More than 200 women with disabilities from over 80 countries have participated in MIUSA’s signature women’s leadership programs.
The idea for WILD grew out of the U.N. NGO Forum for Women in Beijing, where disabled women from around the world gathered at a MIUSA symposium. At this Forum, women with disabilities called for opportunities to develop as leaders by coming together for training, international exchange of experience and creation of action plans focused on issues critical to women with disabilities.
Now, 20 years after the Beijing Women’s Conference, MIUSA is expanding the reach of the WILD program by preparing alumni to replicate the unique WILD model in their own countries.
WILD alumni used MIUSA’s new WILD Facilitator’s Guide to sharpen training skills, learned cross-disability access strategies, and applied the WILD principles of empowerment, inclusion and pride to training activities. Training graduates received small grants from MIUSA and partnered with local organizations to extend the WILD experience to more than 400 disabled women and girls in 19 countries.
WILD alumni selected for the Training-of-Trainers came from Albania, Armenia, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Perú, Rwanda, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
These activists, representing diverse disabilities, are change agents in their communities. They are addressing issues such as civil and human rights advocacy, reproductive health, education, literacy, economic empowerment, HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence.
“I will transfer the knowledge and skills that I gain from the WILD Training-of-Trainers to build the capacity of other women with disabilities in my country. Over the years, the multiplier effect of my participation will empower millions of disabled women in Africa and beyond to position themselves as great leaders working to improve the lives of disabled and nondisabled women alike.” Ekaete Umoh, Nigeria
View the slideshow below of WILD in-country trainings.
The WILD training program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with technical support provided by the USAID-funded Leadership, Management, and Governance project.
WILD is also supported by the generous sponsorship of local businesses and families in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon.
