This year Counterpart and our local partners around the world continued to work hard at carrying out our mission to build inclusive, sustainable communities in which people thrive. Human rights, democratic freedoms, food security, and climate resiliency are more important than ever. With the steadfast support from our partners and donors, we sowed the seeds of positive change. For example, this year we began convening a group of Afghan women activists who are leading efforts from the diaspora to advocate for women and girls back home.
Take a look at these pictures illustrating the accomplishments and milestones of our projects in 2023.
The sixth Unifying Our Voices event, part of a series of gatherings organized by Afghan women leaders, at Counterpart’s DC office in December. Special guests at this event included Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta, and Dovie Holland, executive director of the U.S. Afghan Women’s Council. Attendees included a multitude of prominent Afghan women activists and Counterpart’s women’s empowerment team.
A member of the Global Women in Management cohort takes a moment to reflect on the impactful one-week workshop focused on women’s leadership and economic empowerment during the graduation ceremony in September.
A male contestant for the “Drawing for Our Rights” art contest shares the creation process for his artwork with other youth attendees during the exhibition in August. The contest, hosted by our Rights and Dignity project in El Salvador, aimed to promote artistic creation for social change and human rights among Salvadoran youth through graphic pieces that raised awareness of social issues.
Students on their way to school in the Brakna region of Mauritania, where Counterpart implements a McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program, providing children with a daily nutritious meal.
Counterpart staff in Armenia engaged in training to strengthen the Armenian civil society sector.
Two young girls embrace after winning a competition at Inor Elementary in the Sedhiou region of Senegal. The girls receive daily school meals through our USDA McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition project in Senegal. School feeding allows children to focus on learning in a supportive environment.
Dominican high school students presented their environmental research at Centro Educativo Conexus during Counterpart’s Dominican Environmental Education Program’s annual DEEP Day event, which drew more than 300 students, teachers, government officials, and civil society representatives in October. The program seeks to ignite a cultural transformation among Dominican youth who are dedicated to protecting the coastal marine ecosystem.
The nine NGO partners of our USAID/NGO Advocacy for Good Governance Activity formally presented their research findings and recommendations to stakeholders, constituents, policymakers, and government officials from institutions relevant to the NGOs’ advocacy issues. Evidence-based policies and approaches grounded in solid research and data are crucial for addressing the complex challenges Timor-Leste faces.
A local civil society group, in partnership with Counterpart’s Resilient Governance in Niger Activity, rehabilitated a deteriorated road in the village of Tombon Gataou that had caused serious accidents. The activity was led by local civil society organizations in the rural municipality of Kiéché in September 2023.
The Promoting Advocacy and Rights team hosted a four-day workshop in Dhaka September 2-5, bringing together Bangladeshi local civil society organizations and helping participants explore how they can shape their pre- and post-election advocacy within the project framework.
U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique Peter Vrooman assisted the cooks in a school canteen during a visit in April to our USDA McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition project in Mozambique. The visit marked the beginning of the project’s advocacy campaign, “School Feeding For All!”
Alicia Salgado, chief of party for Counterpart’s New Partnerships in Open Government project, speaks during a November meeting with indigenous communities in Ecuador.
Through our Working to Strengthen Diversity project, Counterpart supports Salvadoran LGBTIQ+ partners to empower other LGBTIQ+ actors (especially in rural areas) to collectively communicate their agenda and educate the population in the defense of their rights. We celebrate the many advances made by our local LGBTIQ+ partners and will continue to support and strengthen their initiatives and organizational capacity development for a more just and inclusive El Salvador.
Counterpart’s Guatemala Food for Progress program trains and provides technical assistance to small coffee producers to increase production and sales. In April 2023, our program launched a trade event called “Coffee Roundtable Business” where small coffee producers from Sololá, Huehuetenango, and San Marcos met with local and international buyers to promote their coffees. This was a one-day event and several sale contracts were signed, making this event a success.
