RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FY 2007 EAP/RSP WOMEN'S ISSUES FUND

UNCLAS MANILA 003795 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND EAP/RSP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM EAID KWMN KPAO SOCI RP SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FY 2007 EAP/RSP WOMEN'S ISSUES FUND SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM REF: STATE 136319 ¶1. In response to the FY 2007 EAP/RSP Women's Issues Fund proposal solicitation, Embassy Manila received ten grant proposals from Philippine non-governmental organizations (NGOs),aimed at promoting women's political participation and economic independence, and contributing to women's freedom from violence and trafficking. Our Mission reviewed the ten proposals and recommends four proposals from the following NGOS: Ing Makababaying Aksyon (IMA) Foundation; Women's Legal Education, Advocacy and Defense (WOMENLEAD) Foundation; Al-Mujadillah Development Foundation (AMDF); and Bangsamoro Women Foundation for Peace and Development, Inc. (BWFPDI). ¶2. A summary of each proposal follows, listed in priority order. Embassy will send by email to EAP/RSP the complete project proposals per reftel guidance. Embassy point of contact is Political Officer Barry Fullerton (phone: 63-2-301-2583; e-mail: FullertonTB@state.gov). -------------- -------------- Project 1: Ing Makababaying Aksyon (IMA) Foundation, Inc. -------------- -------------- ¶A. Name of applicant: Ing Makababaying Aksyon (IMA) Foundation, Inc. ¶B. Project title: Community-Based Action against Trafficking and Violence Against Women (COMBAT-VAWC) ¶C. Total amount requested: $24,400 ¶D. Project overview: The project aims to prevent trafficking in persons and violence against women and their children in Angeles City and in the Central Luzon region. IMA Foundation will conduct forums, community consultations and local campaigns, and publish information materials to raise the awareness of key community stakeholders on the prevention and elimination of trafficking and violence against women. It will support the formation of community-based women and children organizations or watchdogs against trafficking and violence against women in villages with high incidence of such cases. The project will also provide assistance to victims of trafficking and gender violence in the form of counseling, medical and legal services, temporary shelter, livelihood and education assistance, support group formation, case management, rescue, and referral. IMA foundation also seeks to broaden its support and improve its capability to fight trafficking through coalition partnerships, trainings, information exchange, and best practices sharing. -------------- Project 2: WOMENLEAD Foundation, Inc. -------------- ¶A. Name of applicant: Women's Legal Education, Advocacy and Defense (WOMENLEAD) Foundation, Inc. ¶B. Project title: Litigating Cases of Trafficking in Women and Girl-Children: Best practices, Issues and Recommendations ¶C. Total amount requested: $25,000 ¶D. Project overview: The goal of the proposed project is trafficking prevention through programs that promote rehabilitation and reintegration of victims and survivors. The project has three components: (1) provision of direct legal services to trafficking survivors by WOMENLEAD staff lawyers and paralegals; (2) focused group discussions with private lawyers and paralegals (from WOMENLEAD and other network NGOs) to document their experiences in handling cases of trafficking and record best practices and lessons learned, and make recommendations for more effective legal intervention; and (3) sharing and presentation of results to other stakeholders. Through the project, WOMENLEAD hopes to continue rendering legal services to the 18 trafficking survivors it currently assists, help them in the healing process, and use their cases as case studies in its documentation of best practices. -------------- -------------- Project 3: Al-Mujadillah Development Foundation, Inc. -------------- -------------- ¶A. Name of applicant: Al-Mujadillah Development Foundation, Inc. (AMDF) ¶B. Project title: Community-based Education Session on Women's Rights ¶C. Total amount requested: $24,909 ¶D. Project overview: The project aims to educate Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslim) women and men on laws to protect women's rights as a means of curbing violence against women. Previous studies conducted by the Al-Mujadillah Development Foundation show that Filipino Muslim women are marginalized, are subject to discrimination, and often suffer from domestic violence. The project targets the Muslim women and men in eight selected communities of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). AMDF will identify and invite experts who will produce a community-based education module for culture-sensitive, responsive and faith-based education sessions on ending violence against women. The organization will train community-based education session trainers and legal aid professionals on ending violence against women. These trainers will raise the awareness of the participants from the eight communities in ARMM on laws protecting women from violence. The participants will be encouraged to create a community-based response mechanism to end violence against women in their community. -------------- -------------- Project 4: Bangsamoro Women Foundation for Peace and Development, Inc. -------------- -------------- ¶A. Name of applicant: Bangsamoro Women Foundation for Peace and Development, Inc. ¶B. Project title: Sustainable Economic Development for Bangsamoro Women ¶C. Total amount requested: $25,000 ¶D. Project overview: The proposed project is an expansion of a previous EAP Women's Issues Fund project, "Women Empowerment through Sustainable Economic Development," implemented in 10 communities in central and western Mindanao. The project would establish similar sustainable livelihood programs in five communities in Tawi-Tawi province, aimed at developing the capabilities of women in the province to earn a living for their family and increase their self-esteem and self-sufficiency. Project activities include (1) organizing local Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslim) women's associations and cooperatives in five communities and facilitating the government registration of their associations; (2) capacity building of the Bangsamoro women's associations and cooperatives through training and technical assistance; (3) capacity building of the members of the associations through programs that assess the livelihood skills, opportunities and community resources and training that can help develop livelihood, financial management and marketing skills; and (4) provision of revolving seed capital to jumpstart livelihood projects for Bangsamoro women through a loan-grant mechanism. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http:// www.state.sgov.gov/ KENNEY