More unites than divides us
This phrase resonates throughout Watipa’s work. The quotation is “we are far more united than the things that divide us” and is taken from the maiden speech of Jo Cox, in her first speech as a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire in the north of England.
As the world’s events unfold around us, Watipa continues to work across borders and cultures, ages and genders, to connect with and inform the work that we do.
- Our 9 founding members are from diverse backgrounds, and are located in Malawi, South Africa, Australia, and England.
- We are guided by 6 advisors who are specialists in a variety of areas and come from different cultures and regions as well: they are located in Canada, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, England, South Africa and Kenya.
- The 36 inaugural Watipa scholars are likewise very multi-cultural, and are located in eight different countries: Kenya, Ghana, DRC, South Africa, Nepal, Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania.
- The generosity of 52 individuals from England, Australia, South Africa, USA, New Zealand, Guernsey, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Singapore supported the scholarship program through personal donations to help start the scholarship programme in 2016.
We are divided and strengthened by our diversity, and we are united by our common drive for community development.
It’s been a busy month for Watipa. Highlights have included working on
- writing a background paper for United Nations and World Bank flagship report about preventing violent conflict,
- supporting capacity development for the health workforce to monitor and improve quality of care across Africa,
- reviewing training processes to reduce stigma and discrimination related to HIV in Jamaica, and
- designing a curriculum to work with sport and development to combine knowledge with empowerment for young people to access comprehensive sexual health services.
Keep up-to-date with our thinking, work and new ideas through our latest blogs:
- Kenya: Watipa in Kenya: Discussing politics and Italian food
- Global: Women’s business
- UK & Malawi: This girl can… row!
- Global: Happy zero discrimination day!