„We know how to say what hurts us, we know how to talk, how to take care of ourselves and now, if we speak our mind, people look at us differently”, says Crenguța, one of the 500 women from Argeș and Ialomița counties with whom Filia worked. Later, she also became their colleague within the organization, as a community facilitator.
They met Crenguța during the workshops organized within the „ACCESS - Advocacy, Empowerment and Consolidation for Equality in Health and Safety” project, when they offered information about maternal health, reproductive rights, sexual health and the prevention and combating of violence against women.
„Since you came to us for the first time, a lot of things have changed and we learned about our health, about the importance of testing. We understood more about violence and about seeking help. I can even say that in our village things have changed...”
Crenguța (left) with Adela Alexandru from Filia Center
Starting with May 2021, FILIA had organized 24 informative events for raising awareness of the women's problems in the disadvantaged communities from Valea Mare Pravăț, Bughea de Jos and Aninoasa from Argeș county and Munteni-Buzău, Ion Roată and Borănești from Ialomița County. During these activities, FILIA members had met more than 500 women, whom they befriended, building a trust relationship.
Adina Păun together with the initiative group from Valea Mare Pravăț talking about the Babeș-Papanicolau test
Adela Alexandru and Andreea Rusu together with the initiative group from Valea Mare Pravăț after the distribution of the promotional products
„We arrived for the first time in Valea Mare Pravăț, Argeș in May 2021. We have just started an awareness campaign of women's right to health and safety in 6 villages for the “ACCESS - Advocacy, Empowerment and Consolidation for Equality in Health and Safety” program. Along with the sanitary mediator and the social worker of the village, we went to Gura Pravăț where we talked for the first time with 10-15 women about reproductive health, maternal health and breastfeeding. We realized that no one asks them about their problems and that their access to information about health, medical services, human rights and violence against women is limited or non-existent. For example, when we talked with them about the Papanicolau test, they told us they had never even heard about it.
We went again on the field, this time at Crenguța’s courtyard, one of our meeting’s participants. We talked about violence against women, the signs of an unhealthy relationship, and what to do if you’re dealing with domestic violence. Some of them have told us about their abuse, about how they were afraid to seek help, and about how they were on the verge of losing their lives. We talked about shame and the habit of keeping the abuse a secret. As the time passed by, we developed a relationship of trust.
With Crenguța’s help, who remained our contact person when we were not there, we were able to set up a group of women (neighbors, relatives) who can talk about their problems and advise each other on what they can do when they encounter an obstacle.
In the autumn, after going through an advocacy training for women and discussing the power and tools they have as citizens to claim their rights, we managed to bring together women and local authorities, and this experience was a great victory for our beneficiaries – the fact that they were able to talk to the mayor as equals about their problems was very important to them. The group of women from Valea Mare Pravăț is turning into an initiative group. In the meantime, Crenguța has become our colleague, as a local community facilitator.
This is one of the biggest victories of our project - mediating the dialogue between the beneficiaries and the authorities, building a peer-to-peer discussion framework in which women communicated to decision-makers what their acute needs are. Starting from this discussion, we can now develop and implement solutions. The project showed us once again the importance of fieldwork and the impact that this kind of approach has on the daily lives of the beneficiaries.
The fact that in less than a year we have managed to build this group, to get closer to women, to find out about their problems and their difficulties and to give them the information and tools necessary to make their voices heard is a story with #Impact for us.”
Advocacy training with the women from Valea Mare Pravăț
Mapping the problems that women from Valea Mare Pravăț face
