Extract from a message to opening plenary of the 2001 conference by Mrs Graça Machel
....Wherever they are, irrespective of their religion and culture, a common feature of widowhood is the violence perpetrated against them at the hands of near relatives and condoned by the inaction of governments. .......This neglect of millions of widows has irrevocable long term implications for the future well-being and sustainable development of all our societies.
International Action
Indonesia Photographying Poverty and Exclusion (opens in new window)
Information on the work of PEKKA (the Woman-Headed Household Empowerment Program)
PEKKA is the first development project in Indonesia to address the needs of widows and women living in areas of conflict. The group helps women like Sudarmi organize themselves to overcome their isolation, and provides them job training and small-scale loans.
Widowed women living in war-torn regions rank among the poorest of Indonesia ’s
28 million people living in poverty. In a number of villages in Aceh, for example,
40 percent of the households living on less than $1 a day are headed by a woman.
When a husband dies, families often plunge into a cycle of poverty that can
last for generations. Children are often pulled from school to help support
the family. Impoverished households must sell whatever meager assets they hold.
It is part of Indonesia ’s Kecamatan Development Project, a World Bank-funded program that allows communities to choose and help implement future development projects in their region. It is one of the largest community development programs in the world.