Celebrating International Women’s Day with the Women Empowered Fund

Celebrating International Women’s Day with the Women Empowered Fund

By AACDS Director, April Jorgensen

The Australasian Academy of Cosmetic Dermal Science (AACDS) are pleased to announce their partnership with The Hunger Project Australia for the Women Empowered Fund. The fund was launched last November and has already raised $304,000 to date. From the fund’s name, you might have guessed that this is a women-centric program—this is one of the reasons why AACDS feels the partnership is the right fit. AACDS Director, April Jorgensen, states “AACDS has been supporting THPA for six years now, but the Women Empowerment Fund especially grabbed us as having the right synergies with the college. AACDS is about empowering students, many of whom are women, to achieve their career goals in aesthetics. The Women Empowerment Fund is about empowering the poorest women in the world by providing microloans and small business skills so they can lift themselves out of chronic hunger and poverty.”

Women and hunger

Chronic hunger and poverty unequally affect women and children throughout the world[1]. Strategies that focus on empowering women rather than giving handouts, are proven to yield the best outcomes[2]. Moreover, women tend to exert a greater positive effect on their families and communities when they have their own income[3]. In other words, women are the precursor to positive change, but too often women are denied the opportunities to ignite this change.

An Escalating Food Crisis

Climate, conflict and COVID is creating unprecedented humanitarian needs throughout many developing countries[4]. The Ukraine and Russia supply Africa with a large proportion of their grain and fertiliser, though the conflict has affected supply chains resulting in a significant rise in the cost of food[5]. Women make up around 60 to 80 percent of the agricultural workforce in Africa but are also burdened with all the domestic duties[6]. With women bearing the brunt of this crisis, women-centric programs are absolutely needed. Women yielding more from their crops, or taking on other income-producing activities, will help to alleviate this crisis. 

What Can You Do?

Australians now have the highest median wealth per adult globally, making us the world’s richest people[7]. One of the many privileges of being in this position is the ability to make a lasting difference by helping the poorest people in the world. If you would like to be part of this movement, you can give any dollar amount to the Women Empowerment Fund through the link below: https://join.thp.org.au/women-empowered-fund

 

In Memory of Juanita Sim

The Women Empowered Fund at AACDS has been taken on in memory of a beautiful daughter, mother, friend and colleague, Juanita Sim who sadly passed in May 2021. Juanita was a great believer in the good in the world. Through this fund, her desire to help people will continue to be realised.

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[1]    Changing lives – Gender | World food programme. (2023, February 1). UN World Food Programme (WFP). https://www.wfp.org/publications/changing-lives-gender

[2]    Women hold the key to building a world free from hunger and poverty. (2016, December 16). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/460267/icode/

[3]    Facts and figures: Economic empowerment. (2018, July). UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures

[4]    The global hunger crisis escalates: The race to save lives. (2022, July 15). World Vision Canada | Sponsor a Child | Canadian Charity. https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/food/global-hunger-crisis-and-ukraine-conflict-impact

[5]    Changing lives – Global food crisis 2022 | World Food Programme. (2022). UN World Food Programme (WFP). https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000140702/download/?_ga=2.43725351.381354364.1675833722-864515690.1675833722

[6]    Odiwuor, F. (2022, September 7). Southern Voices – Women Smallholder Farmers: What is the Missing Link for the Food System in Africa? | Africa Up Close. The Wilson Center. https://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/women-smallholder-farmers/

[7]    Global Wealth Report 2022. (2022). Credit Suisse. https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html