Global Grassroots 2011
"I know how to claim my rights and how to help other women to claim their rights, too. This helps me be safe and independent."
-Beneficiary of Turwubake: Construct the Family
On Passion and Compassion*
“[People] used to believe that a woman must stay at home,” Jeanine Karigirwa, president of Turwubake, explains. “They say that the education of a girl is nothing. If a husband takes a wife, and they have two or three children, the woman becomes like the slave or the servant of the husband. The husband starts to disvalue the woman. That’s the source of violence.”
Jeanine and her team, Construct the Family, fight against gender-based violence faced by wives and domestic workers in their community. Jeanine can list the team’s accomplishments, but she also talks about internal, personal change. “It developed in me the patience. When someone makes a mistake, I feel like: I could also make that kind of mistake. I put myself in the place of that person, and I help him or her to solve that problem.”
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The project has taught Jeanine to think differently – “to awaken my mind and ask other people to think together of something better they can do in their lives.” She is full of new certainties. “If someone is dedicated to doing something – with determination and loving – no matter what, she or he will achieve it… if you want something, you first think about it. Then, develop the will in yourself.”
Turwubake: Construct the Family Program Video
photo by Laya Madsen
Beneficiary of Turwubake
photo by Christina Hueschen