Hey Changemaker!

Dr. Areeg Abdalmagid Abass: An Urgent Perspective on Sudan

Dr. Areeg Abdalmagid Abass is a Sudanese doctor and public health professional, with over 5 years of experience tackling inequity in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Areeg worked with the Federal Ministry of Health as a SRHR Emergency Preparedness and Response Officer focusing to anticipate vulnerability and undertake measures to more effectively mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from SRH emergencies in conflict areas and reproductive health needs amidst emergencies with the sole purpose of strengthening the fragile health system of the country. 
 
During the past years, Areeg has led more than 5 national campaigns to raise awareness and advocate against gender based violence, child marriage and female genital mutilation to promote SRHR of women and young children in under-served communities. In 2020, she was named one of the 16 most influential women tackling SRHR in Sudan. She is also an alumnus of the Nobel Women Laureates program in Canada as well as being a Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumnus in 2022.
 
Areeg embarked on a journey of 6 days to reach Rwanda to be able to attend WD2023, because of the suspension of flights from Sudan and the complete closure of airports at that time. In this podcast Areeg shares her insights and the turmoil of experiences she went through while she fled the war in Khartoum.

Julia Wiklander: A message of self care and an update on Hey Changemaker

The Hey Changemaker! Podcast is alive and well. We have a lot of interviews that have been conducted and many more scheduled in the coming weeks and months. However, those that are in the works will be published after the summer here in Sweden - coming back in September. 
In the meantime, we will be sharing many stories from changemakers around the world via the Girls’ Globe platform. So, please subscribe at girlsglobe.org/emails to hear more from them and to follow along the many exciting things we are doing in the next few months.
If you haven’t listened to all of our existing 20+ episodes, go back and do so! I have been inspired by every single conversation. 
All in all, I sincerely hope that this message can be a reminder for yourself to evaluate your own work and life - to dare to reprioritise and to dare to fail at living up to your own or others expectations. As we do this work, we need to be kind to ourselves and connect to our inner loving voice time and time again. 
One thing that I have appreciated so much in the past year are the Women’s Circles hosted by Sharon D’Agostino. You can hear more about them in my conversation with her in episode 15. You can learn more and register for an upcoming one at girlsglobe.org/womenscircle.
 

Eva Lathrop - Safeguarding Abortion in the United States after Roe v. Wade

Dr. Eva Lathrop is the Global Medical Director for Population Services International (PSI), a non-profit global health organization. 
PSI operates in over 50 countries worldwide, with programs in sexual and reproductive health, malaria, water and sanitation, HIV and non-communicable diseases.
Eva oversees a service delivery portfolio that spans over 30 countries and focuses on sexual and reproductive health, legal abortion and post-abortion care, and cervical cancer work. She also works to evolve PSI’s quality approach within primary health care.
Her experience prior to PSI spans 20 years of experience in clinical care, teaching, research and practice in global reproductive health. Her clinical and research interests include increasing access to contraception, legal abortion and post-abortion care in low-resource settings, restricted settings and in the context of complex emergencies. 
In this episode, Dr. Eva Lathrop gives us insights into the status of access to abortion services in the United States and the pushback on reproductive freedom that she has witnessed as a physician in the US since the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year. 
Eva shares personal stories, her sources for hope and real advice for changemakers everywhere. 

Maureen Okango: Healing the world’s most resilient women

Dr. Maureen Okango is a fistula surgeon from Kenya. She is a is a young, vibrant consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist. Passionate about maternal and newborn care, Maureen is not only a new graduate of the fellowship of fistula surgery, but also an Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care trainer. She is a principle master trainer of integrated antenatal and postnatal care as well as quality improvement. and a Ministry of Health trainer on screening for cervical cancer for precancerous lesions.
Maureen has sacrificially served as a trainer and mentor in The Vihiga County Referral Hospital and the wider Vihiga county, supporting health care providers in other health facilities through straining, mentorship and support supervision.
Maureen talks about her work and she shares her stories of working with women who’ve suffered an obstetric fistula. She shares so much hope and inspiration - and I am so incredibly grateful that she shared her time with me. 
Learn more about Obstetric Fistula and consider donating to support the work of fistula surgeons like Maureen at fistulafoundation.org. 
 

Cynthia Brix: Gender Equity & Reconciliation

In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most ancient wounds of humanity.
Cynthia Brix is the co-founder of Gender Equity and Reconciliation International. She is an ordained interfaith minister with a background in women’s issues and racial diversity. She has co-organized seven international conferences on interspirituality and two on women’s spiritual leadership across diverse religious and indigenous traditions. Cynthia holds an honorary doctorate from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and MA in wellness and gerontology, and she is certified in Grof Breathwork. 
Cynthia is the co-author of a few books, one of which we talk a bit about today called, Gender Equity & Reconciliation: Thirty Years of Healing the Most Ancient Wound in the Human Family. 
The Gender Equity and Reconciliation International or GERI process was inspired by the principles of Truth and Reconciliation developed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa. It’s a process that has been developed and used for over three decades for thousands of people across six continents. The process aims to create safe forums to empower the unraveling of gender and sexual conditioning and initiate a whole new culture of gender relations and community.
The actor and author of Man Enough, Justin Baldoni, says that “Gender equity is the one certain step to heal humanity… this book and the GERI program illuminate a path to do just that.”
Cynthia Brix shares her stories and helps us understand more about how we can heal the ancient wound of gender inequity. 
Learn more at www.GRworld.org
Connect with Gender Equity and Reconciliation International through social media:
Facebook
Facebook Group
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
Twitter
 
 
 

Amina Umuhoza: Entrepreneurship Changing Lives of Adolescents

Amina Umuhoza is an entrepreneur, menstruation activist and champion of adolescents sexual and reproductive health in Rwanda. She is the CEO of of SAYE company ltd - a social enterprise that designs creative tools to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights for adolescents.
Together with My Period is Awesome, SAYE has opened the Kigali Menstruation Station - a safe space for adolescents to learn more about sexual and reproductive health without stigma. 
At SAYE, Amina leads a range of entrepreneurial endeavours, one being an economic part of their business that focuses on turning trash into decors The locally made home decoration items are produced by teen mums and youth to be sold in SAYE home decor shop.
She has been recognized for her work and leadership in various ways. She is the member of the MasterCard Foundation Youth Advisory group and was a youth advisory board member at DOT Rwanda. She has been recognized among top 10 outstanding alumni of the US embassy exchange program. Amina was recognized among the top 40 Education Innovators in Africa by the African Union and was selected among the top 18 East African social entrepreneurs to join the Change Maker Exchange Program in 2019. And this is to only name a few… 
Amina is passionate about creating safe spaces for young people to learn and grow, and about protecting the environment. She is TRULY an entrepreneur, and we speak about her journey to where she is today, which wasn’t so straightforward.
She shares her best advice about goal-setting and entrepreneurship and gives insights into the situation for teenage girls and young women in Rwanda. 

Ruchira Gupta: Hope and Positivity in the Midst of Difficult Change

How can you stay hopeful when witnessing unspeakable crimes against women and girls? That and so much more in this episode of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast. 
Ruchira Gupta is an author and activist who believes in a world in which no child is bought or sold. After winning an Emmy for her documentary on sex-trafficking, she set up an NGO called Apne Aap, that has helped thousands of girls and women exit systems of sexual exploitation. 
She has worked with the UN to change laws and policies in countries all over the world to end sex-trafficking. 
We talk about her amazing work, her upcoming book and debut novel, I Kick and I Fly, based on experiences related to her, the change that she has seen in the past 20 years and the challenges that remain. She shares personal stories and truly, a message of hope. 
Learn more and connect with Ruchira Gupta via these links: 
www.ruchiragupta.com
www.apneaap.org
Instagram: @RuchiraaGupta
Twitter: @RuchiraGupta
Facebook: @RuchiraGuptawriter
 
This is our 20th episode of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast!
So far we’ve reached listeners in over 47 countries, from Pakistan to Paraguay and from New Zealand to the Netherlands. This is a weekly podcast, however, we will be taking a one month break to review, improve and leave some time to prepare future episodes of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast.
In the meantime, you're invited to share your questions, comments or thoughts in a voice message. 
Do you have any concerns in your work as a changemaker that you’d like us to discuss? 
Do you have questions for me or about Girls’ Globe? 
Do you have any comments or additions you’d like to make to the conversations that we’ve had so far? 
Perhaps you want to tell us what you like about this podcast?
Or maybe you just have an inspirational message to share with our global community of changemakers? 
If so - go to girlsglobe.org/changemaker and scroll to the section called Leave a Message or Ask a Question. 
Once you’ve recorded and submitted your recording, we will review and may very well use your question or comment in an upcoming episode - or even as the basis of a conversation. 
 

A Boost of Power & Positivity from Around the World

Even in difficult and stressful times, one thing is certain we are MANY. We are activists, advocates, experts, allies, friends and people who want to say they did something. Encouragement and positivity is needed to continue our important work for gender equality, human rights, social justice and a sustainable and peaceful world. 
So, I’ve taken to the Girls’ Globe archives to pull out positive and encouraging messages from amazing people from around the world - who share your commitment to making this world a better place. 
In this episode you will hear uplifting messages for changemakers on power, self-care, resilience and more, featuring: 
Imelda Coulibaly, Abusu Health, (Côte D'Ivoire)
Nice Nailantei Leng'ete, Anti-FGM Activist (Kenya) 
Evelyn, girls education advocate (Uganda)
Daniela Ligiero, Together for Girls (USA)
Lina AbiRafeh, Activist, Speaker and Independent Consultant (Lebanon/USA) 
Sharon D'Agostino, SayItForward.org (USA)

What’s going on, Sweden? A Gender Equality Check

What's the status of gender equality in one of the world's most gender equal countries? 
When looking at gender equality rates globally, Sweden has been in the top 5 countries for a long time. Internationally, Sweden has been known for its focus on development, aid, gender equality and human rights. The previous government even pioneered a feminist foreign policy. However - recent years have seen a shift in the public discourse on these issues. 
In this episode, I speak to a representative from academia, Niclas Järvklo, the General Secretary of the Swedish Women’s Organizations, Clara Berglund, and the newly appointed Minister of Gender Equality, Paulina Brandberg. The conversations were recorded at the Swedish Gender Equality Forum in February 2023. 
Please share your thoughts under the post for this episode at girlsglobe.org/changemaker.
 

Bulelwa Adonis: A voice for victims of gender based violence & femicides in South Africa

In most parts of the world, intimate partner violence is so frequent it can be called an epidemic. In South Africa, rates of gender based violence are five times higher than the global average. 
Bulelwa Adonis is a multi-passionate woman from South Africa using her voice to encourage, educate, entertain and be a mouthpiece for those who cannot speak.  She currently holds a Higher Certificate in Counseling and Communication and is currently studying towards a degree in Psychology, where she hopes to impact communities. She is a mental health advocate, a social justice activist (particularly against GBV) and the Spokesperson for the organization Women for Change South Africa. She is a writer, poet and speaker.
In this episode we speak about rape, femicides and rape culture in South Africa. We talk about the important work of Women for Change South Africa. Bulelwa also shares her own stories of overcoming trauma, and how she turned her pain into activism.