SistersGeographic’s FAVORITE NGOs making a difference in the lives of women and children throughout the world. Read on, find one (or more!) that resonates with you, and explore how you might support them…perhaps volunteering or financially or simply spreading the word!
And if you know of a reputable organization to add to the list, please visit our contact page and let us know!
ORGANIZATIONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE:
The Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) rebuilds education and health systems in Afghanistan through its holistic approach that combines innovative education, healthcare with health education, and quality training programs. AIL benefits all needy people (70% female). It is an Afghan organization run mainly by women, that seeks to help all Afghans rebuild their lives and society through transformation at individual and community levels.
http://www.afghaninstituteoflearning.org/
Apne Aap is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing prostitution and sex trafficking in India, by targeting prostitutes and women and girls at-risk of becoming prostitutes. Apne Aap supports women's rights to legal protection, education, vocational training and a livelihood, and safe and independent housing. They also host campaigns targeted at men, with the aim to turn men away from the prostitution system.
Ashoka is a large network of worldwide social entrepreneurslooking to transform the third world's operations to the same entrepreneurial and competitive architecture that has driven business ahead over the last three centuries in the first world, by providing start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network across the business and social sectors.
Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) is a program by Columbia University helping to strengthen national health systems to provide emergency care for all women experiencing life-threatening obstetric complications. AMDD conducts research and policy analysis, lends technical expertise, and advocates for solutions that reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
BRAC is an organization aimed at achieving large scale, positive changes through economic and social programs in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. BRAC has developed support services in the areas of human rights and social empowerment, education and health, gender equality, economic empowerment and enterprise development, livelihood training, environmental sustainability and disaster preparedness.
Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) is an international nonprofit organization that invests in girls and women that face acute disadvantages in the poorest rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Camfed tackles poverty and inequality by supporting girls to go to school and succeed, and empowering young women to step up as leaders of change.
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, by strengthening people's capacity for self-help, providing economic opportunities, delivering emergency relief, influencing policy decisions at all political levels, and addressing all forms of discrimination. CARE focuses on poor women, as women, equipped with the proper resources, have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.
The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) is a non-profit organization that improves the lives of women and girls in developing countries by working with women leaders, local partners, and national and international organizations to give women the tools they need to improve their lives, families and communities. CEDPA's programs are aimed at increasing educational opportunities for girls and youth, ensuring access to lifesaving reproductive health and HIV/AIDS information and services, and strengthening women's abilities to become leaders in their communities and nations.
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) uses the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right in the United States and internationally. The CRR's cases before national courts, United Nations committees, and regional human rights bodies have expanded access to reproductive healthcare, including birth control, safe abortion, and prenatal and obstetric care. http://www.reproductiverights.org/
ECPAT International is a global network dedicated to protecting children through the coordination of research, advocacy, and action to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children in 78 different countries.
ECPAT works to build collaboration among local organizations and the broader child rights community to form a global social movement for protection of children from sexual exploitation, and to eliminate child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. http://www.ecpat.net
The Edna Adan Hospital of Somaliland works to train fully qualified health care professionals, to dispatch 1000 midwives throughout the country, and to fight the rampant practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in a country whose healthcare system was destroyed by civil war, leaving Somaliland with the highest rate of maternal and infant mortality in the world.
Engender Health is a nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of men, women, and children through its work in safe, effective, and affordable family planning and contraception access, holistic and emergency maternal care, and HIV, AIDS, and other STI screening, treatment, and support safe, effective, and affordable family planning, maternal health, HIV and AIDS, gender equity, and many other programs. It has improved the lives of men, women, and families through its programs.
http://www.engenderhealth.org/index-main.php
Equality Now is an organization that advocates for the human rights of women and girls around the world by raising international visibility of individual cases of abuse, mobilizing public support through our global membership, and wielding strategic political pressure to ensure that governments enact or enforce laws and policies that uphold the rights of women and girls. Equality Now focuses on issues of discrimination in law, sexual violence, female genital mutilation, and sex trafficking.
Family Care International (FCI) aims to make pregnancy and childbirth safer, ensure universal access to reproductive health care and information, and to empower women, young people, and communities. FCI envisions a world where no woman suffers preventable pregnancy-related injury or death, where childbirth is safe for mothers and their babies, and where all people are able to enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and rights. http://www.familycareintl.org/en/home
The Fistula Foundation is dedicated to dedicated to ending the suffering caused by obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury caused by prolonged, unrelieved obstructed labor that renders a woman incontinent – an injury that can only be treated through surgery. https://www.fistulafoundation.org/ info@fistulafoundation.org
Friends of UNFPA is a non-profit organization that supports the work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which aims to help women and young people to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives. The organization provides over 500 million couples with contraceptives every year, trains skilled birth attendants, and increases access to emergency obstetric care. http://www.friendsofunfpa.org/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=183
The Global Fund for Women is a grantmaker and a global advocate for women’s human rights. They help to advance the movement for women’s human rights by directing resources to and raising the voices of women worldwide. They invest in local, courageous women and women-led organizations, and create digital advocacy campaigns on critical global issues for women and girls. http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/index.php General Inquiries: http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/questions-please-contact-us 415.248.4800
Global Grassroots is a non-profit organization that supports conscious social change, driven by and for vulnerable women and girls at the grassroots level. Global Grassroots' Academy for Conscious Change offers mind-body trauma healing, non-profit development skills, leadership training, personal transformation practices, seed grants and high-engagement support to help groups of disadvantaged women and girls initiate their own sustainable social ventures. http://www.globalgrassroots.org/ info@globalgrassroots.org (+1) 603.643.0400
The Grameen Bank is a Nobel-Prize winning microfinance organization that provides small loans without collateral to the impoverished in Bangledesh. The Grameen Bank believes that the rural poor have underutilized skills that could be used to make more money with the help of a small loan as incentive and start-up. http://www.grameen-info.org
Heal Africa is a faith-based organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that provides access to healthcare through the establishment of three hospitals that provide general surgery, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and internal medicine. Heal Africa also focuses on community development efforts, hosting programs that address gender-based violence, public health and health education, law and justice training, community development and rebuilding, spiritual development, and personal finance through micro-loans. http://www.healafrica.org/
Cal Bremer, Executive Director: cal@healafrica.org
The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. The Hunger Project's mission is to end hunger and poverty with sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world. http://thp.org/ info@thp.org +1 212.251.9100
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a research institute that focuses on women's contributions to their communities, and the barriers that prevent them from being economically stable and able to fully participate in society. The ICRW then designs programs for donors and policy-makers to help empower women in their lives and communities, measures changes in the lives of women and girl to figure out how to best achieve gender equality, and recommends policies to benefit women. http://www.icrw.org
Washington D.C. Headquarters: 202.797.0007
Marie Stopes International is a global non-profit organization that provides quality contraception materials and reproductive healthcare to millions of the world's poorest women. They offer family planning materials, maternal health care, HIV/AIDS screening and treatment, post-abortion care, and, where legal, access to safe abortions rather than unsafe, "back-alley" abortions. http://mariestopes.org info@mariestopes.org +44 (0)20 7636 6200
New Light is a nonprofit organization in Kolkata, India, dedicated to promoting gender equality through education and life-skill training, thereby reduce harm caused by violence and abuse to women and young children. New Light works to save girls from becoming victims of sexual exploitation, to improve the lives of the children of sex workers., and to provide care for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. http://www.newlightindia.org (91 33) 2485-0068
Nyumbani is an organization devoted to Kenyan children suffering from the HIV/AIDS crisis. They have opened the Nyumbani Home, where HIV+ orphans and abandoned children from 16 months to 24 years old receive medical care, psychosocial and spiritual support, and education through sponsorship for elementary, middle, high school, and college. http://www.nyumbani.org/ Call: (202) 422-5024
Pathfinder International is an organization dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights globally by catalyzing change locally. Pathfinder provides men, women, and adolescents in more than 25 developing countries with quality health services - such as access to contraception and maternal and neonatal health, HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment, ensuring access to safe abortion services, and advocating for advantageous healthcare policies. http://www.pathfinder.org U.S. Headquarters: (617) 924-7200
Pennies for Peace (P4P) is an international service-learning program that empowers communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan through education. The P4P program gives individuals in the United States the necessary information and materials to set up penny-raising fundraisers. While pennies are relatively worthless in the United States, overseas a single one can buy a pencil and open the world to literacy. http://www.penniesforpeace.orginfo@penniesforpeace.org 406.585.7841
Population Services International (PSI) is an organization that offers children's healthcare addressing the main causes of child disease and death, provides access to modern contraception and family planning services, battles gender-based violence and offers shelter and care to victims, works toward the prevention and care of people suffering from HIV, AIDS, and other STI. PSI also fights malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa (as the world's largest distributor of insecticide-treated mosquito nets), offers maternal health services to reduce maternal death, treats and raises awareness about non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, strokes, and cancer, and manages water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. http://www.psi.org202-785-0072
Pro Mujer is a women's development organization providing women in Latin America with the vital services necessary to become financially independent, healthy, and leaders in their communities. Pro Mujer offers loans to help start small businesses and improve living conditions, workshops teaching business and economical knowledge, and high-quality, low-cost healthcare. http://promujer.org/ communications@promujer.org 1 646-626-7000
Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) is a trade union in India consisting of poor, self-employed women that earn a living through their own labor or small businesses. SEWA offers supportive services such as healthcare, savings and credit, child care, insurance, legal aid, and communications for these women who do not receive the regular salaried employment and welfare benefits of those who work in the organized sector. http://www.sewa.org/ mail@sewa.org 91-79-25506444
Shared Hope International is an organization devoted to preventing conditions that foster sex trafficking, restoring victims of sex slavery, and bringing justice to vulnerable women and children. Shared Hope International seek to inspire change by informing and empowering activists, providing guidance to local shelter partners, and influencing policy makers and first responders. http://sharedhope.org/ savelives@sharedhope.org 1-866-437-5433
Talutha Kum is a faith-based organization is part of the UISG and coordinates the anti-trafficking efforts of Religious Sisters. Piazza di Ponte Sant'Angelo, 28 | 00186 Roma, Italia | Tel: 0039 06 68 400 20 | Mob: +39 3441734506 | coordinator@talithakum.info
Tostan offers three years of nonformal education programs that put rural African communities in charge of their own futures, by emphasizing human rights and responsibilities, encourging a non-judgmental and respectful attitude, and encouraging sustainability. Tostan programs in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, and Somalia have fostered women's empowerment in their communities, communities ending female genital mutilation, communities ending child marriage, improvement of reading skills, economic growth, and the establishment of grassroots democracy. http://www.tostan.org/ 221 33 820 5589
V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. Through volunteer work, V-Day acts as a catalyst to raise money, build anti-violence networks, create campaigns and events to raise awareness, produce films and documentaries to educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women, and to open safety shelters and host workshops.
http://www.vday.org/ To leave a voice-mail: 212-645-8329
Vital Voices is an organization that identifies, trains, and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs across the world. Vital Voices partners with international coalitions to combat human trafficking and other forms of violence against women and girls, enables women to become agents of change in their governments and advocates of social justice, democracy, and the rule of law, and equips women with management, business development, marketing, and communications skills to expand their enterprises, help to provide for their families, and create jobs in their communities. http://www.vitalvoices.org/ info@vitalvoices.org 202.861.2625
The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood unites citizens to demand the right to a safe birth, for every woman everywhere. The White Ribbon alliance is the largest citizen-led coalition for maternal health, and is demanding that preventable deaths due to childbirth are stopped. http://whiteribbonalliance.org/ info@whiteribbonalliance.org 44 (0) 207 965 6060
Women for Women International offers women living in areas affected by war and conflict access to the support, tools, and life-changing skills to move from crisis and poverty to stability and economic self-sufficiency. Women for Women International brings these women together to learn vocational and business skills, become educated about health, nutrition, and their legal rights, and to receive a stipend. http://www.womenforwomen.org general@womenforwomen.org +44 (0) 20 7922 7765
Women Thrive Worldwide is a nonprofit organization that brings the voice of women around the world to decision-makers in Washington D.C. Change is advocated at both the U.S and global levels so that women and men can share equally in the enjoyment of opportunities, economic prosperity, voice, and freedom from fear and violence. Women Thrive Worldwide focuses on the realities of women living in poverty, partners with locally based organizations, and creates powerful coalitions to advance the interests of the women and girls they serve. http://www.womenthrive.org Contact form: http://www.womenthrive.org/contact (202) 999-4500 Women's
Campaign International (WCI) empowers women to actively participate in civil society, political leadership and economic development. Specializing in transitional states and post-conflict regions around the world, WCI equips men, women, and youth leaders with the skills and support needed to transform their lives and communities. http://www.womenscampaigninternational.org/ info@womenscampaigninternational.org 215.387.2601
The Women's Refugee Commission aims to improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children, and youth displaced by war, conflict, and crisis. They monitor the care and protection of refugee women and children, and they make recommendations on how to improve assistance to refugee women and children to policy makers in the United States government and UN agencies, and to NGOs. http://womensrefugeecommission.org info@wrcommission.org (212) 551-3115
Women's World Banking is a global nonprofit organization devoted to giving more low-income women access to the financial tools and resources they require to build security and prosperity. They work with financial institutions to show them the benefit of investing in women as customers, and as leaders. They equip these institutions with in-depth market research, with sustainable financial products, and consumer education to meet women’s needs. http://www.womensworldbanking.org Contact form: http://www.womensworldbanking.org/contact-us/ 1 212-768-8513
World Assistance for Cambodia (WAfC) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia by operating interlinked programs across Cambodia in the areas of education, health, rural development, and technology. The WAfC opens and operates rural schools, orphanages, programs for the empowerment of girls, and programs interlinking Cambodian villages and handmade products to the rest of the world, encouraging village profit through cyber commerce. http://www.cambodiaschools.com/
The Worldwide Fistula Fund is a non-profit organization that provides comprehensive care and expert surgical services for women suffering from and at risk of obstetric fistulas in sub-Saharan Africa. They also support programs aimed at the prevention of obstetric fistulas, as well as programs focused on helping women reintegrate into their communities following treatment. http://worldwidefistulafund.org/