Policy and Advocacy | Day One afternoon session

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Day One afternoon session

Posted by: CARE on May 6, 2009 at 6:06PM EST

For us advocates, one of the biggest pleasures of working with CARE is being able to learn about the work being done on the ground around the world. The "Voices from the Field" session moderated by CARE COO Steve Hollingworth brought together members of CARE's teams from Peru, Kenya, Bangladesh and the Caribbean for a lively discussion about what is and what is not working in CARE's country programs.

Since this is a brief blog entry, there's no room for details about the programs themselves, but I'd love to share how a few of the panelists decided to choose a career in humanitarian aid work, because each of their stories is inspirational:

Rouzena Zuazo, Educational Regional Advisory Committee Coordinator for CARE Latin America and Caribbean, talked about the predjudices she encountered growing up in Bolivia, where she attended a strict Catholic school for girls and decided at a very young age to dedicate her life to "finding a new role for women." In her country, the combination of discrimnation against indigenous populations and a lack of cooperation between government and institutions made for an uphill battle she was more than willing to take on.

Ariel Frisancho, National Coordinator of the Health Programmatic Team for CARE Peru, decided to become a public health doctor while travelling after college. “I wanted to learn about my real country," he said –– alluding to the dispartity between the poorest in his nation and the elite and educated there.

One consensus: gender inequality is one of the biggest obstacles field workers face on the job daily. How can one educate and empower women who are not allowed to particpate fully in society, whether due to cultural norms or religious beliefs? That's a question we're all trying to answer.

But Steve Hollingworth, who was charged with making the talk-show format session "like a mix of Crossfire and Ellen" did a good job of keeping the tone upbeat: "What we are seeing around the world is that CARE -- with its more than 9000 employees -- is a vehicle to make a difference in the lives of real people."

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(1) Comments

Posted by: Busayo Obisakin on May 20, 2009 7:58AM EST

There is tendency for discouragement, It is like you are not making any head way but when a woman is empowered, that is she has intellectual and economic power, she is able to defend her dignity, her eye is open. It may take time to fight her way to participate fully in the society, but because her eye is open and she knows that she should be given equal opportunities as her male counterpart. It is a matter of time, she will get there. It will get to a stage the society would not be able to stop her again because of the power she posses. It is very important that she has the intellectual and economic power; it is her weapons of warfare.

Thanks
Busayo Obisakin