Telling the ECSA Story

Cathrine and the Maponde village members displayed the chickens they had reared. CARE Zimbabwe At the centre of eastern Zimbabwe, nestled just 3km from the renowned St Noah Shrine, lies the remote village of Maponde. For generations, women in this part of the country have faced a harsh reality marked by gender inequality, limited opportunities, and the looming spectre of child marriage.  Cathrine was no stranger to the hardships many women face. "We lived in poverty, and I had nothing to call my own. I endured abuse and abandonment from my husband, who refused to involve me in his business affairs. When he left, I was left with nothing. My children and I struggled to meet even our most basic needs, including the seeds needed to plant millet for food," she shared.  Maponde faced additional challenges due to climate-related issues like frequent droughts and floods, which made life even more difficult. However, CARE Zimbabwe’s START4Girls project, funded by Global Affairs Canada

Zeinab Farah who accomplished her national Grade 8 exams. CARE International in Somalia At just 16, Zeinab Ali Farah has achieved something remarkable: she became the top student in Jubaland state, Somalia, in the national Grade 8 exams. Her success is a personal victory and a powerful testament to the transformative impact of the Girls' Education and Empowerment Program (GEEPS) in Somalia. One that may not have been reali z ed due to circumstances beyond her control.     Zeinab, born into a big family in Kismayo, knows firsthand the struggles girls face in Somalia. Education is a distant dream for many girls, held back by poverty, droughts, early marriage, the constant threat of conflict, dwindling resources that forced parents to prioritize boys' education, and harmful traditions that kept them from reaching their potential. Zeinab's goal of becoming a teacher seemed almost unattainable , overshadowed by her community's harsh realities of life.     "I used to

Angelina Nyabany in her backyard garden in Mayom County, Unity State. CARE South Sudan/Kenyi Evans In Mayom County, South Sudan, conflict, flooding, and economic instability have pushed thousands into the grip of severe food insecurity and malnutrition. Families face a relentless struggle to survive. According to reports, South Sudan's Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) levels remain alarmingly high, with 46 out of 80 counties, including Mayom County, exceeding the WHO emergency threshold of 15%. Women and girls face heightened vulnerability across all aspects of food security, including availability, access, utilization, and stability. Women like 50-year-old Angelina Nyabany Wadar, a mother of three, faced impossible choices: skipping meals to feed her children, scavenging for wild foods, and watching helplessly as malnutrition threatened the lives of her little ones. Angelina was displaced by flooding that submerged her home and crops in Loath. Angelina's life took a dramatic tu