What is the “Walk To End FGM”? (#walk2endFGM)

Five years ago in 2014, the Executive Director of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (GWPF) submitted a proposal to its Board of Directors to host a walk-A-thon against FGM in Washington, D.C.  It was a tall proposal, considering GWPF had never before hosted an event of that size and type.  The purpose was to raise awareness, inform and educate the American public on the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), and its presence here in the U.S.  The Executive Director was able to successfully convince the other members to approve the event.  It was agreed that the event had to be a success in order to make it an annual affair.  The Directors debated back and forth as to what the walk-A-thon should be called.  Several names were thrown around, and they eventually voted on “Walk To End FGM” (#walk2endFGM), and the planning committee began its work for their first big event.  It became a learning experience, working with the National Park Service, engaging service providers, attracting sponsors, inviting speakers and working out the required logistics.

On a brisk morning, Saturday, November 8, 2014, the “Walk To End FGM” (#walk2endFGM) was born on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  The members of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation shivered in the early morning but the cold was not all that caused them to shiver; they were equally nervous for the success or failure of the event.  They warmed up as participants queued in to pick up their t-shirts and give-away bags, and their guest speakers arrived.  They felt that even if fifty people turned out, they would consider it a success.  By the time they began the walk, more than 250 participants had arrived, and the support was phenomenal.  In the 2014 year-end board meeting, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to make the Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM) an annual event.

The Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM) took on a life of its own, as the organization began to promote the October 31, 2015 walk-A-thon.  Calls came in from people with questions about the event, and how they could register.  The process became a little easier in attracting speakers and sponsors.  The fact that they had repeat sponsors and supporters in the second year told them that people were pleased with the Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM).  There was a much larger turnout in 2015 by women who had experienced FGM.  Inquiries came in about the possibility of the walk-A-thon being held in other cities in the U.S. as well as in countries such as Kenya and the U.K.  The 2016 Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM) was larger than the earlier years.  On October 15, 2016 the organization was joined by several of its supporters on the Washington National Mall.  The 2016 walk-A-thon brought the international anti-FGM community to Washington, D.C. from various parts of Europe and around the U.S.  In 2017 GWPF took the walk-A-thon another step further.  They collaborated with the Milken Institute of George Washington University in a special pre-walk panel discussion two days prior to the day of the walk.  The panel included French Urologist and creator of the post-FGM genital restorative surgery, Dr. Pierre Foldes and French anti-FGM attorney, Linda Weil Curiel.  The 2017 Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM) attracted the largest international participation since its inception in 2014.

Now GWPF finds itself in preparation for the fifth Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM), with this one projected to be the largest to date.  This October 27th, the organization will be joined by several of its supporters on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to make their voices heard that the practice of FGM has no place in, not only the U.S. but in the world.  This year, the pre-walk program has a unique keynote speaker, along with an activist and a couple of FGM survivors.

This year GWPF is turning the Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM) into a 2-day event.  One of the highlights of the 2-day event is the Global Woman Awards on Friday evening, October 26th.  The international nominating committee is currently submitting nominees in the various categories.  The committee will vote on each category the first week of July, but the winners will not be announced until the evening of October 26th during the ceremony.

GWPF encourages participants to form teams and join in the fundraising efforts to support the Global Woman Center, where women and girls will receive counseling, will be sent out for restorative surgery, and receive resettlement assistance.  As with previous years, the three teams that raise the most amounts will be presented with first, second and third prizes.  The pre-walk ceremony is expected to begin at 12:30pm EST, and the walk-a-thon will commence at approximately 1:30pm.  Participants will begin claiming their t-shirts and giveaway bags at 12:00 noon.  The participants look forward to a day of excitement and awareness.  To be a part of the day, visit www.globalwomanpeacefoundation.org  and click on “Register to Walk”.

If you would like to join the volunteer committee for this event you may contact the committee at info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org and put “Volunteer Committee” in the subject line, or you may call 703.818.3787.

For overnight accommodations, the official hotel is the Tysons Corner Marriott, 8028 Leesburg Pike, Tysons Corner, Virginia 22182.  The deadline to obtain the special negotiated rate is Thursday, September 27, 2018.    All reservations must be guaranteed with a major credit card.  A special link to the reservation page will be available within the next couple of weeks.

Watch out for additional information in the upcoming months about the Walk To End FGM (#walk2endFGM).

Mariya Gets Award

Comments and questions to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org or call (703) 818-3787

Make Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Your Favorite Charity in 2018

When you shop during this year at Amazon, please remember to select Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation as your charity of choice.  Please consider us when shopping. When you #StartWithaSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Global Woman Peace Foundation. Bookmark the link below and support us every time you shop.

In your charitable contributions and donations in 2018, please consider Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation by either through the DONATE BUTTON below or by sending a check to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, 11350 Random Hills Road, Suite 800, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.  Your generous donations are tax deductible.  Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation’s 2018 Calendar

Save-these-Dates

  • Town Hall Discussion in Loudoun County – Tonight, June 5th
  • Opening of First FGM Surgical Center in U.S. (Atlanta) – Saturday, June 9th
  • Presentation to Rotary Clubs – Tuesday, June 12th
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, June 16th with Dr. Ranit Mishori
  • GWPF’s Mid-Year Board Meeting – Saturday, June 23rd
  • Activist Salon by Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press – Saturday, June 23rd
  • Presentation to National Assn. of School Nurses – Monday, July 3rd
  • Global Woman Awards Announces 2018 Nominees – Tuesday, July 10th
  • Montgomery County Law Enforcement Training – July 12th
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, July 21st with Severina Lemachokoti
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, August 18th with GWPF Board
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, September 15th with Lt. Stephen Wallace, Fairfax County
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, October 20th with Kerry Sparks
  • Global Woman Awards – Friday, October 26th
  • Walk To End FGM – Saturday, October 27th
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, November 17th with Damawa Remi
  • Year-End Board Meeting – Saturday, December 1st
  • Monthly Workshop – Saturday, December 15th with Sara Ahmed
  • The education toolkit – Now Available and downloadable at https://www.globalwomanpeacefoundation.org/prevention-school-resource-fgm-toolkit/

We will update this 2018 calendar as schedules come in

This section is for special announcements.  If you have an announcement you would like to run in this section, please follow these guidelines.

NEW report by the AHA Foundation details why we must have zero tolerance for female genital mutilation.  Read about why we hesitate to protect girls here:  https://www.theahafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Why-we-hesitate-to-protect-girls-from-FGM-in-the-United-States.pdf

From unCUT Voices:  https://uncutvoices.wordpress.com/

The guidelines to submit an announcement to appear in this newsletter:

  • The length of announcement must be no more than a paragraph of 6 lines.
  • Your announcement is free of any charges.
  • Your announcement should be something that pertains to women, girls or students, such as events, walk-a-thons, conferences, etc.
  • If there is an accompanying image, it must be no less than 72 dpi, preferably in jpeg.
  • Your announcement must be received no later than the Thursday 5:00pm prior to the following Tuesday publication.
  • Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation reserves the right to deny a submission if it is not within our guidelines.

Weekly Word-Scramble

Do you enjoy playing with words?  This is a fun way to see how well you can unscramble the following words.  We will reveal the unscrambled words in next week’s edition of the newsletter.  If you enjoyed this, write and give us your feedback to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org.

Can you unscramble the following five words?

This Week’s Scrambled Words

TANONILA LALM (2 WORDS)

BOLALGL MONAW WADADR

RAKP VESECIR (2 WORDS)

NOSORSSP

KESAREPS

 

Last Week’s Scrambled Words                                  Last Week’s Unscrambled Words

DLIHC ESUBA                                                                       CHILD ABUSE

ERUTLUC                                                                               CULTURE

SHTYM                                                                                    MYTHS

NWARDHTIW                                                                       WITHDRAW

REVIGERAC                                                                           CAREGIVER

We give you five scrambled words each week.  We hope you enjoy playing.

How You Can Help & Support Us

Here are some of the ways you can help and support our programs in 2018:

  • Donations (including in-kind donations) globalwomanpeacefoundation.org
  • Partnering (collaborating in one of our programs and/or events)
  • Joining our Internship or Student-Ambassadorship Program
  • Volunteering
  • Donate through employer payroll deduction (through Your Cause, United Way or the government employee giving program)

Important Contacts in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area to Keep Handy

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation               703-818-3787

National Child Abuse Hotline                              800-422-4453

Fairfax County Office for Women                       703-324-5730

Virginia Crime Victim Assistance                        888-887-3418

Montgomery County Abused Persons Program   240-777-4673 (24 hours)

Prince Georges County Sexual Assault                301-618-3154

Prince Georges County Child Advocacy Center  301-909-2089

Baltimore City Child Abuse Center                     410-396-6147

Frederick County Child Advocacy Center           301-600-1758

Howard County Listening Place                           410-313-2630

Washington County Child Advocacy Center       240-420-4308

District of Columbia Metropolitan Police            202-727-9099

Alexandria Victim/Witness Program                    703-746-4100

Arlington County Victim/Witness Program         703-228-7273

Loudon County Victim Witness Program             703-777-0417

Prince William County Victim/Witness               703-392-7083

Attention: The U.S. government opposes FGM/C, no matter the type, degree, or severity, and no matter what the motivation for performing it. The U.S. government considers FGM/C to be a serious human rights abuse, gender-based violence, and, when done to children, a form of child abuse. It is against the law to perform FGM/C in the United States on a girl under the age of 18 or to send or attempt to send her outside the United States so FGM/C can be performed. People who violate this law can face prison time and significant immigration consequences. Additionally, anyone who performs FGM/C on a woman 18 years old or older without her consent may be charged with a crime under other laws.  If someone performed FGM/C on you, you have not violated any U.S. laws and are not at fault, call 1-800-994-9662.