Launching the Era for Achieving the Final Milestone: Text Part 4

Joan Holmes, January 20, 2000

Latin America

In Latin America, we will continue to empower grassroots leadership for the end of hunger in Mexico, Bolivia and Peru, and increase our emphasis on empowering women’s leadership.

Africa

Let’s now look at Africa. Last year, we launched the African Woman Food Farmer Initiative, which is designed to cause a breakthrough in the economic empowerment of African woman food farmers. We’ve begun the credit, savings and investment component of this new initiative, and this year we will continue to strengthen and expand it in West Africa, while preparing to launch it next year in Eastern and Southern Africa.

As some of you know, a delegation of The Hunger Project's investors traveled to Burkina Faso with Mme Aisseta, who received the Prize on behalf of all of her sisters in Africa last October. For the first time in history, the issue of the African Woman Food Farmer dominated radio, television and newspapers. More than 100,000 people took to the streets with banners, processions and rallies in four regions of the country. Political leaders are struggling to get ahead of the power curve and declare their commitment to change policies and reallocate budgets in support of women farmers.

This impact has been so great that Mme Aisseta – formerly a shy and illiterate rural farmer – is now an outspoken national leader, and was named the 1999 Woman of the Year in Burkina Faso. In two weeks, this campaign for the African Woman Food Farmer will move to Benin, where Mme Aisseta will pass the Africa Prize – like the Olympic torch – to Mme. Léonie SODJINOU DONHOU of Benin, who represents her sisters in that nation.

Once again – a delegation of investors will travel to Benin, and there will be processions, rallies and press coverage the likes of which the country has never seen. In May, the Prize will travel on to Ghana. Then on to Senegal in July – and to Nigeria before the end of the year. At each country there will be an international delegation of investors to express their solidarity.

Special Events

I would now like to speak about some special events in this decade. As you know, our most powerful event every year has been the Africa Prize. Each year, we have used the opportunity of these events to galvanize our entire global movement, and take the next important steps in our strategies.

For the first time - this year's gala fall event in New York will be the international launching of our new programs in India and Bangladesh. This year, in the year 2000, we will do for the issue of women's empowerment in South Asia what we did last year for the African Woman Food Farmer.

For everyone and anyone in THP constituency who wants to empower the women of India and their courageous leadership in local government – and the women animators who want to free themselves to transform the villages of Bangladesh. For everyone and anyone in THP who wants to empower the greatest social experiment of our age – come to New York City. Make your presence known. Stand in solidarity. Invest your money. If you are looking for meaning in your life. If you are looking to make a difference. This is it.

In 2001, we will celebrate the Africa Prize for Leadership, and award it to those individuals who are making a difference in empowering the African Woman Food Farmer. In 2002, we will again celebrate the progress made by the women in South Asia. As you know, we have a second gala event each year - the Raul Julia Ending Hunger Fund Event. This year's event will celebrate the launching of this new era to achieve the final milestone. And next year, we will use it as the opportunity to celebrate our programs in Latin America.

Who We Need to Be in this New Era

Let us complete this call by looking at what this era will demand of us. To discover who we need to be – let us look at the African woman food farmer – the women animators in Bangladesh – the women panchayat leaders in India. Let us see if we can come close to matching the level of courage of these women leaders in our own leadership for investment, inter-relatedness, and activism.

Let us see if we can develop the same magnanimity and humanity that traditional male leaders, will need to call forth in themselves, as they learn to use their leadership to include rather than exclude, as they learn to use their power to encourage women rather than suppress them - and as they learn to work for the benefit of all, rather than to serve the vested interests of a few.

With this, we will call forth a new partnership between men and women – a partnership that will achieve the final milestone in ending hunger – a partnership that will give life to a new, just and equitable society – a partnership that will point to what’s possible for humanity in the new millennium