World People's Blog

Linked with The Salesian Sisters.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « The East Timorese have to start from zero. They have to build their freedom into reality. They must take it one step at a time. Within time, progress will come about ».

She says also: « I always wanted to serve the people. It was the highest goal in my life. I was ready since the beginning ».

And she says: « I love my work; I still visit East Timor regularly. As long as I can serve the people, I am very happy to work anywhere ». Paola declared that her greatest joy is being able to meet with the children she guided over the past 16 years. Sharing her reasons for enduring the work. I received cultural inputs and felt more patient. The work makes me understand people more. I learned a lot from the East Timorese. The fact is, I take more from them and I should have given them more. I still need to give them more ».

Sorry, I can not find any photo of Sr. Paola Battagliola, Italy (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).

She works for the Salesian Sisters.

Sister Paola Battagliola (born 1952) is a dedicated missionary from Italy. She moved to East Timor in 1988 and set up two orphanages and a vocational training school for young girls in remote villages of Los Palos. Ever since, she has helped hundreds of East Timorese children attain better education and shelter in a volatile environment until the 1999 catastrophe. She now resides in Jakarta, as a Superior of a Salesian Sisters’ School for East Timorese future young sisters.

Sr. Paola was raised and educated in Brescia, Italy. « I am the oldest in my family. Our father is a carpenter and mother worked in a factory ». Little Paola was raised within a Catholic environment and religious atmosphere. She felt summoned to work for God.

Continuer la lecture de « Sr. Paola Battagliola – Italy »

Linked with ‘Why wait?’ (for sex).

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « Funding polices shock me. Donors do not seem interested in our work because we promote abstinence, not condoms, which have proved ineffective here. Prevention is all about behavioral change ».

She says also: « I believe in going to the grassroots of our society and educating young people to adjust some things in our culture ».

Irene Chaluluka – Malawi

She works for the Sub-Saharan Family Enrichment program SAFE,
for the ‘Why Wait?’-program,
for ‘Blantyre Young Voices’,
and for the Children Promotion Organisation.

Irene Chaluluka is a field coordinator for the Sub-Saharan Africa Family Enrichment program SAFE. For eleven years, Irene has been involved in implementing ‘Why Wait?’, a life skills and HIV/Aids educational program in Malawi.

Through ‘Why Wait?’ Irene has successfully promoted abstinence among the youth. She has trained thousands of trainers on the initiative. Irene has also helped to export ‘Why Wait?’ to Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. Her major challenge in promoting the initiative is inadequate funding. She has personally endured the HIV/Aids affliction.

Continuer la lecture de « Irene Chaluluka – Malawi »

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « I will focus on building a democratic culture where everyone can contribute to national development. Education and an improved economic situation will create better lives for everyone ».

She is also named on political heroes.

She says also: « In an effort to coordinate their activities, women organizations came together under the National Council of Women, DRV. They aimed at sensitizing directors/leaders and the populace to the need to promote peace and justice. The action became a catalyst to other movements, like that led by the Protestant Church and several NGOs to raise public awareness on several development issues, including justice, peace, environment, globalization and gender ».

Sorry, I can not find any photo of Florentine Bodo Ramambasoa, Madagascar (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).

She works for the Women National Council,
for the Association For The Well Being Of The Family, ‘The Health Of The Mother’ (Fianakaviana Sambatra, or FISA, named on WISER EARTH, and on UN info service Vienna).

Florentine Ramambasoa, a 66-year-old Florentine Ramambasoa, lives in Antananarivo, Madagascar and is the widow of the late Joseph Ramambasoa, a former Grand Chancellor of the Republic of Madagascar.

Continuer la lecture de « Florentine Bodo Ramambasoa – Madagascar »

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She works for the Al-Fazal Educational and Charitable Trust AFEC.

Latifabano Mohammad Yusuf Getali – India

The very worst situations bring out the very best in some of us: that is what the Gujarat riots of 2002 did to Latifabano Mohammad Yusuf Getali.

From the uneventful life of a Muslim housewife to a relief and peace activist, she has walked a long mile. Braving the wrath of her conservative community, Latifabano has helped hundreds of Muslim women in the state gain access to relief and legal assistance. She backs this up with capacity-building activities for the women, helping them rebuild their lives.

Latifabano Mohammad Yusuf Getali (born 1962) led a normal life until 2002, a Muslim housewife living in Godhra with her husband, two sons, and two daughters. And since the carnage had begun at Godhra, Latifabano was right at the epicenter.

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She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « The value of the news lies in truth. The harmony of the community lies in goodness. The pursuit of life lies in beauty ».

She works for the Economic Daily, for the China Association of Female Entrepreneurs (named on China.org.cn), and for the Capital Association of Women Reporters.

Chen Daofu is editor of Economic Daily, director of the China Association of Female Entrepreneurs, and director of the Capital Association of Women Reporters.

She has been working as a journalist for 20 years and has persisted in maintaining professional ethics, that is, the principle of taking on-the-spot interviews to obtain information.

Daofu Chen – China

She always pays attention to vulnerable sectors of the population such as peasants and national minorities. She is also concerned about China’s situation since the reform and opening-up, such as the quality of its entrepreneurs.

She is also concerned about China’s situation since the reform and opening up, particularly the quality of entrepreneurs. She founded the China Association of Female Entrepreneurs together with her friends to provide a fair and open working space for female entrepreneurs in the commercial community.

Chen was sent to work in the minority area in Northeast China as an urban youth. This helped her develop a good understanding of the situation of the poor. She found many extended families living in humble shanties when she was reporting from Harbin in Heilongjiang Province in 1992.

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Linked with Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She is named also on Political Heroes.

She says: « Helping the poor is the main goal of my work. Anybody, who needs support, must get it without fail » … and: « I always want to be there, where people need me » … and: « Young people are alone with their problems and are easily subjected to the propaganda of political and religious parties of extremist character, similar to Hizb ut-Tahrir ».

Gulnara Derbisheva – Kyrgyzstan

She works for Insan-Leylek (named on IATP), and for the Babushka Adoption Fund (named on Swiss Cooperation Fund).

Gulnara Derbisheva is a human rights activist who lives in one of the poorest regions of Kyrgyzstan. She is committed to helping the unemployed, destitute and elderly people of rural Kyrgyzstan through her work with two funds that serve as lifelines for many. Gulnara is active in local government and community affairs, and reaches out to the media to bring attention to the problems of her region.

She is also a tireless advocate for the removal of landmines along the border territories. More than 100 civilians have been killed by these deadly mines, including friends and colleagues. Over the past ten years, Gulnara Derbisheva has been teaching in one of the poorest areas of Central Asia.

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Linked with The Piano Is My Life – female pianist Zhou Guangren.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Zhou Guangren was the first Chinese pianist to be placed in an international piano competition. Electing to remain in her homeland in spite of invitations and offers to do otherwise, Zhou Guangren has become almost a legendary name connected to piano music and music education in China. She survived the many vicissitudes of her life: her parents’ objection to her choice of profession, her husband’s suicide during the Cultural Revolution, her hand injury while working on thefarms, a crushed hand when a piano collapsed on her. Each time she recovered, triumphant and determined. Today, she is happily remarried to a longtime family friend, Liu Shuoyong. (full text).

She says: « When you make efforts to realize your dream, you may encounter hardships. But as long as you make an effort, your dream will definitely come true ».

Professor Zhou Guangren with her husband, Professor Liu Shuoyong

She works for the Zhou Guangren Piano Art Center (mentionned on Sendai International Music Competition simc.jp).

Zhou Guangren, one of the most distinguished Chinese women of the 20th century, is a famous pianist, educationist, and music/social activist. She has made a tremendous contribution to the popularization of piano education by promoting piano grade examinations and conducting international competitions in China.

Continuer la lecture de « Guangren Zhou – China »

Linked with The HARIRI FOUNDATION, and with HUMAN RIGHTS LEARNING, A PEOPLE’S REPORT.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Bahia Hariri is a Lebanese politician and sister of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (Answers.com).

She says: « Education is a national developmental prerequisite. Human resources in the Arab world are our greatest asset. Building a brighter future is subject to enhancing educational and cultural status ».

She emphasized: « The condition of Arab women and the question of democracy are the weakest link in our society. Much work is required and the road to development and prosperity for all is a long one ». (both on 1000PeaceWomen).

Bahia Hariri (Bahiyya Hariri) – Lebanon

She works for the Lebanese Parliament, for the Hariri Foundation,
and for the Arab Network for NGOs (ANNGOs).

Bahia Hariri (born 1952) is one of only three women of 128 Lebanese Ministers of Parliament. Her high profile as head of the Commission for Education and Culture (CEC) in Lebanon placed her at the forefront of fighting for the preservation of Lebanese cultural heritage. In recognition of her work on cultural issues, Bahia Hariri held many international posts, such as the Unesco Goodwill Ambassador in 2000, membership of the committee of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) and Head of the Women’s Committee in the Arab Parliamentarian Union (HWCAPU).

April 13th 1975 is considered by many to be the day that the Lebanese civil war began. For 15 years the country and its capital lay divided along sectarian lines, and not until the Ta’if peace agreement of 1991 was some semblance of peace restored to the country. The emerging political leadership in the country was, however, almost entirely male dominated, with Bahia Hariri serving as one of only three women post-war MPs (out of 128). Mrs. Hariri has remained in the Lebanese Parliament to date, representing her home city of Sidon.

Continuer la lecture de « Bahia Hariri (Bahiyya Hariri) – Lebanon »