A Pictorial Story of the Walk To End FGM in Washington, D.C.

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation held their third annual Walk To End FGM on Saturday, October 15, 2016 on the Washington National Mall near the Monument.  The event was well attended by women and men alike from various places in the United States and the rest of the world.

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The afternoon began as volunteers in pink shirts gathered at the National Sylvan Theater as they dispensed give-away bags, purple t-shirts, bottle water, granola health bars, fresh bananas and jars of homemade jam, provided by sponsors such as Giant Food, Coca-Cola, Natura Foods, Costco and Panera Bread.

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The distinguished emcees of the day were Andrea Roane of Washington’s Television CBS Affiliate, WUSA 9  and Meagan Fitzgerald of Washington’s Television NBC Affiliate, WRC-TV 4.

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Delivering the Keynote Address was Susan L. Masling of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Masling told the crowd that female genital mutilation/cutting is a federal crime in the United States; and although only twenty-three U.S. states have passed state laws against the practice of FGM/C, it is still a federal law in all fifty states in the United States.  While she educated the attentive crowd on the laws in the U.S. against this heinous practice, she outlined the accomplishments the U.S. has made in recent years against FGM/C.  Masling continued to remind the walkers that it is also unlawful to remove a child from U.S. soil and take her to another country with the intention of performing female genital mutilation/cutting on them.  She also stressed that FGM/C is a form of child abuse, according to U.S. law, and it must be treated as child abuse.  Susan Masling acknowledged the work Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation does against the practice of FGM/C, both in the U.S. and abroad.

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Other speakers were the Founder of Africa Schools of Kenya, Teri Gabrielsen and the President of the Pastoralist Child Foundation, Sayydah Garrett, both of whom do a great deal of work in Kenya and here in the United States against FGM/C.

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On the program were two young women who survived the practice of FGM/C when they were little girls in their native countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia.  Aisha Kamara began by pointedly sharing that she was born right here in Washington, D.C. and later taken to her parents’ country of origin, where she underwent FGM/C.  Her riveting story left the crowd flabbergasted, when she told how her husband left her because he was unable to understand her psychological trauma as a result of FGM/C.  She shared how Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation has helped her through counseling, and now she is able to stand before hundreds to tell her story without shedding tears.

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Sando Sherman-Adetunji, a product of the Liberian Sande Bush Society shared her own story and shared how FGM/C has affected her adult life.  She shocked the crowed when she asked, “Has anyone ever questioned what they do with the genitals they cut off the girls?”  Sando responded to her own question, when she disclosed to the crowd that the Sande Bush in Liberia cooks the cut genitals and feeds it to them, and that the excisers themselves eat the parts.  The audience gasped as Sando denounced the act and called it blatant cannibalism.

Singers Kristin Hoffmann and Dr. Amelia Kemp perform songs they had composed and recorded for Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation to help raise awareness about female genital mutilation/cutting.  The crowd was on their feet, holding hands as Hoffmann performed the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. song, which the organization calls their anthem.

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Prior to starting the 5K Walk, President and Vice President of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, Angela Peabody and Amie Jallah took the stage to present award recognitions to several women and a man for the work they have done in the past against FGM/C.  Receiving awards were Susan Gibbs, Sherelle Carper, Susan Masling, Diane Walsh, Hilary Burrage, Elisabeth Wilson, Godfrey Williams-Okorodus, Missy Crutchfield, Sando Sherman-Adetunji, Andrea Roane, , Kristin Hoffmann, and teenager, Amani DeShield.

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The organization set out early in 2016 to raise Ten Thousand Dollars to help cover the costs of restorative surgeries for FGM/C survivors.  The teams exceeded the goals they had set and helped push the organization over their goal for 2016.  There will be several young women going to have the restorative surgery between 2016 and early 2017.  First, second and third prizes were awarded to the three teams that raised the highest amounts.  Consolation prizes were awarded to the 4th and 5th runner-ups, provided by Panera Bread.

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The 2017 Walk To End FGM date has already been set for Saturday, October 21, 2017.  Mark your 2017 calendars and save that date to join Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation in another Walk To End FGM.

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Weekly Special Announcements

For Awardee Hilary Burrage’s Blog on the Walk To End FGM visit the links below:

https://hilaryburrage.com/2016/10/15/the-end-fgm-walk-a-thon-15-october-2016-washington-dc/ or https://hilaryburrage.com/2016/10/15/fgm-must-be-termed-female-genital-mutilation-in-formal-contexts/

The book, Female Mutilation authored by Hilary Burrage has been released in the US and Canada.  The book is currently on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation highly recommends Female Mutilation for high school students and anyone who wants to learn more about the practice of FGM/C.  This book and the author were at the Walk To End FGM on October 15th and to purchase a copy of the book, visit  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/female-mutilation-hilary-burrage/1123329211?ean=9781742576077

Shop Amazon Smile & Donate to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation:  As you, our supporters make your purchases from Amazon.com, please do so by supporting us at: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/42-1690778 and Amazon will donate to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation.  #StartWithaSmile at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/42-1690778 and Amazon will donate to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation.  We appreciate your donations and wish you happy shopping!

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Do you have an announcement you would like to place in this section of the newsletter?  Here are the guidelines below:

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

  • The length of announcement must be no more than a paragraph of 6 lines.
  • 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.

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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

DIOOWAD

RABOH

TNAKAH

TALIGENI

NORMILATABY

 

3 Weeks ago Scrambled Words                               3 Weeks ago Unscrambled Words

DITRATION                                                                        TRADITION

TURECUL                                                                            CULTURE

DESAN CIETYSO                                                               SANDE SOCIETY

TALIGEN                                                                             GENITAL

HEDAT                                                                                 DEATH

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

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How You Can Help & Support Us

Here are some of the ways you can help and support our programs in 2016:

  • gofundme
  • 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)
  • Sign our Petition

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The Global Woman Center Has Support Group Sessions

Support Group is currently meeting in the following Sessions until the end of the year:  September 24th, November 12th, November 19th, December 10th and December 17th.  We will break for the holidays after December 17th and resume sessions on January 14th.  We invite you to join us at 3920 Alton Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016 at 12:30pm.  For one-on-one meetings, contact us for appointments at info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org or call 703-818-3787.

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.

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