Diaspora Women's Initiative (DWI)
Diapora Women's Initiative (DWI) is a faith-based charitable organisation that supports women of all ages who are affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS, or who are passionate about HIV/AIDS issues.
It was formed by a group of friends after one of them received a call from her parents in Uganda asking if she could send money to save a dying orphan whose parents had died of HIV/AIDS. She felt desperate and frustrated as she had no money to spare. This then led to a discussion on HIV amongst the group, and they realized that HIV/AIDS had affected all their lives in some way. This was the inspiration to found the Diaspora Women’s Initiative.
Its aims and objectives are:
- To identify and target migrant women who are passionate about, affected by or infected by HIV/AIDS
- To offer outreach support services to migrant women on one to one basis
- To raise awareness and educate the community about the impact of HIV/AIDS
- To contribute to reduction of the number of new HIV/AIDS infections
- To challenge the stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS
- To build a community of women organisations, individuals and service providers, both local and international
- To build the organisational capacity of DWI