1. Women and Development Photo 1 Photograph credit: Stephen Kadlec
Danielle Lyonne
Photo 3
Photograph credit: François Therrien

2. Why do we need a special focus on women?
Mariama, her daughter, and her mother in her home near Niamey, the capital of Niger.
Photo credit: François Therrien

3. Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women, 1995, #1, 3

4. two-thirds of adults unable to read and write are women.
Worldwide,
two-thirds of adults unable to read and write are women.
Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics, ‘50TH ANNIVERSARY OF INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY: Literacy rates are on the rise but millions remain illiterate’
Sreymom running a workshop with local villagers in Cambodia.
Photo credit: Richard Wainwright

5. 75% of people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2014 were women and children.
Source: State of the World’s Mothers 2014 Report page 5.
A mother and her child in a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Credit: Caritas Switzerland

6. Every hour, 34 women die from childbirth or pregnancy related causes.
Source: The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015, p.39
Sreymom, a midwife in the remote Mondulkiri, province of Northeast Cambodia.
Photo credit: Richard Wainwright

7. Globally, 1 in 3 women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence.
Source:
Photo credit: Caritas Australia
Anti-Violence Campaign in PNG Highlands.

8. 11.4 million women and girls are in forced labour.
Source:
Mariama and her daughter Fati (Niger).
Photo credit: François Therrien

9. In Australia
Life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females is 73.7 years, 9.4 years less than non-Indigenous females (83.1 years).
Source:
Lorraine and Barbara at The Purple House which supports a connection to country and culture through traditional activities.
Photo credit: Simon Hewson

10. Caritas australia Ending poverty Promoting justice Upholding dignity
Our mission:
Ending poverty
Promoting justice
Upholding dignity

11. Photos: Dinia harvesting rice with the help of her family and neighbours.
Dinia with a new baby piglet, provided to one of her neighbours through the Hog Dispersal Program supported by Caritas Australia.

12. Dinia’s story is a story of healing
Dinia’s story is a story of healing. Living in the Philippines, she struggled daily with poverty in a country with many vulnerable communities.
The untimely death of her husband meant an end to his small income and a greater struggle to feed and educate her children. Dinia was encouraged to participate in the SPACFI (Socio Pastoral Action Center Foundation Inc.) program supported by Caritas Australia.
Photo: Dinia working with a SPACFI representative, learning about a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) a methodology aimed at increasing the yield of rice produced in farming. It is a low water, labour-intensive, method that uses younger seedlings singly spaced and typically hand weeded with special tools. This method has increased Dinia and her families rice yield.
SPACFI staff member consulting with Dinia on her organic rice crop.

13. SPACFI’s Integrated Community Development Program supported by Caritas Australia helped Dinia develop diverse ways to gain a sustainable livelihood, continue to send her children to school and contribute to her community.
Working together for the common good awakened Dinia’s innate generosity and leadership qualities. Now she has an integral role in her community, a sustainable livelihood, and a brighter future for her children.
Dinia’s neighbours.
Dinia with her family.
Photo credits: Richard Wainwright

14. Photos: Martina collecting her vegetables to feed her family of 8 and to sell. Martina says “Even though we were eight people, we only had half of a glass of rice for food for one day” . Now Martina, with her community, can provide more for her family. “I was happy other people came to help me”.
After Martina’s husband treated her poorly, and left her and their family, Domingas, a counsellor at Uma PAS women’s shelter, has assisted Martina to move on to a better life for herself and her family

15. For Martina, an East Timorese mother of eight, escaping domestic violence was the first step in her journey to a new life. Caritas Australia’s Protection Program offers far more than just shelter from domestic violence.
Timor-Leste is one of the least developed countries in the world, with extremely low levels of basic health, literacy and income. Most East Timorese live in rural areas, with no access to services or livelihood training, and many households don’t have enough food year round.
Photo: Martina smiling, “I’m very, very happy right now, compared with my past life, because of support of the other people”.

16. The shelter where Martina sought refuge, Uma PAS, offered her many ways to transcend these challenges. Uma PAS is a partner in Caritas Australia’s Protection Program, a holistic community-wide program in Timor-Leste that offers women like Martina economic empowerment and a life of safety in a supportive community. Through the program, she was linked with a network of support services, and this enabled her to undertake livelihood training and start a small business to support her children.
Photos:
After suffering through domestic violence, Martina and her family now have their own house and are able to be financially independent so her children can go to school
Martina’s village community have embraced and supported her transition to self-sufficiency from a life of hardship and violence. They all lift each others spirits and help each other to lead better lives.
Martina with her family in front of their house.
Martina with her neighbours.
Photo credits: Richard Wainwright

18. In a small town in Vietnam, a severe disability kept young Nguyet behind closed doors. Constrained by the high demands of her condition, Nguyet parents were also isolated from their neighbours.
There is a high level of disability in Vietnam particularly as a legacy of war, but little support for families whose children have disabilities. People living with a disability have lower health and educational outcomes and higher rates of poverty than people without disability.
Nguyet – (pronounced New-yet)
Photos: Nguyet at home. For her first 14 years, Nguyet was confined to living behind closed doors, with her parents close by to take care of her many health needs. Then a neighbour’s kindness brought the outside world to Nguyet, and her life and the lives of her parents were changed forever.

19. A neighbour introduced Nguyet’s family to the Capacity Building for Parent Association Supporting Children with Disabilities program supported by Caritas Australia. Through the program, Nguyet received home-based education and has learnt to read and write and manage her physical needs. Now Nguyet is increasingly engaging with her neighbours, and she and her parents are more confident about her future.
Photos: Nguyet showing her neighbour’s how to design dolls clothes.
A meeting of the Capacity Building for Parent Associations Supporting Children with Disabilities (CBPA) in Nguyet’s community. Her Mum, Tim is talking to other parents about challenges and successes. The members of the Association rely on each other as neighbours, for advice, tips and encouragement to better the lives of their children with disabilities.
Nguyet with her neighbours.
Nguyet’s mother at a Parent’s meeting.
Photo credits: Richard Wainwright

20. Photos: As a member of the Disaster Risk Reduction Council and the People’s Organisation in her Barangay, Aloma feels confident that her community are doing all they can to prepare for future, climate related, disasters.
As a member of the Disaster Risk Reduction Council, Aloma’s role is to manage relief efforts and logistics in her community. She manages the budgets for medicines, food, communication and other logistical needs, in coordination with the barangay captain. In the event of a disaster, Aloma and her team are now in a position to be ready to help.

21. When Typhoon Santi destroyed her home in coastal Philippines, Aloma feared for her family’s safety and their future. Extreme weather events threaten the safety and food security of many families.
The Integrated Community Development Program supported by Caritas Australia in the Philippines offers Aloma the skills to lead her vulnerable community as they work together to protect their environment and develop resilience to extreme weather events.
Photo: Aloma, her husband, two children and her extended family live in a coastal region of the Philippines, prone to the effects of climate change and natural disasters. Aloma says “I would like to say thank you to countries such as Australia for bringing the The ICDP (Integrated Community Development Program) to our community. This has had a great impact on our lives, on the whole community, especially on us, on my family”.

22. The program helps communities to prepare for disasters, and adopt environmentally friendly practices. Aloma’s training in disaster risk reduction empowered her to take a leadership role, managing logistics during natural disasters. She also encourages the families in her village to plant mangroves for land conservation. Aloma’s community now cares for their common home together, and Aloma sees a brighter future for her children.
Photos: Toto, a project officer for the ICDP (Integrated Community Development Program) supported by Caritas Australia, taught Aloma the skills to assist in Mangrove rehabilitation in her coastal community in the Philippines. The Mangroves protect her community from natural disasters and storm surges and provide a sanctuary for wild life, vital to the health of the ecosystem.
As a member of the Disaster Risk Reduction Council, Aloma’s role is to manage relief efforts and logistics in her community. She manages the budgets for medicines, food, communication and other logistical needs, in coordination with the barangay captain. In the event of a disaster, Aloma and her team are now in a position to be ready to help.
Aloma and the SPACFI staff member in the mangroves.
Aloma and her neighbours at a meeting.
Photo credits: Richard Wainwright

23. Teaching resources
PRIMARY SECONDARY

24. - Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women, 1995