Hello Masu

Masu Atkin, SS Community Liaison Officer

This is Masu Atkin - the Community Liaison Officer for Sistas Savve. Masu joined the Sistas Savve team in December last year. 

Masu works closely with the different communities of women that take part in Sistas Savve. She is involved with the applications of new communities to join the training, monitoring and evaluation and helps to make sure that the training runs smoothly. 

Masu enjoys working at Sistas Savve because she gets to meet and work with lots of different women. She also likes to explore communities that she hasn't visited before:

I like that I don’t stay at one place. I get to go into different communities and get to know about different people and different places.

 Before  Sistas Savve, Masu was a volunteer at the Solomon Island Planned Parenthood Association (SIPPA). She was involved in a Sexual and Reproductive advocacy programme in schools, churches and community groups. She also worked at the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children Affairs in the Youth Congress.

Outside of work, Masu likes to sing and enjoys sharing stories with her friends. 

Gud Tumas!

On the very first day of Ngalita’tae Sistas Savve training, we asked the women what practical skills they were interested in learning. As a group, they made a big list and selected a few skills which they suggested were a priority for their community. In the weeks since, we have brought in different specialists in the afternoon sessions to show and teach the women these skills.

So far, the women have learnt to arrange flowers, bake muffins and cakes, dye and print lavalava and make food covers.

One of my most unforgettable moments at Sistas Savve occurred during a baking session. Most of the women had never baked a cake before – they were so eager to learn.

These afternoon sessions are great. The women are empowered by learning some new skills that they can use in their homes and communities once they have finished the training. They can also use their new skills to make some money for their families.

Helti KaiKai

This week the Sistas Savve women from Ngalita’tae are focusing on food and nutrition. Yesterday, the women discussed a range of topics to help them change their food practices so that they can keep themselves and their families healthy:

-          Balancing and healthy food portions

-          Food groups

-          Which foods are healthy and unhealthy at the shops?

-          How to prevent and treat Vitamin A deficiency

-          How to prevent and treat iron deficiency

-          What causes and prevents malnutrition?

-          How much fat and sugar are found in every day food?

In the afternoon, Humphrey shared his world famous cucumber juice recipe with the women. Mmm delicious!

 

National Women’s Day 2013

Sistas Savve celebrated National Women’s Day yesterday. The day was celebrated by a march down the main road with many government and non-government groups followed by a program at the National Museum. The theme of the day was, ‘The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum’. The Solomon Island Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) report was launched at the event.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Doris Dakei (SS coordinator), Angela Lomasia (YWCA program's officer), Rose Burns (YWCA program & evaluation coordinator),  Masu ( SS community liaison officer)

Leadership, Gender & Human Rights

The first Sistas Savve module that the women from Ngalita’tae are focusing on covers leadership, gender issues, women’s rights and human rights. These sessions are run by Clarine Toki, a peer educator from the YWCA. Clarine is a passionate and energetic young woman who is part of the Ngalita’tae community. The sessions are very interactive- they involve group activities, games, drawings and discussions. The women are really engaging with the content.

Examples of questions covered in these sessions include:

•      What makes a good leader? What makes a bad leader?
•      What are human rights?
•      Is the right to feel safe in our communities and homes important? 
•      What is discrimination? 
•      What is gender?

Clarine Toki (YWCA peer educator) talks about human rights

Sharing of ideas

New Beginnings - Ngalita’tae

Ngalita'tae (formally known as Marble Street) began Sistas Savve training on Monday. The group of women come from a community that's located near Chinatown, Honiara.

It's been great to see the women's excitement for the training. We look forward to getting to know each of the women and sharing their journey through the training with you all.

Ngalita'tae Group Photo

Busy Tumas

We've had a super busy week here at Sistas Savve. The team has been out in the communities following up with the women that have completed the Sistas Savve training. It’s been so good to hear so many positive stories and changes from the women.

We’ve also been busy preparing for our new community to start Sistas Savve training. The community that the women come from is called Marble Street. These women begin their 10 weeks of Sistas Savve training on Monday. We are very excited for this new community!

On Wednesday, we had a visit from staff at the NZ Aid Programme. Jenta Tau (General Secretary of YWCA), Doris Dakai (Sistas Savve Coordinator) and past graduates shared about the Sistas Savve training with the staff. 

Women from the NZ Aid Programme check out Sistas Savve products with Doris Dakei (Sistas Savve Coordinator) and Jenta Tau (General Secretary of YWCA)