The Unseen Strength of Women in Breaking Barriers

In my community, women's resilience shines through their daily struggles. They tirelessly seek buyers for their handmade goods, fuelling their children's education and family sustenance, exemplifying the power of collective economic empowerment. This kind of initiative has saved a lot of most homes in my community which is mostly polygamous and saved marriages of so many women simply because they do not have to rely on their husbands all the time. These grassroots initiatives have transformed lives, stabilizing polygamous households and reducing women's dependence on their husbands. By fostering financial autonomy, women reclaim their agency, challenging patriarchal norms.

In my effort to support the women in my community, I tried to raise funds online and even tried to apply for grants but all in vain. A number of these grants that I tried to apply for always disqualified me for something which could be genuinely true but I found them very stressing as we at the grassroots level may not truthfully have for example in one of them I was asked if I have at least two volunteers whom I pay on a monthly basis and I boldly replied with a NO and the window for application closed instantly. Then this other one listed a number of things which they do not support and when I looked through carefully, my kind of work was not among and so I scrolled down to start responding to questions happily but there was this particular question which was so confusing and it was as good as closing the application by myself because it asked something like this, “Do you support women, girls in your community and do you value lives of animals and you do not kill birds?” and the options under this single question was a YES or a NO. I became most confused when they said my respond of YES here had disqualified me from the vetting of application for grants.

Despite my efforts to secure funding, systemic barriers persist. Grant applications often prioritize established organizations, leaving grassroots initiatives like mine struggling to access resources. The grant application process can be daunting, with strict eligibility criteria and biases toward established organizations. This perpetuates inequality, undermining community-led initiatives like mine. So, I gave up and decided to contact my sisters at World Pulse as well as use the little resources I have from the locally available materials so that the hope of the women do not go deem. Even when other sisters on World Pulse contact me, I encourage them to try their luck at grant application especially us whose organizations have not yet been registered as well as use the locally available resources.

Further, funding priorities often overlook grassroots initiatives addressing critical local needs. This mismatch underscores the need for decentralized decision-making and community-driven solutions. Undeterred, I turned to World Pulse's supportive community and leveraged local resources. This collective action embodies the #ShiftThePower spirit, bypassing traditional funding barriers.

Women in my community innovate, enhancing their income-generating activities through quality improvement and resource mobilization. This self-directed economic empowerment fosters resilience this is seen in their continued effort to find business for the small income generating activities they are already doing by improving the quality of what they deal in and mobilize the resources from those around them.  The women can be encouraged to join areas most dominated by men especially the engineering, science, technology fields, etc but those in my community can join institutions which can train them in areas like carpentry, welding, etc as such trainings can give them an upper hand in raising finances and providing better lives for their families by sending their children to school, taking good care of their health especially their mental health which provides a better stand on their day today life.

Encouraging women to enter male-dominated fields like engineering, science, and technology can dismantle systemic barriers. Community-based training programs can equip women with skills and confidence even if they may be under looked and disrespected by their in-laws wishing she totally fails. However, women challenging patriarchal norms face societal backlash, labelled big-headed' or 'disrespectful.' We must challenge these stereotypes, promoting a culture of solidarity and empowerment.

To address funding disparities, I recommend thorough background checks, collaboration with World Pulse, and flexible funding models supporting community-led initiatives by doing a background check or even further check with World Pulse in the case of those who say they belong on World Pulse so that they can see some of the past initiatives and decide if they are good enough. Even if their organizations are note yet registered but are doing the actual work you in the areas the funders are looking for to support or can at least have 80% of the things you are looking for to fund and further ask for proof that they are really this particular work and they are still skeptical, they can give the funds in bits and some sort of proof is provided as evidence of the activities going on at the grassroots level.

For our collective action,

· Join us in shifting power to women!

· Support community-led initiatives and grassroots organizations.

· Advocate for policy change promoting women's economic empowerment.

·  Partner with organizations like World Pulse to amplify marginalized voices

·  Together, we can create a more equitable society where women around the globe thrive.

· Encourage and uplift other women, fostering a culture of solidarity and empowerment and we should challenge gender roles and stereotypes which will challenge societal expectations and biases that perpetuate inequality.