Skip to content
ELCA Blogs

ELCA World Hunger

ELCA Blogs / ELCA World Hunger

Women’s Literacy in Liberia

Ryan P. Cumming

It’s a sad fact of history that women’s bodies become “battlefields” in situations of armed conflict.  Rape, trafficking, maiming and death are among the immediate threats women face when war breaks out.  But the long-term effects of conflict can be severe, too, especially when women face sexual violence during war.  This is true of the women of Bong and Lofa Counties in Liberia, many of whom were victims of rape during the civil war in their country.  The obstacles they face providing for themselves and their children are serious, especially when coupled with the insufficient education they can access in Liberia.

Recently, the Liberian government has tried to make strides in improving the quality of and access to education, especially for women and girls.  Still, though, less than half of the adult population is literate.  Recognizing the importance of literacy, the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL) in 2014 has started the “Young and Adult Women Basic Bilingual Literacy Project,” intended to help vulnerable women gain the skills they need to feed themselves and their children.

Remember the old saying, “Knowledge is power”?  That is certainly true of the women associated with this project, some of whom “were born either before or during the heat of our civil war [and] most of whom are single mothers and solely depend on selling petite market [items] to support their children.”  Despite their experiences during the long conflict – many of their children were born as a result of rape, according to the LCL – the women are “breadwinners” and vital members of their communities.  Yet, their inability to read, write and count large numbers means that they are often on “the losing end” of transactions in the marketplace.  Literacy means not only the ability to read and write – it can mean the difference between sustainable and unsustainable livelihood for themselves and their communities.

To support them in their efforts, the LCL will work with rural women in Liberia to teach them basic math and reading, skills that the LCL believes will not only benefit the women themselves but “have great potential to lift their communities from neglect.”  Because of the skills, creativity and industry of women in these communities, the support offered by LCL’s program will have wide-reaching effects.

In addition to teaching nearly 300 women to read and write, the project will also create hundreds of educational resources, train teachers, and establish learning centers in the community.  Moreover, the LCL will also teach women and girls basic skills in English, increasing their ability to participate in the marketplace and seek further education.

By listening to the needs – illiteracy, poverty, trauma – and the assets – strong women leaders, industriousness, support for education – in the communities in Liberia, the LCL will implement a program with great potential.  As companions of the LCL, the ELCA has been invited to be part of this great work through the support of a grant from ELCA World Hunger.  This year, Liberian women will be supported in their work by your gifts to ELCA World Hunger.  Together, our communities can move from vulnerability to possibility and from possibility to sustainability.  Thank you!

 

Ryan P. Cumming is the Program Director of Hunger Education for ELCA World Hunger.  You can reach him at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.

ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grants

Henry Martinez

​

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grants

2014

 

ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking grants are available to support local efforts to educate and mobilize ELCA congregations, groups, and/or synods.  This particular grant program supports engaging educational and networking opportunities focused on the root causes of and solutions to hunger.

In 2014 we are particularly interested in receiving education proposals that focus on increasing youth and young adult engagement; address racism, sexism and classism within domestic poverty; and increase awareness of the experience of domestic poverty.  Education funding can be used for events, educational programs or the development of shareable resources.   For networking proposals, congregation-based and synod-based hunger leader trainings will be prioritized.

We are looking for proposals submitted by a non-profit charitable organization classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service, or operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3) that must:

  1. Provide a short (2-3 paragraph) description of your congregation, group or organization and a narrative of the context in which the project, event or initiative will take place.  This should clearly show what your program, congregation or group is attempting to address and how the proposal relates to the current priorities for ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking.
  2. Summarize how the project, event, or initiative will:
    1. Educate and mobilize ELCA congregations, groups, and/or synods;
    2. Influence this church body toward better action and engagement against hunger and poverty; and
    3. Encourage sustainable participation in the anti-hunger work of ELCA World Hunger
  3. Provide a clear “goal statement” that summarizes the direction and focus of the program and defines the scope.
  4. For education proposals, please list the learning objectives and audience for the event, resource or initiative which the grant will support.
  5. List two or three specific, measurable objectives by which the success of your proposal implementation will be evaluated.
    1. At least one process objective: What activities will be completed in what specific time period?
    2. At least one outcome objective: What are the expected results—what change, by how much, where and when?
  6. Summarize the implementation strategies and methods and/or sustainability of your plan (identifying additional sources of funding if needed.)
  7. Demonstrate an ELCA connection with one letter of support by an ELCA pastor, bishop, or Lutheran agency/institution that explains how a relationship between the organization and ELCA World Hunger impacts/enhances each other’s work and furthers the objectives and guidelines of ELCA World Hunger.
  8. Include your organization’s name, address, contact person, email, phone number, and tax ID number with your proposal.
  9. The amount of funding you are seeking. Please include a budget for the event, project or initiative using the narrative budget format (example shown below):
Item Amount Explanation
Put the line item label here Put the line item cost here. Describe how you came to that amount (show your calculations, if relevant). You may also use this section to further explain why you need this cost covered, if you believe that is not clear from the proposal.

Proposals will be reviewed throughout the year. All proposals must be received by December 31, 2014 to be considered for funding.

If you have any questions please email hunger@elca.org.

10 Facts on Women and Hunger

Henry Martinez

​

1.    In developing regions, the proportion of people living on less than USD $1.25 a day fell from 47 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2010. Extreme poverty is also falling in every region.1

2.   Hunger and poverty remain stubbornly ‘feminized’ – globally, 70 percent of people living in absolute poverty are female.2

3.   Surveys in a wide range of countries have shown that 85 to 90 percent of the time spent on household food preparation is spent by women.3

4.  Women are much more likely to earn poverty-level wages than men. In 2011, 32 percent of women earned poverty-level wages or less, while 24.3 percent of men earned the same.4

5. Globally, malnourished mothers are more likely to give birth to underweight babies. Underweight babies are 20 percent more likely to die before the age of five.5

6. Women’s labor force participation in Latin America and the Caribbean region has risen 35 percent since 1990 (a more dramatic rate than any other region). It is estimated that between 2000 and 2010 extreme poverty in the region would have been 30 percent higher if not for women’s participation in the labor force.6​

7. Women make up the majority (66 percent) of sub-minimum wage workers (earning $2.13 an hour) in tipped restaurant occupations, compared to 48 percent of the non-tipped restaurant workforce (earning $7.25 an hour).7

8. Higher education opportunities for women and girls are crucial for battling poverty. The gross enrolment rate for girls at lower secondary level increased from 69 to 81 percent between 1999 and 2010, and from 43 to 58 percent at the upper secondary level in the same period.8

9. Researchers estimate that rural women produce half the world’s food and, in developing countries, between 60% and 80% of food crops.9

10. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that if women had the same agricultural access to resources and markets as men yield gaps would be closed by 20-30%, reducing the number of undernourished people by 100-150 million.10

 

Sources:

1 http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/mdg-momentum#MDG1. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013, 7. Access: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/report-2013/mdg-report-2013-english.pdf.

2 Bread for the World Hunger Report (2014), 160.

3 http://www.wfp.org/our-work/preventing-hunger/focus-women/women-hunger-facts

4 Lawrence Mishel, Josh Bivens, Elise Gould, Heidi Shierholz, “The State of Working America,” 12th Ed. (Cornell University Press, Noevember 2012), 193.

5 “Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review,” UNICEF, (December 2007), p.7.http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/files/Progress_for_Children_-_No._6.pdf

6 “Gender at Work: A Companion to the World Development Report on Jobs,” the World Bank Group (2013), p. 8.

7 “Tipped Over the Edge: Gender Inequality in the Restaurant Industry,” Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, 2012 report, 9.

8 “From Access to Equality,” United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Report (2012), p.22.

9 FAO Focus on Women and Food Security, prepared by the Women in Development Service, FAO Women and Population Division, FAO, Access: http://www.fao.org/sd/fsdirect/fbdirect/fsp001.htm.

10 “The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011,” Food and Agriculture Organization report,http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e00.htm.

Food for Families at Spanaway Lutheran Church

Henry Martinez

​

Food pantries get started in a variety of ways. For Spanaway Lutheran Church, it was when Lawanna Lee, founder and co-pastor of El Shaddai Christian Ministries in nearby Tacoma, Washington called to ask about the possibility of developing a partnership. Shortly after a visit to Tacoma, and approval from Spanaway’s congregational council, they were on their way to starting the Food for Families program. The congregation is one of 384 organizations addressing hunger and poverty to receive an ELCA World Hunger funded domestic hunger grant in 2014. Of those 384 organizations, 45 are receiving funds for food pantries.

One thing that makes Food for Families unique is that it is open on Sundays following the worship service. The congregation saw that opening the pantry on Sunday would serve a couple important needs. The first being the acknowledgment that hunger doesn’t rest. Spanaway Lutheran serves an area with a 16.3% poverty rate (numbers from 2012 census data). Other food pantries nearby are open Monday through Friday, but oftentimes during hours that are not the most convenient for families who have to work during the week.

According to congregation member and Food for Families director Edna Coonc, the congregation has served 250 families (about 1,200 people) in almost two years since the program started. Approximately 80% of the clients are families with children. The congregation purchases enough food for ten families each week (about 700 pounds of food) from El Shaddai Ministries, while also receiving donated food from the congregation. This allows them to serve fifteen families each week. The families can choose what they need for the week from a selection that includes meat, produce, pastries, and other staple items. Food for Families also benefits the before and after school education (BASE) ministry of the congregation, a program serving Kindergarten to 5th grade students.

The second reason for opening the pantry on Sunday is for community and the opportunity for fellowship that wouldn’t be available during the week. Coonc says, “We invite the people who come into the food shelf to stay for a cup of coffee. I’ve heard people say, ‘you guys aren’t judging us’ and ‘we don’t feel like you guys are pointing us out.'” This has provided the opportunity for relationships to develop where patrons of the food pantry have joined the congregation and become volunteers of the ministry. It requires a communal effort with congregation members giving financial and material donations as well as their time. Coonc reports that approximately 20 volunteers help keep the ministry going.

But the community aspect runs deeper than just getting bodies for a particular ministry. Pastor John Schier-Hanson feels that having the Food for Families pantry open on Sunday allows for something else to happen. He says, “Charity has become institutionalized in this country. The giver and receiver have become disconnected. But I think there is a redemptive quality for both giver and receiver to experience here— for the receiver it’s knowing that someone cares for them, for the giver it functions to feel they are not just giving to a cause, but to a person and family. It helps us realize that we are part of the same body. We’re all in this life together.”