OneWorld.net (U.S.)

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What do you get when you take women from different parts of the world and put them together online? You get a network of women who didn’t realize that, by connecting via computer, they would be the shapers of a massive global movement of women “Connecting for Peace.” It’s a natural fit because women love to connect. Not only do we love it, but we are good at it! Thus, when we at Voices of Women decided to approach PEACE X PEACE in Washington, D.C. about becoming a “Sister Circle” to a circle of women from another country, it made perfect sense.

But, perhaps I should back up. What is Voices of Women and why did we want to get involved in the first place?

I grew up with a simple belief that life could be peaceful

Having been born and raised in the small country of New Zealand, global conflicts took place far from our shores and I grew up with a simple belief that life could be peaceful. The scenes on television of the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York incensed me sufficiently that I vowed to do whatever I could to join the fight against global hostility. Thus, Voices of Women (VOW) was born in October 2001.

Together with a small group of like-minded women in San Diego, we developed a three-fold mission: to educate ourselves and others about U.S. and foreign policy, to advance non-military solutions to global conflict through information and understanding, and to empower women in a worldwide campaign for peace. We knew we were not blazing a new trail, yet we felt an urgent need to add our voices to those already speaking out against war, injustice, and inequality.

© Peace X PeaceIn 2004, members of VOW attended a presentation of a compelling documentary, PEACE BY PEACE: Women on the Frontlines. This documentary showed how women around the world—from India to South America to the Middle East and Africa—were being connected through PEACE X PEACE with women in the United States into “Sister Circles.” I was deeply moved by the conversations that took place in the Circles, and how women spoke lovingly of their new friends in other countries. As the women in the documentary spoke ardently of the need to join hands to work for peace, Voices of Women was quickly persuaded to participate. We contacted the PEACE X PEACE office in Washington and our Internet journey began.

A few days after registering VOW, we received a notice that we were connected to a Circle of women near Lake Victoria in Kenya called Mama Na Dada. We were provided a unique email address that all the members in our Circle would share and that would connect us virtually.

We received our first communication from Joyce, the Mama Na Dada Circle initiator, on February 26, 2005. She was writing from a cyber café in Nairobi, three hours from her village, on a stiflingly hot day! Joyce described the impact of the AIDS pandemic on families and especially on children. As a consequence, she has started an orphanage for very young children and currently has 17 little ones in her care. After several communications through the Global Network, an issue such as AIDS was no longer something distant—“out there”—but it had a face and that face was connected to our new friend! Joyce shared the shocking statistics that, in Kenya, there were approximately 2.2 million people living with AIDS in 2000, another 1.5 million had died from AIDS-related illnesses, and 1.1 million orphans had been left behind. In her area, the infection rate was the second highest in the country.

We can often hear the quiet desperation in Joyce’s messages, yet she remains bright and positive. Articulate, educated, and compassionate, Joyce is a qualified lawyer with a diploma in Counseling Psychology. As the initiator and only woman of the Circle with regular opportunities to travel to the city to access the Internet, Joyce represents more than 20 women.

Because Mama Na Dada is our “Sister Circle,” there is an immediate sense of family in our communication exchange. Borders disappear in woman-to-woman conversations. It’s as though we are having a chat over the backyard fence with a well-known neighbor. Joyce sends us photos and we can instantly identify terrain she has described, “meet” some of the other women in the Circle, and begin to understand a way of life that would ordinarily be foreign to us.

© Peace X PeaceAs the flow of correspondence between us has increased, Voices of Women members have become more invested in learning about Kenya—its government, history, and demographics. And the more Joyce tells us, the more we want to know. We are building trust and beginning to identify how we can provide tangible assistance to the orphanage. On a personal level, I am in awe at the power of the women in Mama na Dada. Our consumer-driven, instant-gratification society makes it challenging to understand what women in Kenya and other countries face on a daily basis. For example, we sometimes became frustrated when we experienced long gaps in our communication with Joyce, but then remembered that Joyce had to walk a mile to an internet café to contact us. We are committed to the relationship because to be linked through the Internet to women on the other side of the world who share the desire to ease suffering and to promote peace is a humbling and inspirational experience.

The global network we became part of has allowed for deep and profound personal and organizational engagement

As an organization, Voices of Women has discovered that the global network we became part of has allowed for deep and profound personal and organizational engagement on diverse social issues—a combination we have not found elsewhere. In other words, reading about AIDS is overwhelming, but understanding and supporting the women of your Sister Circle in the grip of the pandemic brings hope.

Working with PEACE X PEACE, which has organized Women’s Circles and projects throughout the world, has also added significant synergy to our work. While Voices of Women chose AIDS and its impact on women in sub-Saharan Africa as an issue we wanted to explore, PEACE X PEACE has liaisons all over the world who can guide women to their network of choice.

Our investment in the Women’s Circle is well worth the effort. The time we have put in is small in comparison to the immeasurable rewards that we have received on many levels. Together with PEACE X PEACE, we hope to inspire more women to speak out about global inequities, to talk about the possibilities for peace in their homes and offices, and to step up to leadership roles where their knowledge, experience, and nurturing abilities can—and will—make difference.

Jenni Prisk, Founder and President Voices of Women A PEACE X PEACE Sister Circle Connection

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