10 grants to help women-led organisations transform communities

Suva, Fiji – Over FJD 850,000 has been awarded to 10 women-led and feminist organisations through Australian Government funding to strengthen women’s leadership and decision making, eradication of violence against women and girls, support human rights and the empowerment of emerging groups of rural women.

The Fiji Women’s Fund’s newly awarded grantees work across a wide variety of activities such as livelihoods and entrepreneurship, women’s rights, sexual and reproductive health, advocacy to stop violence and discrimination against women, and women’s health and well-being.  The organisations are:

• Building Innate Resilience Through Hearts Fiji (BIRTH Fiji)
• Fiji Cancer Society
• Vanua Levu Arya Mahila Mandal
• Fiji Girmit Council Women’s Wing
• Women Entrepreneurs Business Council
• Rise Beyond the Reef
• Young Women’s Christian Association of Fiji
• Naitasiri Women in Dairy Group
• Labasa Women’s Forum
• Kioa Women’s Group

In announcing the new grants, Fund Manager Michelle Reddy said the grants would help empower women with knowledge and skills, increase their participation in their communities and on the national stage, allow them to have a say about their health, and allow them to transform their communities which in time will help bring about gender quality.

“Our new grantee partners are groups and organisations who know best the realities of their members and communities especially in regards to social and cultural barriers to gender equality and women’s empowerment and can recognise and address them appropriately in their own local context.”

This year’s grantees are the first to receive funding under the Fund’s new grant mechanism which funds core costs and long-term activities, supports organising and participation in movement-building activities that will contribute towards achieving gender equality in Fiji and given the context of last year, also support crisis management or the recovery period of the sudden onset of crises

“Apart from funding activities, our grants also support core funding because we recognise that longer-term and flexible funding is required.  We are aware that many of our grantee partners struggled with increased workload last year and were appreciative of the ability to use our grants to increase staffing and also invest in self-care,” said Ms Reddy.

Today’s announcement brings the total grants by the Fund to 59 since its inception in 2017.

At the event, the Fund’s Steering Committee Chair Georgina Naigulevu launched the Fund’s 2020 Annual Report.

Despite the challenges in 2020, the Fiji Women’s Fund continued to grow in strength, reach and impact. It managed 32 initiatives with 22 diverse grantee partners across Fiji. These grantee partners reached 18,600 people through regular programming: 10,947 women and girls, 7,085 men and boys, 501 people living with disabilities (269 women and girls and 232 men and boys) and 67 gender non-conforming people.

In 2020, the Fund also committed 18 grants valued at over AUD 839,000, nine of these grants were pivoted to humanitarian response efforts.  Many of the Fund’s grantee partners were at the forefront of national efforts and continue to support gender equality, women’s empowerment, human rights and most importantly the eradication of violence against women and children.

ENDS.

About FWF

The Fiji Women’s Fund (the Fund) is an initiative of the Australian Government via the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women). The Fund has committed up to A$10.5 million from 2017 to 2022. It provides funding and capacity development support to women’s groups, organisations and networks in Fiji to expand and enhance their work on women’s empowerment and gender equality.

For more information please contact the Fund’s Communication Officer:
Erica Lee, on +679 331 4410 or +679 331 4033 or email: erica.lee@womensfund.org.fj