared. Our projects have grown, and now we can give every family a few eggs, a little bit of meat, and some vegetables at least once a month.

We needed to repair our clothing and shoes, so we organized workshops and convinced the agencies to bring us a few sewing machines and tools. Some of the women had worked as seamstresses, and an older man knew how to make shoes, so they taught others their skills. We are proud of what we have achieved here— we have shown that women can do more than cook.

The agencies trained us to become health and nutrition workers and to raise livestock. We have learned to add, subtract, and plan our expenses to manage these projects ourselves. Because of our experience with these projects, many women are now leaders in the camp, and when we return to our country, we will be able to run community projects and businesses.

—Aleyda, a Salvadoran refugee in Colomoncagua, Honduras

Ways to earn a living

I'm glad they give us food, but there are other things that I need to buy for my family.

I know how to make dresses... Maybe we could set up a workshop?

The help refugees and displaced women receive is often not enough to meet their families’ needs. Women may be able to earn more by working together

Refugee and displaced women often find it hard to get enough work to support their families. They may lack the skills needed to work in their new home or find it difficult to get a work permit. But even in these situations, there is often some work women can do.

For example, some refugee women do domestic work in people’s homes or work as health workers in organizations that provide aid. Sometimes these organizations also give women money to start projects in traditional women’s activities, like handicrafts. But since it can be hard to support a family with these activities, women should also try to find out about larger projects—like planting trees or building shelters—that pay more. If women are given plots of land, they can grow food for their families or to sell. And if a woman has the training, she may be able to work in a trade or small business.

This page was updated:13 Nov 2023