August 9, 2006 Update
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
In the two weeks since our last update, thanks to your very generous support and contributions, WLP partner, Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A), made its goal of $62,500! We cannot thank you enough for your support at a time of great need.
Your donations are being delivered in the form of relief kits by an extensive network of local women's groups and volunteers to women housed in 105 public schools and IDP (internally displaced people) centers in Beirut, Saida, Metn, Jbail, Kesrwan, and Tripoli. CRTD-A has been able to purchase all the needed supplies. Each woman headed-household is visited before and after distribution, first to identify specific needs of her family and then for follow up.
We are grateful to the Urgent Action Fund who provided a generous, emergency-response grant of $5,000. In Bahrain, the Bahrain Women Society held a fundraiser led by children and collected $3,000. Many individuals continue to give generously and to send messages of support and solidarity. Partner organizations in Palestine (Women's Affairs Technical Committee), Egypt (Forum for Women in Development) and Jordan (Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan) have held vigils calling for an end to the violence, a stop to continued destruction of infrastructure, and the beginning of post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Funds are sufficient to cover CRTD-A's emergency relief needs until the end of this month, August 31st. As more international aid organizations begin working in Lebanon, WLP partner CRTD-A is helping to empower women in IDP centers to take a proactive role in managing the centers and directing the relief and rehabilitation work that seek to help them. CRTD-A is lobbying the Lebanese government to prioritize women's needs in utilizing funds received from neighboring states. They are identifying women's further needs that will be addressed after cessation of violence, including counseling services to cope with loss and special needs of pregnant women. We will continue to update you.
Thank you for your support,
Women's Learning Partnership
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