2024 - Together Women Rise

A gallery of Results webinar participants on Zoom

By Susan Wright, Co-Chair of the Together Women Rise Advocacy Group with RESULTS and leader of our CA, Berkeley-2 chapter

The women and girls our grantees serve cannot thrive without access to basic health and education programs and other services, including vaccines and reproductive health supplies. Advocacy to obtain adequate funds for these broader programs is necessary to achieve Together Women Rise’s mission to achieve global gender equality.

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Vinola Vincent Munyon, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

millet, peanuts, Proven Platter, Pudding, pumpkin, The Proven Platter, vegan, Vegetarian, Zambia

The Proven Platter – Zambia, August 2024

The traditional cuisine of Zambia is built around legumes, pulses, greens and vegetables that are indigenous to the region. Ingredients like Bambara nuts, groundnuts (peanuts), cowpeas, sesame seeds, soyabeans, wild spinach, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin, okra, and sweet potatoes are used in simple, straightforward perparations that preserve their nutritional value. Animal-based proteins are less frequently used. Of animal proteins, chicken and dried fish are the most commonly used. Details

Kristina Skepton and Terri Tucker, Recipe Co-Curators

Recipes

black-eyed peas, Kenya, Proven Platter, Pudding, sweet potato, The Proven Platter, Tomatoes, vegan, Vegetarian

The Proven Platter – Kenya, August 2024

Please join us in welcoming the two newest members of the Together Women Rise recipe curator team. We are delighted to have Kristina Skepton and Terri Tucker share with us. They are a team within a team, working together to create and share recipes, knowledge, and some tasty additions to our recipe site. Thank you, Kristina and Terri! – Chris Worthy, Education Coordinator

For our first Proven Platter feature, we delved into the rich flavors of Kenyan cuisine. Details

Linda McElroy, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

Guatemala, hotdogs, Proven Platter, salsa, The Proven Platter

The Proven Platter – Guatemala, July 2024

Hello Diners!

This month our good works take us to Guatemala. We are supporting the organization Mission of Limitless Horizons Ixil. This team of local women seeks to educate and empower Indigenous girls and women living in extreme poverty. Details

Kia Hunter, Volunteer Manager

Chapters, For leaders, Storytelling

A Rising Tide

A Rising Tide: Mellen Duffy Tanamly

Mellen Duffy Tanamly spent her career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which took her all over the world including West Africa, El Salvador, Belize, Egypt, and Jordan. She learned of Together Women Rise through friends at USAID and has been a member for over six years. She recently took over leadership of her chapter and is excited for this new role!  Details

Linda McElroy, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

Beef, Chicken, Goat, Lamb, Pork, Proven Platter, Rwanda, skewers, The Proven Platter

The Proven Platter – Rwanda, June 2024

Hello Diners!

This month is a “two-fer!” That is, our good works are taking us to India and Rwanda. So, you may have to make a tough decision about which direction to go! I am here to present you with the Proven Platter for Rwanda in support of the Kula Project. They work to eradicate poverty through the development of women entrepreneurs in Rwanda’s coffee communities. Details

Vinola Vincent Munyon, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

Chutney, India, Mango, Proven Platter, Rice, The Proven Platter, vegan, Vegetarian

The Proven Platter – India, June 2024

If there is one ingredient that is summer personified in India, it’s the mango. The mighty mango, the King of fruits, is to an Indian less a fruit and more “an emotion” or so they like to declare tongue-in-cheek, as they attempt to get a sampling of every variety they love in the specific timeframe that each variety is picked. With over 1,500 varities of mango cultivated in India, each with a distinct flavor, there’s a lot to sample. Some more expensive and difficult to source and being harvested for a very short period than others. Details

A view of the mountains with long grass and bushes in the foreground and a long, winding road through the mountains in the mid and background

Together Women Rise

Travel

2024 Guatemala Trip, Guatemala, Limitless Horizons Ixil

Our Road to Chajul

By Ann Benefiel, Guatemala Traveler and Co-leader of Rise’s IL, Champaign-2 chapter

Hosted by Limitless Horizons Ixil (which Together Women Rise funded in June 2017 and will be funding again in July 2024), 11 members of Together Women Rise were privileged to gain a sense of the community, talents, history, hardships, and enduring joy of the indigenous people living in the region of Guatemala known as the Ixil Triangle.

Along the way, Erin Treinen, Elena Laswick, and Michelle Paterick of LHI assured that our experience was meaningful but fun – and, of course, included delicious meals and fresh coffee every day! Details

Together Women Rise

Travel

2024 Guatemala Trip, Guatemala, Limitless Horizons Ixil

Exploring Guatemala’s Limitless Horizons

By: Adela Warner, Guatemala traveler and Co-leader of Rise’s CO, Boulder – 3 chapter

Traveling to the Limitless Horizons Ixil school and community with Together Women Rise was more than just a trip; it was a profound journey of enrichment and empowerment. As we embarked on this adventure, we were filled with anticipation for the positive impact we would experience learning about the school’s mission for empowering women, young girls and boys, and even men for gender equality and crafting a brighter future for all. Details

Vinola Vincent Munyon, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

bison, Chicken, Nepal, Proven Platter, The Proven Platter

The Proven Platter – Nepal, May 2024

The cuisine of Nepal is distinct to the different ethnic and linguistic groups and is influenced by the region of Nepal they lived and sourced ingredients from. The cuisine of the Khas, for instance, that is built around lentils, rice, and vegetables (Dal bhaat tarkari) as a staple meal is different from Himalayan cuisine which is heavy on stews, soup noodles (Thupka), and other warming dishes that are adapted to the cold weather and less fertile yield of that region. The Newars or Nepami are an ethnolinguistic group who are believed to have settled Nepal well before the migrations of the Tibetans and Indo-Aryans. Considered original inhabitants of Kathmandu, their cuisine is a reflection of their accessibility to varied agricultural yields. Chatamari is a Newari dish that is unique to the region. A rice crepe that is topped with spiced ground meat that has been mixed with aromatics, it is delicious, hearty, yet quick to prepare. Ground chicken or bison meat can be used, with the latter being commonly used in Newari recipes. The topping is reminiscent of the filling used in Nepalese momos, and as with momos, it gets cooked through steaming. Often referred to as “Newari pizza” it is less pizza and more savory crepe. Details

Georgia Reader, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

Beans, Proven Platter, Tanzania, The Proven Platter, vegan, Vegetarian

The Proven Platter – Tanzania, May 2024

This month, we have the treat of having two new recipes. This one from Georgia Reader brings us what is commonly known as the national dish of Tanzania. This hearty vegan stew is best served over rice or ugali, a simple corn porridge. The warm spices are tempered by the creamy coconut milk but you can adjust the spice to your taste. Use canned (rinsed) kidney beans and you can have dinner on the table in no time. Details

Linda McElroy, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

Beans, Eggplant, Proven Platter, Rwanda, The Proven Platter, vegan, Vegetarian

The Proven Platter – Rwanda, April 2024

Hello Diners!

I am absolutely thrilled to be back in the role of volunteer Recipe Curator after several years off, and joining the current (fabulous) team of Georgia and Vinola, along with Kristina and Terri, who are also onboarding this year. I look forward to working with them and am really excited for the opportunity to discover new recipes for you to share with your families or at your chapter meeting. Details

Vinola Vincent Munyon, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes

The Proven Platter—Afghanistan, March 2024

Afghan cuisine is as rich and varied as the history of Afghanistan. Its place as the “heart of Asia” has meant that many Asian culinary traditions are found enmeshed in Afghan culinary traditions. Some of these traditions were born in the Afghan soil and spread through the region, others assimilated from elsewhere. Imagine my surprise at finding “Sooji Halwa” featured as a popular Afghan dessert. After all, I had grown up eating this dessert, by that very same name, in South India. It was ubiquitous in India, made at every special occasion and an absolute must at every wedding feast. Halwa (or halva), I soon learned, is derived from the Arabic word “Hulw” meaning “sweet” and that the the first codified recipe for Halwa appeared in an Arabic book “Kitab al-Tabikh” (The Book of Dishes) authored by Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi in 1226. Colleen Taylor Sen, a food historian writes in her book “Feasts and Fasts” that the Halwa made its way to India through Persia between the 13th – 16th century. So there it was, the Halwa, the very many manifestations of it, beloved in India was a contribution of Afghan cuisine. Details

Vinola Vincent Munyon, Recipe Co-Curator

Recipes, Together Women Rise

Equality Now, Lebanon, Proven Platter, The Proven Platter, vegan, Vegetarian

The Proven Platter – February 2024 Lebanon

This month, Together Women Rise features a Transformation Partnership Grant to support Equality Now’s work to achieve legal gender equality, end harmful practices, end sexual violence, and end sexual exploitation. This work is global, so while we don’t feature a specific country, we invite you to peruse our full recipe archive with recipes from all over the world, and try these light and delicious new recipes from co-curator Vinola Munyon, which are inspired by the cuisine of Lebanon. Details

Jan 3, 2024

Quinn Hayes, Program & Grants Manager

Together Women Rise

Meeting the Moment While Holding Space for Peace: An Update on Tomorrow’s Women

In July 2023, Together Women Rise awarded a Featured Grant to Tomorrow’s Women, an organization that trains young Palestinian and Israeli women to partner as leaders to promote equality, peace, and justice for all. Since the Israel/Gaza conflict began in October, we have all been concerned and anxious for an update on our partner, Tomorrow’s Women. In late December, we were able to connect with Tomorrow’s Women staff, and here is what they would like to share with the Rise community.

On behalf of Tomorrow’s Women, they would first like to sincerely thank the entire Rise community for your outpouring of support and concern during these beyond trying and horrific times in Israel and Palestine. They would also like to thank members who have made additional donations to them and to the chapters that have invited them to their chapter meetings. The overwhelming thoughts and support have truly touched their hearts, especially after learning that one their 2023 Gaza Girls, named Asmaa, and her mother were killed on November 18 during an Israeli airstrike while going to check on their family home.

Their hearts are heavy and even in the face of unsurmountable odds, Tomorrow’s Women remains steadfast and unmoved in their continued commitment towards social justice and peace making. Their focus is on restoring resilience by offering trauma-informed healing and preparing for their upcoming Speaking Tour in March of 2024.

Though their programs in the region are on hold, and they had to pivot many aspects of their offerings and programs, the funding provided by Together Women Rise for Gaza Girls was near completion when the conflict began. We invite you to hear Gaza Girls stories at Where I Live – Medium, but please keep in mind that the Gaza they describe no longer exists.

Here are some other highlights that Tomorrow’s Women would like to share:

They launched a groundbreaking Community of Practice for Young Palestinian women peacemakers in the form of two weekend retreats in the West Bank. These retreats were successful and groundbreaking as they included trauma healing and emotional resilience training, workshops, listening circles, and bonding time. Their final retreat was scheduled for October 12, which has been put on hold given the circumstances. Their plan is to pivot to a trauma healing weekend instead at some point in the new year when it is safe to do so, working within their “do no harm” policy.
They are holding uni-national meetings with trained dialogue facilitators for 2023 campers, creating safe spaces to talk and grieve, with the goal of soon coming together as a bi-national group.
Emotional support sessions, with trained trauma therapists, are being offered free-of-charge for all alumnae and staff.
Gaza Girls Humanitarian Aid Fund is providing alumnae and their families with basic needs such as food, clean water, housing, feminine and baby products.

We thank Tarrie Burnett and Ghida Sinno from Tomorrow’s Women for sharing these remarkable accomplishments and for sharing their strength with us. Please know that our Rise community stands with you. Amal, a Gaza Girl said it best, “It’s my responsibility and my privilege to do what I can to brighten this dark world…” She closed by saying, “Will you join me?”