Our Impact: 2012 MMEG grantee Sandra Jatoonah

This is the story of a remarkable woman, Sandra Jatoonah from Mauritius, who earned a Master’s degree in Social Development in South Africa, and returned to her home country to offer social services to disadvantaged families.

With financial support from MMEG, Sandra completed a Master’s degree at the University of Cape Town in 2013.   Upon graduation, she returned to Mauritius determined to make a difference in the lives of others. During her first year back home, she worked with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as a labour migration and client service assistant.  Through IOM’s various programmes, Sandra provided support to locals who were stranded abroad, assisting their repatriation and reintegration into society after they returned to Mauritius.  Many were women, some with children, who were very grateful to return with IOM support.  Sandra also supported workers and their families who were leaving to work abroad, helping with applications for entry visas and training to help them adapt to life in a new country.

Sandra then worked for four and a half years at the Decentralised Cooperation Programme (DCP), funded by the European Union (EU), facilitating the distribution of EU grants to non-profit organizations and ensuring the funds were properly used to implement social development projects.  Her work at the DCP gave Sandra the opportunity to monitor projects of various NGOs and non-state actors in Mauritius and its surrounding islands, while also providing training in project implementation, follow-up and budgeting. Some of these programs were focused on women’s empowerment, assistance for people with disabilities, women’s health, agriculture, water harvesting, and education.

With this deep understanding of the landscape of social service organizations in Mauritius, in 2018 Sandra joined Lovebridge, a local non-profit that provides services to vulnerable populations and aims to reduce extreme poverty, as a senior social worker. 

Sandra now works closely with about twenty, mostly female headed, households in the most impoverished rural areas, giving them guidance to access the available social services that will support their empowerment end eventual economic independence.  Her work with each family addresses six fundamental pillars: – education, housing, health, employment, food & nutrition and MASCO (motivation, attitude, skills and courage). Issues Sandra commonly faces are the lack of basic amenities (electricity, sanitation), illiteracy, the emotional and physical abuse of women and children, disabilities, health issues, and often the advanced ages of key household members that make finding adequate employment very difficult. Helping family members find adequate employment is a crucial service, among others, that Sandra provides.   

With its holistic and multifaceted approach to family support, Sandra believes her work with Lovebridge can make a real difference. With time and consistent support, she hopes the families under her guidance and care will graduate from Lovebridge programs and lift themselves out of extreme poverty.     

Our impact: 2011 MMEG grantee Sr. Elizabeth Namazzi

Sister Elizabeth Namazzi was inspired to help ostracized unwed teenage mothers in her homeland, Uganda, after witnessing firsthand how a hopeless pregnant girl’s life was transformed with practical support. After teaching secondary school for many years, Sister Elizabeth completed a PhD in Curriculum Studies at Canada's University of British Columbia (UBC), supported by a MMEG grant in 2011, and then returned to Uganda. She is now changing the lives of young people, both at the university where she works and through a center to support and empower young mothers.

While studying in Canada, Sister Elizabeth also worked to advance her ambition to help young unwed mothers. In Uganda’s conservative society, pregnant girls are often expelled from their homes and communities and left to fend for themselves. Homeless and helpless, the girls struggle to survive and too often lose their unborn babies. Sister Elizabeth’s vision was to build a center that could offer the young women a safe place to give birth, provide them and their babies with healthcare, teach them skills that promote self-reliance, and work with their families and communities to end ostracism of pregnant girls and reintegrate unwed mothers into society.

Upon graduation, Sister Elizabeth returned to Uganda Martyrs University, southwest of Kampala, where she is now Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies and Research. As well teaching, supervising graduate research, and conducting innovative research herself, Sister Elizabeth is responsible for the School’s administration and co-ordination. She also designed the Curriculum of Educational Administration and Management program, a recent addition to the university’s offerings.

While studying at UBC, Sister Elizabeth persuaded engineering students in nearby Seattle to design the center she was dreaming of, based on her hand-drawn sketches. The prize-winning design for the Early Mothers Self-Realization Center is now becoming a reality. The center is being constructed in Sister Elizabeth’s home town with funds raised from well-wishers near and far. (Donors can contribute via https://www.gofundme.com/uganda-mothers-shelter). As of mid-2022, the first building was 80% complete and was already accommodating the urgent needs of young mothers. Once finished, the center will house a dormitory, an education center, and a medical clinic, and the girls will receive training in parenting, childcare and nutrition, and self-reliance skills. The clinic will also provide pre- and postnatal health services.

The center is eventually expected to accommodate and train up to 100 girls a year, supported by 15 staff members. In mid-2022, 18 girls and babies were housed at the Center and 26 others had been assisted with food and clothing. The center grows some of its own food, and plans to start rearing pigs and poultry and train the girls in animal farming as a potential source of income. Girls are also taught sewing skills, on donated machines.  

In her formal role as instructor and dean at Uganda Martyrs University, Sister Elizabeth saw student enrollment grow by 25% since her return in 2015 to 6,189 students in 2019. Sadly, the COVID pandemic has since caused enrollment to drop to 4,632 students, of which some 45% are women. Her own research has focused on child-led households and children’s perspectives on HIV/AIDS.

MMEG’s investment in Sister Elizabeth is having an exponential impact as she supports and empowers young unwed women while working to change community biases against them, researches a range of child-focused issues, and trains future educators.

MMEG TALKS: Old solutions for new problems

2nd annual MMEG photo competition

Call for entries

MMEG is delighted to announce the second MMEG PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION - EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

• Open now (Entries must be submitted by September, 30, 2022, at 13h00 EST)

• Free to enter

• Open to all 

• Use any camera or mobile phone

• International judges

• Categories:

  • Single image

    Up to five photos by each individual contestant.

• Prizes:

  • 1st prize   -   $500

  • 2nd prize   -  $300

  • 3rd prize   -  $100

  • Three honorable mention diplomas

• Theme of the competition: Extraordinary Women

   Images must (1) have been taken in one of the countries on MMEG’s eligibility list for its grantees, OR (2) be of a woman or women from one of those countries.

HOW TO SUBMIT

This competition is hosted in an agreement between LensCulture and Margaret McNamara Education Grants.

By entering this contest you acknowledge you have read the terms and conditions.

Once you click the “Submit Entries” button, you will be redirected to the LensCulture website so that you can sign up for an account and submit your entry through the online entry portal.

Congratulations to MMEG's US-Canada Program Selection Committee

A record 420 applications were submitted for consideration in MMEG’s US-Canada program for FY2022. MMEG’s Selection Committee dedicated to this program expanded from 15 to 20 readers to be able to take on the daunting challenge of screening such an unprecedented number of applications. The 20 readers, all volunteers, represented all five continents and a wide range of professional and social backgrounds.

MMEG’s mission to support extraordinary women from developing countries in their pursuit of higher education could not be achieved without the commitment and expertise of its selection committees. Heartfelt thanks to the US-Canada Selection Committee for its unflagging efforts! The challenging circumstances notwithstanding, the 2022 US-Canada Selection Committee remained passionate about ensuring that extraordinary women receive MMEG grants. The Committee identified 10 exceptional women, who were approved for grants by the MMEG Board on April 21.

FY2022 US-Canada grantees are pursuing master’s and doctorate degrees in the areas of maternal and infant health, nursing, environmental science and agrivoltaics, public health, education, social medicine, cultural and fine arts, counseling and psychology. They are from Colombia, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan, Peru, Syria and Tanzania.

Hat’s off to this year’s US-Canada grantees! Welcome to the MMEG community!

Congratulations to MMEG's Trinity WU Program Selection Committee

Applications for FY22 grants in MMEG's Trinity Washington University programs opened in September 2021. MMEG's Selection Committee screened the applications from January 2022, when applications closed, to March 2022. MMEG's rigorous and commended selection process relies on Selection Committees made up of members who volunteer their time to read and rank the applications. 

The Trinity WU Selection Committee consisted of six volunteers representing different nationalities, professional experiences, and social backgrounds. The unifying trait of the Selection Committee is their passion for fulfilling MMEG's goal of supporting exceptional women to uplift the lives of women and children in developing countries. As the mandates regarding COVID persist in 2022, it presents challenges, including social distancing. We thank and congratulate the selection committee for their dedication and hard work!

By mid-March 2021, the Trinity WU Selection Committee had identified three extraordinary grantee finalists. The finalists were presented to the MMEG Board of Directors and approved for grants. FY22 Trinity Washington University grantees are pursuing degrees in the areas of nursing (Medical-Surgical), nursing administration, and occupational therapy. All the grantees are leaders in their careers and their communities' volunteer work.

MMEG TALKS: IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO PROTECT A FAMILY

We invite you to join the upcoming MMEG Talks: “It Takes a Village to Protect a Family Confronting Domestic Violence”.

One of the greatest changes for MMEG over the years has been the emergence of women professionals and scholars addressing domestic violence, once almost a taboo subject. Women are speaking out more than ever against this scourge, harmful to both individuals and deeply damaging to both individuals and their communities. In this program in honor of Women’s History Month, MMEG presents three grantees with impressive expertise in domestic violence who are willing to advocate for changes in the law and society, for they well know that It Takes a Village to Protect a Family.

Felicitations to MMEG Latin America Selection Committee

On January 13, 2022, MMEG's Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Selection Committee proudly presented the 10 exceptional women they had identified as grantees from a large pool of candidates. We thank the Selection Committee for their dedication and hard work!

 Despite the persisting challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2021, a record number of applications from the region was carefully reviewed by the Selection Committee to find exceptional women who, through their education, will uplift the lives of women and children in developing countries. The increasingly diverse fields of study of eligible applicants confirms our belief that women are leaders in all facets of their communities!

 MMEG LAC is fortunate to have a Selection Committee composed of volunteers from 10 different nationalities and various professional backgrounds, all with the same passion and a single common goal: to identify the extraordinary and exceptional women that our grantees represent.

 The FY 22 LAC grantees are citizens of nine different countries and are currently studying at one of the program’s nine  partner universities. Their fields of study are Sociology, Engineering, Psychology, Agro-Commerce, Gender Studies, Economics, and Public Policy. They also have a strong presence volunteering in disadvantaged communities and with the vulnerable. Truly, they are extraordinary women!

 El 13 de Enero de 2022, el Comité de Selección de América Latina y el Caribe (LAC) de MMEG presentó con orgullo a las 10 mujeres excepcionales  que habían identificado como beneficiarias entre un gran grupo de candidatas. Agradecemos  al Comité de Selección por su dedicación y arduo trabajo!

 A pesar de los persistentes desafíos de la pandemia de COVID-19 durante 2021, el Comité de Selección revisó cuidadosamente un número récord de solicitudes de la región para encontrar mujeres excepcionales que, a través de su educación, mejorarán las vidas de las mujeres y los niños en los países en desarrollo. Los campos de estudio cada vez más diversos de las candidatas elegibles confirman nuestra creencia de que las mujeres son líderes en todas las facetas de sus comunidades!

 MMEG LAC tiene la suerte de contar con un Comité de Selección compuesto por voluntarios de 10 nacionalidades diferentes y diversos antecedentes profesionales, todos con la misma pasión y un único objetivo común: identificar a las mujeres extraordinarias y excepcionales que representan nuestras beneficiarias.

 Las beneficiarias del año fiscal 22 para LAC son ciudadanas de nueve países diferentes y actualmente estudian en una de las nueve universidades asociadas del programa. Sus  campos de estudio son Sociología, Ingeniería, Psicología, Agrocomercio, Estudios de Género, Economía y Políticas Públicas. También tienen una fuerte presencia como voluntarias en comunidades desfavorecidas y con personas vulnerables. Verdaderamente, son mujeres extraordinarias!

Kudos to MMEG’s South Africa Program Selection Committee

Ten exceptional women recently learned they were the most recent recipients of a MMEG South Africa Program education grant. These grants will allow them to complete their studies, by paying their tuition, financing their research, or paying the rent.

Behind those grants are other exceptional women—and men—who make up MMEG’s 2021/22 South Africa Program Selection Committee. The South Africa Program Selection Committee could hardly be more diverse: its 12 members represent 11 nationalities, spanning Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. And most of them have lived and worked in two, three, or more countries. 

Committee members’ professional expertise includes the expected and respected fields of business, finance, public health, economics, law, agriculture, corporate banking, ethics, and food policy, but our committee members are also passionate about art, woodworking, and teaching. Most of all, they’re passionate about ensuring that the right women obtain MMEG’s grants. 

We are grateful to these dedicated volunteers, who spend countless hours fulfilling MMEG's mission: to support exceptional women from developing countries in their pursuit of higher education to uplift women and children. 

Thank you South Africa Program Selection Committee!