As we await further updates from Sudan, we wanted to remind you of the kind of the remarkable women you empower through your support.

Majda is a young woman from West Darfur, Sudan. She has been a witness of the way gender inequality escalates during times of conflict and war. Whether at home, on the way to school, or in numerous other circumstances, women and girls are at high risk of physical and sexual violence and are barred from full participation in leadership and decision-making in their communities.

“Sexual and physical assault of women and girls throughout the crisis in Darfur has constituted a systematic pattern of attack perpetrated by armed people,” Majda explains. “Rape has been used as a mechanism to destabilize, destroy, and displace populations, to build fear and to humiliate and disempower local communities as men are unable to protect their wives and relatives.

By supporting ADRA, you’ve helped the BRIGHT project to train 280 women leaders through the “Women Leaders Leadership training” program. Majda is one such person.

“I am now in the position of Women’s Organizations Coordinator for BRIGHT [in my locality]. I have not only turned my bitterness into productive efforts but have sought possibilities to give others confidence and to help them discover themselves and move beyond the suffering they have been through by seeking practical solutions and actions.”

The project also trains men as gender equality champions, who work to support women and encourage other men to adopt healthier behaviours. Cho Tehl, the Senior Project Manager of BRIGHT, observed that women and men are sitting together more in public meetings, and men have been seen taking care of children while women take their turn to stand up and speak publicly on issues.

These are the kinds of significant changes that ADRA donors like you support.