WOMEN IN ACTION

Have you ever been abused at some level? Do you know someone who has to deal with abuse? The more we talk about the subject, the more we feel the pain, the distress that women endure when confronted by unforeseeable circumstances.
The healing process starts with speaking out, looking for someone in whom you can confide to voice your pain.
You will be able to find the way out only after confronting this ghost that blurs your mind day and night, that is taking your life away, is shattering your dreams and stealing your future from you. This is the reason WiA is holding this campaign against abuse. More than that, it is to offer you support and understanding, to give you the opportunity to spew out all that is suffocating you. The ultimate purpose of this campaign is to show that WiA is here for you. Read the story below about a young woman who had to face abuse at the young age of 19 …True Story: Raped at the age of 19
I was raped at the age of 19.  It was during my first year at university.
I remember being so confused after a tutor on campus raped me.  I knew I needed help.  I WANTED help, but I was just so confused.
I picked myself up and went to a local physician to get checked out, but he could not help me. I lost hope and did not even think of going to the police afterwards.
My next thought was to go home. I needed to be around familiar faces, people who loved me and cared about me. On my way home, I decided to go to the local police station.
At the police station I was yelled at.  I did not know what to say. All I could think of was reporting this crime. They took my statement (in front of everyone) and told me to go to the hospital.  By that time, I was tired, mentally and physically.  I could not think of going anywhere but home. So I dragged myself to my family home.
My parents were home and when I broke the news to them, there was complete silence. One of my relatives implied that I was to blame for the ordeal. That just pushed me to the edge. I started having suicidal thoughts, thinking of ways to end my miserable, broken life.
But I thank God for intervening when He did. I decided to go to church and have never looked back. God healed my broken heart, restored my life and changed me into a woman willing to share her story with others. I never thought it possible, but today I can truly say that I have forgiven the man who raped me.
And as traumatic as the incident was, it was the one thing that led me to experience this new-found relationship with God.

I want to thank all those who have bought one of our handmade pieces and have contributed to our fund raising on behalf of an orphanage in the inner side of our country (more details on the institution will follow). I trust that whoever got your gift will be very pleased.

Therefore, we will carry on with our fund raising throughout the month of May so that we can offer a great help to this institution. Again we can only count on your support to our cause.

You can still get one of our jewellery pieces in our churches. Today I am posting the photo of our WiA members in Pietermaritzburg who have diligently worked with their skills to help us in this fundraising.

For us, this date marks a very special day on our calendars for it is the first anniversary of the start of Women in Action (WiA). What better way to celebrate one year’s work than by reaching out a helping hand to those who may not have any reason to rejoice on Mother’s Day.

We are going to make a donation to one non-governmental organisation which assists women and children Find out who we’ve chosen in the next issue.

Meanwhile, we are inviting you to pledge your support for this cause by obtaining one of the beautiful pieces of jewellery made by our pastors’ wives or a WiA bag in exchange for a donation to WiA.

When you offer your gift to a special woman, do not forget to mention that it was made by hand with love and care. These are not ordinary gifts for Mother’s Day because all proceeds from donations will help to feed a woman or child in need.

More than a gift, you are showing your alliance to a cause.

Over the past year, during so many events we have shared, we have emphasized that WiA would not have achieved what it has without the support of our church members.

With your continued encouragement and prayers, we will be able to exceed expectations and reach out to many more people in need.

Mother’s Day will always be a signifi cant milestone for WiA and we pray that it unfolds into a new year of hard work, surprises and blessings for others.

Let us work together and take action.

God bless you!

Marcia Pires

It is with great honour that I can today share with all our members and visitors, who have been cheerfully supporting our WiA Awareness, official results released on our achievements in Alexandra Project.

It was rated by several NGO’s involved in the cause as total success and by far one of the great results ever achieved in similar projects:

Women Registered: 2370

Attendees to Breast Health Foundation stall: 1780

Sugar Levels tests: 1200

Blood Pressure checks: 984

Visitors to LifeLine stall: 914

Visitors to Hospice stall: 715

Visitors to WomanManAgainstChildAbuse: 708

Pap Smears collected: 650

BMI checked in one day: 300

HIV tests by ORUM: 176 (one day campaign)

Visitors to CHOC stall: 89

On behalf of all WiA members we once again extend our thankfulness to all health providers, volunteers who participated of this project and above all our members and visitors who were massively present to the occasion.

We also would like to make a friendly reminder to all women who were somehow referred to further medical assistance to pursue health improvement.

To all those women who were advised to visit Helen Joseph Hospital for mammograms, please, do not neglect this call and kindly get in touch with one of our WiA members in your church so that we can put you in contact with the BHF for assistance.

Above all, whatever was the result of your health check-up, whatever you learned during our event, remember, WiA members main role is to support you emotionally and spiritually throughout the journey. Count on us!

Marcia Pires

Members of WiA from Cape Town have joined the cause and attended to the preparation course to act as Cancer Supporters. They had 04 days of workshops at the offices of CANSA WP and 01 afternoon specifically on Breast Cancer. They completed their race and are now ready to add on emotionally and spiritually to those who are in treatment.

Our members will be volunteering at Tigervalley Hospital shortly. We  take the opportunity to thank Mrs. Dorothy Du Plooy and her teamwork who have welcomed our members and invested time in preparing them for the task. We also thank  Ms Luisa Turner for dedicating her narrow time in the Cape by sharing an afternoon with us.

To our WiA – a round of applauses. Well done!

Following in the footsteps of its sister church in South Africa, Women in Action has begun in Nigeria. .

On December 19^th, 2009, the WiA in Nigeria had its first official outing by visiting one of the many Orphanages around. The Orphanage of choice goes by the name of Compassionate Orphanage and houses up to 35 children ranging from their newest member of 2 months who was born prematurely and the mother died to 14 years of age. The Orphanage is dedicated in protecting its children where they are schooled on the premises in order to prevent them from being mistreated or abused by outsiders. The Orphanage also runs an Outreach support group program for people living with HIV/AIDS and also helps unwed pregnant mothers.

WiA decided to make this Orphanage their first project by donating the food/toiletries and pampers to them as one of it’s members (Susan) was assisted by them, when she found herself pregnant with no place to go and no one to help with the delivery of her baby, it was at Compassionate Orphanage Home that she received the love and care she needed.

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When Women In Action (WiA) started early in April this year, they opened many doors to change women’s lives. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into everything they embarked on, making many women aware of their potential as individuals.

Today, through WiA, many have managed to make changes, which they once thought could take forever to become a reality. Last Saturday, Women In Action held their final concert promoting the awareness of cancer. They have been touring the country with their message. The fun went on after the concert at the Bertha Solomon Recreation Centre in Jeppestown. There, Yolanda Mate launched her jewellery store called Yola’s Jewellery, which is due to open early
next year.

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The Red Ribbon Project was created by the New York-based Visual AIDS Artists Caucus in 1991.:
Remain anonymous as individuals and to credit the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus as a whole in the creation of the Red Ribbon Project, and not to list any individual as the “creator” of the Red Ribbon Project;
Keep the image copyright free, so that no individual or organization would profit from the use of the red ribbon;
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It has been a month’s journey, nationwide, sharing the message of awareness and prevention. Our purpose: to lead women to love themselves and to look after their health; our target: each one of you, independent of age, If we have achieved our resust, that is a question that can only be answer by each one of those who have gathered with us during this past month.

However we can celebrate in unison: with your support and participation we have completed a donation of R 50,000 to CANSA and that somehow will benefit either you or your community because part of the funds will be reversed to free scanning and tests. We feel so good when we can help somehow and reach out for those less fortunate.

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And the Mother City goes pink in full support to our Cancer Awareness Campaign. The hall was filled with 2,300 women, mostly dressing in pink, showing support to this important event. Mrs. Dorothy Du Plooy, head of the Cancer Association for the Western Province, enlighted the participants on the subject focusing on prevention. Knowledge is power and once you are exposed to something new and you absorb that information, you are empowered to be a voice in your community, in your work place, in your family hood. Our aim is to lead women to love themselves, to love their bodies and to take care of their health. If changes in your lifestyle are a must then accept the challenge of improving in this area of your life. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit so why not to offer Him the best dwelling place? Remember that any improvement to your life,  will reflect directly in your family so, not only they deserve the best of you but you need to be ready to give the best to yourself.

People from the Cape, I trust you have enjoyed every minute of this event.