The Birth of the “Walk To End FGM”

Four years ago in 2014, the Executive Director of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation submitted a proposal to its Board of Directors to host a walk-A-thon in Washington, D.C.  It was a tall proposal, considering the organization had never 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.  Angela Peabody, 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 out, and they eventually voted on “Walk To End FGM”, 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 Saturday, November 8, 2014, a brisk morning, the “Walk To End FGM” 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.  More than 250 participants turned out, and the support was phenomenal.  At their 2014 year-end meeting, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to make the walk-A-thon an annual event.

The Walk To End FGM took on a life of its own, as the organization began the promotion of the 2015 walk-A-thon.  Calls came in from people with questions about the event, and how they would 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.  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.

Last year the Walk To End FGM took another step forward when many of their partners joined them on the Washington National Mall.  The 2016 walk-A-thon was the largest to date, with participants from various countries in Europe and parts of North America.

Now Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation finds itself in preparation for the fourth Walk To End FGM, with this projected to be another big one.  This October 21st, the organization will again be joined by several of its partners on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to make their voices heard that the practice of FGM has no place in the U.S. and other parts of the world.  This year, the pre-walk ceremony has some great surprises.  The day will be emceed by WUSA’s Arielle Buchmann, who is also a member of the Board of Directors.  Virginia Senator Richard H. Black is the Keynote Speaker of the day.  Two FGM survivors will share their stories, and will tell the crowd the importance of why it is crucial for the walk-A-thon to take place.  Dr. Pierre Foldes, the renowned French Gynecologist will travel from Paris to participate in the day’s event.  Mrs. Edna Adan Ismail, the Former Foreign Minister and Former Minister of Health of the Somaliland Republic is one of the ten recipients of this year’s Award of Recognition, which is one of the highlights.  Linda Weil-Curiel, a French Attorney who prosecutes perpetrators throughout France for practicing FGM will be part of the day’s event.  Survivor and Activist, Mariya Taher, one of the co-founders of Sahiyo will be returning to Washington, D.C. for the second year to participate in the Walk To End FGM.  Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation began the tradition of recognizing women and men for their contribution toward the campaign to end female genital mutilation at the 2015 Walk To End FGM.  Participants are expected from various states around the U.S., Canada, Europe and the U.K.

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation has encouraged walk-A-thon participants to form teams and join in the fundraising efforts to support the post-FGM restorative surgeries for FGM survivors.  The three teams that raise the most amounts will be presented with first, second and third prizes.  They need your help with only less than two months to go, they are only at 4% of this year’s goal.  The pre-walk ceremony is expected to begin at 12:00 Noon, and the actual walk-A-thon will commence at approximately 1:30pm.  Participants will begin claiming their t-shirts and giveaway bags at 11:00am.  The participants can look forward to a day of excitement and awareness.  Even if you are not a walker, you will find the pre-walk ceremony of interest.  To be a part of the day, visit the site and scroll down to the pink button, Register for Walk.

If you are traveling from out of state or out of country and require overnight accommodations, the official hotel is the Tysons Corner Marriott, 8028 Leesburg Pike, Tysons Corner, Virginia 22182.  The deadline to obtain the special low negotiated rate is Wednesday, September 27, 2017.    If you call to book your hotel reservations, make sure to ask for the Global Woman PEACE Foundation Room Block rate.  If you book online, make sure you click on this link Book your group rate for Global Woman Peace Foundation Room Block to make your hotel reservations.

Look out for the continuation of weekly updates on Thursdays in September.  In October, we will provide you with weather and other advisories daily, up to Walk-Day.  We look forward to seeing you on October 21st!

Send all comments and questions about the preceding article to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org or call (703) 818-3787. 

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation’s 2017 Calendar

Save-these-Dates

  • Walk To End FGM registration – Now Open for Registration, scroll down and click on the pink Register button
  • The education toolkit – Now Available and downloadable at Education Toolkit
  • Walk To End FGM – October 21st
  • Giving Tuesday – November 28th
  • Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Year-End Board Meeting – December 1st

We will update this calendar as the year progresses.  Please mark your calendars, as we work toward a prosperous 2017.

Volunteers Needed:  Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is in search of volunteers for their 4th annual Walk to End FGM in the nation’s capital on Saturday, October 21, 2017.  Volunteers’ responsibilities are: Arrive early, set-up, on-site registration, T-shirt and bag distribution, oversee donations, supervision of the tents, coordinate pre-walk ceremony, seat speakers and guests, coordinate photo-ops and pre-walk interviews.  We invite our 2016 volunteers to join us this year.  They did a great job last year.  All volunteers will have free registration for the walk.  If you are interested in being a volunteer for the Walk To End FGM send an email to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org  and put in the subject line, “Volunteer”.

To volunteer, contact us at info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org or call 703-818-3787.  Register at www.globalwomanpeacefoundation.org and Walk to End FGM.

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.  As such, your donations and registration fees are tax deductible to the maximum extent required by law.

Make Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation Your Favorite Charity in 2017

When you shop during the year at Amazon, please select Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation as your charity of choice. 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 2017, 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, 14001A Grumble Jones Court, Centreville, Virginia 20121.  Your generous donations are tax deductible.  Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

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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

KALW OT NED MGF (4 WORDS)

TRATIONREGIS

NERSPART

UNTEERVOL

LOGA

 

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

NERIND                                                                               DINNER

NODECS                                                                               SECOND

LANUNA                                                                              ANNUAL

DITRATIONAL TICESACRP                                           TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

WARDSA                                                                             AWARDS

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 2016:

  • 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.