AJWS Global Circle

09/06/2023

20-year old Alpa has experienced a profound transformation over the last several months. She has gone from working 12 hours per day in an ice cream factory for little pay to learning to drive a rickshaw, which allows her to make more money and have more flexible work hours. Not only has she changed her profession, but she has gained confidence and hope for the future. This is thanks in part to AJWS grantee Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), an organization with an ambitious aim: to empower young women to take control of their futures and gain financial independence. Read more about Alpa: https://ajws.org/blog/alpas-journey-becoming-a-rickshaw-driver-and-challenging-gender-roles-in-india/

08/30/2023

On International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, meet María Herrera, a mother whose extraordinary quest for truth and justice has her meeting with the Pope and on TIME Magazine’s list of the 2023 world’s 100 Most Influential People. She has transformed her grief over her four missing sons into an international movement.

María Herrera searches for the 110,000 people who have disappeared in Mexico, including four of her sons.

01/19/2023

Reproductive rights are under attack in the U.S. and around the world. Sign your name in solidarity with the activists on the frontlines of the fight for reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy today.

Women who obtain abortions or experience miscarriage—Salvadoran law does not officially distinguish between the two—have been sentenced to up to 40 years of jail time for murder.

04/29/2022

One day left: your gift to the campaign to fight homophobia, transphobia and LGBTQI+ discrimination is TRIPLED! We are just $x short of our goal; give today and help build a world where all people can live safe, just and dignified lives, no matter who they are or whom they love.

Support a growing movement in Kenya and beyond.

04/18/2022

JUST IN: The extraordinary response to our campaign to support LGBTQI+ rights has inspired another generous donor to come forward with matching funds! If you give now, your gift will be TRIPLED to change hearts and minds, creating a world where all people can live free and dignified lives, no matter who they are or whom they love.

Support a growing movement in Kenya and beyond.

04/06/2022

To build a better world free from LGBTQI+ discrimination, we need not only fair laws, but we need to change the minds and actions of everyday people. This is the work that AJWS is supporting in Kenya with our Hearts.Minds.Change campaign, and it takes a big movement to make it happen. Meet the people behind the movement: https://bit.ly/3qNZrwF

Meet Essy Adhiambo, founder of AJWS grantee INEND in Kenya who is turning motorbike taxi drivers from attackers to LGBTQI+ allies. “Bring them to the table, sit with them, educate and inform them,” said Essy.

Sarah Friedman Hirsch is an investor in the campaign in Philadelphia. “I’ve been both a philanthropic professional and a donor and have seen that this kind of giving, which empowers and partners with grantees, is most effective,” shares Sarah.

Dani Goodman is a lead campaign investor in Los Angeles, who is a staunch supporter of LGBTQI+ rights and a believer in grassroots campaigns. Dani shares: “I believe that this campaign will improve the lives of LGBTQI+ people by supporting local activists to meaningfully engage with their communities to expose the humanity of every person—regardless of who they love or how they identify.”

Lucas Sahn, a lead campaign investor in Durham, NC, views his work on this campaign as an expression of his Jewish values, and a moral imperative: “My Jewish identity is all about Tikkun Olam and Tzedakah: These are values I incorporate into my daily life and they motivate me to give this gift for LGBTQI+ equality. I think it’s important to put your money where your mouth is.”

03/31/2022

Today we invite you to join a critical new effort to make our world a safer and more equitable place for the global LGBTQI+ community. Hearts.Mind.Change invites young leaders to stand boldly in solidarity with grassroots activists in Kenya, and is all about transforming hate into acceptance, and attackers into allies. To achieve LGBTQI+ equality, we need more than just fair laws, we need to change the minds and actions of everyday people. A friend of AJWS has offered to DOUBLE every investment in this work that comes in this month, so we hope you’ll join them!

Support a growing movement in Kenya and beyond.

03/16/2022

This Purim, inspired by Queen Esther, we stand with activists around the world who speak truth to power. Happy Purim!

02/21/2022

As a medical student, Dr. Farmer decided to build a clinic in Haiti. It grew into a vast network serving some of the world’s poorest communities.

02/14/2022

The AJWS team honors the extraordinary life and work of Zapotec activist Carmen Santiago Alonso, who died this week at the age of 69. Carmen was a dear friend and partner of AJWS who touched countless lives in her decades of organizing to defend human rights in Mexico. She was the founder and Executive Director of Flor y Canto A.C., a longtime AJWS grantee dedicated to promoting the culture, rights and self-determination of the Indigenous Peoples of Oaxaca’s Central Valleys—the region where Carmen was born and raised.
Read a celebration of her life and work:

Carmen was a dear friend and partner of AJWS who touched countless lives in more than four decades of organizing to defend human rights in Mexico.

01/26/2022

After nearly 40 years of tireless advocacy and painful waiting, 36 indigenous Achi women have achieved a measure of justice for the r**e, slavery, torture and other atrocities they suffered at the hands of soldiers during the Guatemalan civil war. The perpetrators were charged with crimes against humanity and given maximum sentences, and now the survivors await a decision on reparations. We join AJWS partners in Guatemala, who have been fighting for justice for decades, in welcoming this triumph of justice and accountability. With support from AJWS, Prensa Comunitaria, Observatorio Judicial de Verdad y Justicia and Otra Guatemala Ya worked tirelessly to uplift the stories of the survivors to ensure these violations are not forgotten, and that they are not repeated.

Five men were sentenced to 30 years each in prison in a ruling hailed as vindication for survivors who have spent years fighting for justice