THANK YOU TO ALL THE FRIENDS OF WHEAT FOR SUPPORTING “THE 1000 WOMEN UNITED AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INITIATIVE” ON 16 MAY 2013
We do appreciate your support and generosity
The success of this flagship event is as a result of the generosity of faithful supporters and donors. A special thank you to our inspiring speakers and wonderful entertainers who helped make this event a memorable occasion enjoyed by all who attended.
“Being a patron of WHEAT and one of the founding members of the 1000 Women United Against Domestic Violence Initiative, I believe every South African should get involved in this initiative.” Wendy Ackerman
The success of this flagship event is as a result of the generosity of faithful supporters and donors. A special thank you to our inspiring speakers and wonderful entertainers who helped make this event a memorable occasion enjoyed by all who attended.
“Being a patron of WHEAT and one of the founding members of the 1000 Women United Against Domestic Violence Initiative, I believe every South African should get involved in this initiative.” Wendy Ackerman
Blackbyrd Band
Yvonne Chaka Chaka
The Anene Booysen rape shocked South Africa to the core, and her death highlighted the reality of the fear women experience in their daily lives: fear that they, or their sisters, mothers, daughters or friends, will become victims of gender-based violence.
Many, and indeed, perhaps all of us, know of a woman who has been beaten, abused, raped or killed in a violent manner – and this indicates the endemic nature of gender-based violence in South African society. The death of Anene and many other women and children like her, should not be in vain, and it is an urgent call to our conscience – both women and men - to not remain silent, or do nothing, to protect the rights and indeed the lives of women and girls in our country. WHEAT trust commits itself to keep the support to organizations working on Gender-based violence firmly on our grant-making agenda. We came to the realization that within the South African context there is a gap, and indeed a need, for a rapid response fund to respond to the urgent realities that women experience on the ground, and which sometimes requires urgent support outside of a set grant cycle. The brutal rape and murder of Anene Booysen a few weeks ago, brought this issue once again to the fore, as WHEAT was contacted by women from the Bredasdorp community for support. As such, the board has now adopted a Rapid Fund to respond to urgent situations such as that of the Anene Booysen case, and we are currently actively fundraising for this specific fund, and are developing systems for due diligence that will enable us to issue grants speedily, but also in an accountable manner to women’s groups in urgent need. During last year’s 16 days of Activism on no Violence against women, we in partnership with Pioneer Foods issued a targeted call for proposals to grassroots women’s organisations who work in the field of GBV, with an emphasis on work that focuses on both providing support to victims of GBV, access to justice, the protection of minority rights – and here in specific in the light of the increase of hate crimes and “corrective rape” against members of the LGBTI community in South Africa. We received an overwhelming response to this call for proposals, which illustrates the need for donor support that exists in this area of work. During 2013 we are also conducted research on women’s access to justice in GBV-related cases. This research will be rolled out throughout the nine provinces of South Africa, and through this we are seeking to strengthen community and government responses to GBV. To break this cycle of violence against women, indeed requires urgent intervention, now more than ever. When the justice system fails women, it is often the grassroots women’s organisations that have to pick up the broken pieces of women’s bodies, and the collective support of other women that help these women to reclaim both their power and their bodies. Stand up, take action, and defend the rights of women now! How can YOU get involved?
For more information contact our offices on 021 7626214 or send an email to giving@wheattrust.co.za |
Want to help WHEAT but don't know how?
Good news! You can now SMS 1000Women to 38774 and donate R10 to the WHEAT Trust Rapid Response Grant Fund. This fund helps WHEAT quickly disperse grants to women and organizations that are in vulnerable or threatening situations.
Grant Cycles
2nd Cycle: Due 30 June 3rd Cycle: Due 30 September
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WHEAT Trust Writing Workshop
WHEAT Trust hosted its first Writing Workshop this year! It took place from 11 April to 14 April in Kleinmond. WHEAT invited women from 8 different organizations to attend the workshop, which aimed to teach writing skills to the women, including personal and technical writing skills. The Workshop was held at the stunning Grail Centre, providing a beautiful and safe space for the women to practice different writing skills.
The facilitator of the workshop, Jan Webster, aided the women along their journey by having the women write personal poems, short stories, letters, songs and even drawings. Not only did the workshop aid in developing the women’s creative and communication skills, but it also provided a space for the women to do some emotional exploration and healing. This intimate environment allowed the grantees to talk about issues that they may not have had an opportunity to talk about with other women before. The last aspect of the program includes providing the women with after-care and having them speak with a psychologist to unpack all the experiences and any issues that were brought up during the workshop. WHEAT hopes to expand the workshop to women in other provinces and eventually compile a book of poems and stories written by our grantees. The tentative release date for the book will be on Women’s Day, 9 August of this year. Watch this space to stay updated! Special thanks to some of our donors...
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