During September, Sarah Alexandra George, together with other KFOR members, organised a charity event to raise funds for Kosova Women’s Network (KWN).
Sarah speaks to KWN and elaborates the inspiration behind this, and what was the best part of this experience.
“When I came to Kosovo as a soldier with KFOR, I was committed to understanding more about women’s lived experiences. I trained as a Gender Focal Point (GFPs) with the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations: there are a number of GFPs within KFOR to ensure that the gender perspective is taken into consideration in our work.”, says Sarah, who is genuinely passionate about the global feminist movement and empowerment of women.
The more she read and understood, the more she wanted to contribute to a charity or organisation that she felt was really making a difference for women in Kosovo and that’s how she found KWN.
Seeing KWN Lobbying for Women’s Rights
She further speaks about the fundraising event and how it motivated her even more.
“At our fundraising event, Igo [KWN Executive Director, Igballe Rogova] talked about the work of KWN and the essential impact it has on women in Kosovo. At one part Igo was talking about the lobbying KWN is doing to try and change sentencing laws and the recent femicide of Marigona Osmani and she choked up with emotion.”
Here, Sarah recalls- she found herself also tearing up seeing her pain.
“It is the shared pain of all women in the face of injustice. For me the best part of the experience was seeing women fighting back, fighting for a better future, fighting for justice.”
The Unique Experience of Visiting KWN Office
During the same month, she also visited the KWN office where the official fund handover took place.
A remarkable experience, according to her.
“It was so amazing to be able to bring the money we raised over in person, to visit the offices and learn more in person about the vital work KWN does. I was really impressed by the breadth of experience and in-depth research knowledge of the team and it was great to hear that team members are furthering their education overseas and returning to KWN to share their new training”, she adds.
She certainly feels like she is part of the KWN diaspora.
“I am looking forward to fundraising for KWN back in the United Kingdom and more trips back to Pristina to visit my new KWN sisters. “
KWN Sustainability Fund- The Place to Donate for Furthering Gender Equality
Acknowledging that the €3,692 raised during this event will go to the KWN Sustainability Fund which helps cover basic expenses, and support important programmes for gender equality in Kosova, she shares how this contribution enriched her entire journey in Kosovo.
“One of the reasons we picked the Sustainability Fund was reading about the work of the Centre for Protection of Women and Children in Drenas, which helps survivors of sexual violence with family counselling and coping with frozen trauma.”
She links this with one of the things that the Me Too movement highlighted-only few of sexual violence survivors speaking openly without stigma and shame.
“Many women around the world have still not been able to share their stories or deal with their trauma and the trauma inflicted on women during the Kosovo war was unimaginable.” she adds.
For her, being able to help the Fund, made her time in Kosovo even more meaningful.
“I want the women of Kosovo to know – you are not alone. We are all around the world and we see you.”, she concludes in a positive note.
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You too can become a supporter and help strengthen the women’s rights movement in Kosovo. DONATE to the KWN Sustainability Fund and help us cover crucial costs and support important programs.
