Across Pathfinder, we are opening doors for women and girls to forge their own path ahead, live the lives they choose, and build the healthy, prosperous future they deserve. Pathfinder places women at the forefront, ensuring their voices and ideas are represented and put into action, and they have the resources they need to succeed.
Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate these powerful women.
Khushbu: Learning to save lives
Pakistan
Pathfinder’s Building Healthy Families program worked to improve health outcomes through stronger primary care systems, encouraging the uptake and continuation of voluntary family planning and maternal, newborn, and child health services. (Note that this was one of six Pathfinder programs recently stopped due to USAID program terminations at Pathfinder).
“I was inspired to become a community midwife and open my own clinic because of a heart wrenching incident,” she said.
“My pregnant cousin gave birth at home, and during the delivery, the traditional birth attendant used rusty scissors to cut the baby’s umbilical cord. This caused her to contract tetanus, a condition that proved to be fatal. I couldn’t help but think that if only a sterilized and appropriate pair of scissors had been used, my cousin would still be with us today.”
Khusbu channeled her heartbreak into action: she trained to become a midwife, and through support from a Pathfinder program, she was able to open her own clinic.
“I don’t plan to stop here,” said Khusbu. “My dreams are much bigger. Currently, my clinic is in a mud-made house, and I aspire for it to be in a proper building with adequate lighting and backup power so that I can continue to serve my patients even during power outages and at night.”
Seydou Dari Zeinabou: A Youth Champion for Climate Change
Niger
Through the Youth Champions for Climate Resilience in West Africa program, Pathfinder trains young leaders across Burkina Faso, Niger, and Côte D’Ivoire to become champions of climate resilience and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Through our partnership with these youth champions, we’ve reached more than 400,000 people with climate change information.
Seydou Dari Zeinabou, from Niger, joined the project because she felt that her participation would have a positive impact on the women and girls in her community.
“Climate change has major effects on health, especially reproductive health,” she said. “And we can’t talk about health, about reproduction, without talking about women and girls. Crises such as floods and droughts hit women and girls hardest, affecting their physical and mental health. In times of crisis, it’s common for men to leave in search of better opportunities, leaving their wives alone with greater difficulties in managing the family and ensuring their health.
For me, this program is an opportunity to acquire knowledge about climate resilience and its impact on reproductive health in order to raise awareness in my community and participate in the adoption of sustainable solutions for the future.”
Viaz Chata: Supporting young women’s rights and autonomy
Mozambique
Pathfinder’s Uholo program improved the lives and livelihoods of 22,000 adolescent girls and young women by reducing child, early, and forced marriages; advancing their sexual and reproductive health and rights; and providing them with financial and educational opportunities.
Viaz Chata 21, tells us how participating in Uholo helped her recognize abuse, and ultimately leave her own abusive relationship.
“One day, I was with my friend. We were braiding our hair when we heard about [Uholo] activities and headed there. Activists Luisa and Angelica discussed gender-based violence, and it really caught my attention. They talked about something I was experiencing at home, but didn’t know how to handle. I learned the violence I was suffering from my husband was a violation of my human rights, and I could fight against it.
After an altercation with my husband, I talked to Luisa. She advised me to go to the police and accompanied me to the police station. The police called my husband, a case was opened, and I separated from him.
Women and girls should not accept violence, not remain in silence. Silence kills.”
Mervat Kamal: Inspiring her community
Egypt
Pathfinder’s OSRA program worked with a wide array of multisectoral Government of Egypt partners, the private sector, civil society partners, and communities to reach OSRA’s goal of improved health outcomes among Egyptian families by reinforcing the national family planning and reproductive health program. (Note that this was one of six Pathfinder programs recently stopped due to USAID program terminations at Pathfinder).
Mervat Kamal Abdel Zaher is a Raeda Refiyah, or a rural outreach community health worker in Abu Tig, Asyut Governorate, Egypt.
Mervat attended a training held by Pathfinder’s OSRA program in Egypt, where she received information and guidance on how to enhance family planning interventions in her community, including using counseling charts and incorporating family planning home visit records into the national health information system.
Mervat was then promoted as the local supervisor of community health workers and today is inspiring those she supports to enhance their own work in the community.
“OSRA is an excellent program that has developed our professional skills,” says Mervat. “I benefited from every training conducted by it and applied it in my field of work.”
Nakku Deisy: From Adversity to Advocacy
Uganda
Pathfinder’s Uganda FPA program addressed underlying social, cultural, and structural barriers to family planning access, particularly among adolescents, youth, first-time parents, and low-parity women in 11 districts across Uganda. (This program recently closed).
Naaku Deisy, a 24-year-old from Kanoni, Gomba district, faced challenges when she unexpectedly became pregnant at the age of 18. She subsequently dropped out of school and moved in with her boyfriend, but the relationship quickly turned sour as he became abusive and started seeing another woman.
During this difficult period, Deisy got pregnant again. Overwhelmed and unprepared for another child, she left her partner and returned to her family.
“I wasn’t ready for a second child, and my boyfriend wasn’t supportive anymore, so I decided to return to my parents’ house and stay with my mother and siblings,” she recounted.
Following the birth of her second son, Deisy was determined to prevent further unintended pregnancies. She visited Kanoni Health Center III where she got an IUD after being counseled by a midwife. Her experiences catalyzed change; Deisy started volunteering at the health center, organizing files, and supporting the antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic and immunization days.
Deisy’s dedication caught the attention of Family Strength for a Better Child (FASBEC), a community-based organization under the FPA program, and she was recruited as a youth champion. She participated in training sessions, which increased her knowledge of reproductive health and family planning and equipped her to support and educate young people in her community.
Deisy facilitated “Young Emanzi,” “First-time Parents,” and “Men Alone” dialogues in her community to prevent teenage pregnancies and address social norms that affect the uptake of family planning services. With the support of FPA, Deisy emerged as a pivotal advocate for change within her community.
“I’ve seen a significant shift in attitudes toward family planning methods like Sayana [Press] and IUDs in my community. Many young people who were once hesitant have embraced these methods, requesting Sayana injections, while others have opted for long-term methods like IUDs and implants. The program has completely transformed me. I used to believe that I needed a man to succeed, but I now realize that I can handle things on my own. With my newfound confidence, I’ve taken control of my life, from keeping on my IUD to guaranteeing my children’s education to managing our projects,” said Deisy.
