APSIES - Artesana - CODEMUH - NOMADESC - Nuestra Voz - Nuevo Horizonte - REDCAM - Sector de Mujeres - SINTRACUAVALLE
CODEMUH - Honduras
The Honduran Women’s Collective, CODEMUH, is a feminist, popular, autonomous, grassroots organization. Founded in 1989, CODEMUH has been promoting a comprehensive, systematic process in the area of gender-based and workplace violence, with emphasis on occupational health with a feminist political perspective. One of the main purposes is unlearning patriarchal practices in order to learn and generate individual and collective autonomy.
Among CODEMUH’S objectives are: to Improve the living conditions and integral health of women, through organizational, training and advocacy processes; contribute to a life without violence by promoting initiatives to respect and expand the rights of women; to achieve processes of coordination and alliances with the organized social movement and with other social networks; and to unite efforts for political advocacy in favor of the rights of women.
Canadian partners: BCGEU, CUPE BC, CUPE Global Justice Fund, HEU, HSA
The Salvadoran Association for Inter-community Health and Social Services (APSIES) is a grassroots organization working for comprehensive quality healthcare, respect for community needs and environmental protection. Working mainly in eastern El Salvador, APSIES focuses on health, gender equality and environmental risk management, as well as an approach to production development which allows families to improve their income by establishing alliances with different organized sectors and institutions present in the region. One of those alliances is the National Health Forum (FNS), which monitors public health policies guaranteeing universal access to health services. The FNS is present in 13 of the 14 provinces across the country, including Usulutan and San Miguel where APSIES is responsible for developing its work.
Since 1991, CoDev has worked with APSIES, along with Canadian partners. CoDev’s programming with APSIES is focused on empowering the population around their right to health through the consolidating the National Health Forum in the departments of Usulután and San Miguel, as well as empowering women to exercise their right to citizen participation in decision making.
Canadian partners: BCGEU, Campbell Webster Foundation, FPSE, HEU, HSA, OPSEU
APSIES - El Salvador
REDCAM - “The Network'“
The Network is a Central American-wide coalition of seven women’s rights organizations focusing on maquila (sweatshop) workers’ rights. The Network strives to address the root causes of rights violations by initiating changes to labour policies at the national and regional levels. During the 2019-20 fiscal year, the organizations of the Network strengthened their political advocacy capacity and their ability to influence the labour policies of private businesses and governments. The Network focuses mainly on : the right to occupational health and safety; the right to sexual and reproductive health, and; the right to not be subjected to physical violence, sexual harassment or bullying at work.
Central American human rights organizations that form The Central American Network in Solidarity with Maquila Workers: Asociación Mujeres en Solidaridad (AMES) (Solidarity Women’s Association); Asociacion de Mujeres Empleadas y Desempleadas Unidas Contra la Violencia (Employed and Unemployed women’s association united against violence); Organización de Mujeres Salvadoreñas por la Paz (Salvadoran Women’s Organization for Peace); Movimiento Salvadoreño de Mujeres (Salvadoran women’s movement); Movimiento de Mujeres Trabajadoras y Desempleadas “María Elena Cuadra (Maria Elena Cuadra Movement of Employed and Unemployed Women); COLECTIVA DE MUJERES HONDUREÑAS - CODEMUH / 1989 - 2016 (Honduran Women’s Collective).
Canadian partners: BCGEU Community Social Services Component, FPSE, HEU, HSA
The Association for Research and Social Action (NOMADESC) is a Colombian Human Rights organization active since 1999. NOMADESC has been working with communities affected by the Internal Armed Conflict by promoting respect for human rights and ongoing peace processes in Colombia.
NOMADESC works on human rights education and research, as well as provides legal and other support for community human rights committees as part of a holistic strategy to defend the rights of indigenous, Afro-Colombian, peasant, labour and student organizations, and rural and marginalized urban communities. NOMADESC works primarily in the southwestern provinces of Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Nariño, Huila, Pacific Region in Buenaventura, Choco and Tumaco, the coffee belt region in Risaralda and Quindio, and the Central Region in Tolima and Cundinamarca.
Among NOMADESC’S strategic objectives are: the Intercultural University of the Peoples process, which encourages the creation of a proposal for democratic participation in the empowerment of communities; Legal Advocacy and Strategic Litigation which aims to reduce the levels of impunity in serious violations against fundamental, civic, political, social and cultural rights, and; finally, the communications strategy which highlights the comprehensive defense of life, territory and culture at all levels of society.
Canadian partners: BCGEU, CUPE BC, CUPE Global Justice Fund, Unifor
NOMADESC - Colombia
Nuevo Horizonte - Guatemala
The New Horizons Cooperative (Nuevo Horizonte) was born in 1998, following the process of demobilizing after the Peace Agreements were signed in 1996 which ended 36 years of internal armed conflict in Guatemala. It is located in northern Guatemala in the Department of El Petén, Municipality of Santa Ana.
Around 100 families organized themselves into a Coop in order to begin a new chapter in life and in Guatemalan history. The community is comprised largely of families internally displaced by the war, who after more than three decades in the mountains had no homes to return to.
Dreaming of building a model for a new Guatemala, the families settled on the lands of a former cattle ranch to start their new lives with almost nothing- no possessions, no housing, no safe drinking water, no electricity. After years of hard work and devotion, Nuevo Horizonte is today a thriving community. Developing a model of cooperation, the people of Nuevo Horizonte have changed their history and the community now serves as an example to neighbouring communities.
The New Horizons Cooperative brings a model of solidarity community hoping to inspire other communities. La Cooperativa Nuevo Horizonte has also become a place where travelers from around the world can learn about Guatemalan history.
Canadian partners: Capacidad
Artesana Collective - Guatemala
The Artesana Collective is an organization that promotes institutional actions to promote women’s organizations and their social movements. To lobby the Guatemalan State to create and apply public policies in prevention of crimes against women; in favour of the rights of women deprived of their liberty; of girls, boys and adolescents whose adult caregivers are deprived of liberty. End social discrimination against this sector, as well as to bring about recognition, respect and exercise of women’s rights through art, sports and other creative means.
The Artesana Collective contributes so that people and women live a life free of violence. Understanding that with these actions, women develop capacities and dreams in the fullest extent.
Artesana’s work focuses on generating public policies in favour of women deprived of their liberty and to protect children and adolescents’ rights whose adult caregivers are deprived of liberty.
The Collective also supports the most urgent needs of women following up on their legal cases, emerging health situations, attention to their children, maintaining the family bonds and support when they recover their liberty.
Canadian partners: Hawthorne Charitable Foundation
Nuestra Voz (Our Voice) Women’s Association is an organization which contributes to the transformation of power inequality between women and men; from the fight against violence, poverty, discrimination, racism, sexism and classism by enhancing human, social, economic, political, sexual and reproductive rights through political training and the pedagogical approach of Popular and Feminist Education. The goal is creating a social fabric and alternatives towards Good Living [El Buen Vivir].
Our Voice is a feminist women’s organization, with different identities, realities, cultures, and worldviews; strongly organized, united and supportive. The main goal is to contribute to women’s empowerment and struggle, as well as their decision-making on their full exercise of power, through training and accompaniment to their processes as Human Rights Defenders.
Canadian partners: Hawthorne Charitable Foundation
Nuestra Voz - Guatemala
Sector de Mujeres - Guatemala
The Guatemalan Women’s Sector is an alliance of 32 different women’s organizations from throughout the country that collaborate to promote campaigns and legislation related to women’s rights and combatting violence against women, to support one another’s work, and to promote women’s leadership.
The women’s sector main goals are to prevent and eradicate Violence against women and girls, through training, awareness, communication and mobilization for the fulfillment of women’s rights to a life free of violence at the territorial and national level; To strengthen strategies to defend women's rights, denounce violence against women and promote actions of prevention, communication, training and mobilization at the territorial level for the free exercise of women’s rights and citizenship as women and youth.
Canadian partners: Hawthorne Charitable Foundation
SINTRACUVALLE, is a trade union organization of workers and employees of the Society of Aqueducts and Sewers of Valle del Cauca, ACUAVALLE S.A ESP; it was founded in 1965 and it relies on the union’s membership, the idea that water belongs in public hands and the commitment of service to guarantee the health of 700,000 users who live in the 33 municipalities of the Department of Valle del Cauca.
SINTRACUAVALLE’s purpose is to monitor and promote respect for human, labour and trade union rights. It also aims to guarantee the dignified and equitable treatment of the membership and to strengthen the credibility, trust and commitment of its members so they can build quality public services.
Canadian partners: CUPE Global Justice Fund, CUPE Nova Scotia, CUPE Newfoundland Labrador
SINTRACUAVALLE - Colombia