When You Inform Women, You Transform Lives | Paige Alexander | TED

Translator: Victor Mushimbami Reviewer: Nelson Simfukwe

So this is Anna.

Huyu ni Anna.

Four years ago in Guatemala City,

Miaka minne iliyopita katika mji wa Guatemala

she was literally at death's door.

Alikuwa karibuni na kifo.

Her husband had died,

Mume wake alifaliki,

she had fallen into a deep depression, she had stopped eating.

aliingia katika msongo mkubwa wa mawazo, aliacha kula.

She didn't have the stamina to walk door to door to sell the eggs,

Hakuwa na nguvu za kutembea kuuza mayai.

which is what was supporting her family.

Ambayo yalikuwa yanaihudumia familia yake.

Her daughters watched helplessly

binti wake walitazama tu bila mutumaini

as she gave every last penny she had to them.

Alipotoa kila pesa ya mwisho kwao.

Until a neighbor said,

Mpaka jirani mmoja aliposema,

“Right down the street, there’s a city-run, free women’s clinic

“Mtaa wa mbele kuna kliniki ya bure ya wanawake

where you can get help."

ambapo unaweza pata msaada.” Na mazungumzo yale yalibadili maisha yake.

And that conversation changed her life.

She went to the center.

Alienda kwenye kituo.

They treated her for malnutrition.

Walimpa tiba ya utapiamlo.

They gave her the mental health care she needed and other health support.

Walimpa huduma ya afya ya akili na huduma nyingne a kiafya alizohitaji.

And now Anna and her two daughters make tortillas in a small,

Sasa, wanatengeneza mikate

women-owned business,

biashara ndogo inayomilikiwa

and that's enough to support her family.

hiyo inatosha kumsaidia na familia yake.

Anna was saved by information.

Na Anna aliokolewa na taarifa.

So you hear that story and you probably think,

Kwa hivyo unasikia hadithi hiyo na labda unafikiria,

"Ah, another nice NGO doing some good work around the world."

“Ah, shirika lingine la kujitolea linafanya kazi nzuri duniani kote.”

But when I hear that story,

Lakini ninaposikia hadithi hiyo,

I think how the right information at the right time

Nafikiria namna ambavyo habari sahihi katika muda wakati sahihi

actually saved a woman's life.

ambavyo imeokoa maisha ya mwanamke.

That information saved Anna's life.

Habari hiyo iliokoa maisha ya Anna.

At the Carter Center,

Katika Kituo cha Carter,

we work in global health and peace around the world,

tunafanya kazi katika afya ya kimataifa na amani duniani kote

and I've been in the business long enough to know that there is no silver bullet

Nimekuwa katika taasisi kwa muda mrefu kujua kwamba si kitu rahisi

to solving our world's problems,

katika kutatua matatizo ya dunia yetu,

but the closest thing we have is access to information.

lakini kitu rahisi tunachoweza kukipata ni taarifa.

And I consider that a master key, because it unlocks human rights

Na nazingatia hilo kama ufunguo mkuu, vile unafungua uwepo wa haki za binadamu

for everyone around the world.

kwa kila mtu ulimwenguni

And it's because of that that Anna's life and many other women's lives were saved.

kwa sababu hiyo, maisha ya Anna na maisha ya wanawake wengine yameokolewa

So when you work for President Carter,

Hivyo unapofanya kazi kwa Rais Carter,

you spend a lot of time thinking about human rights.

Unatumia muda mwingi kufikiria haki za binadamu.

And when your other boss is Rosalynn Carter,

ukiwa na bosi mwingine Rosalynn Carter,

you spend a lot of time thinking about women's rights.

Unatumia muda mwingi kufikiria haki za wanawake.

My favorite thing on Mrs. Carter's desk is a picture that she keeps

Kitu kizuri ofisini ya Carter ni picha

of a group of women in front of the White House in 1977,

ya kundi la wanawake mbele ya Ikulu mwaka 1977,

protesting against the Equal Rights Amendment.

Ambao walikuwa wanapinga Marekebisho ya Haki Sawa.

And when I asked her, "Why do you keep that on your desk?"

Na nilipomuuliza, “Kwa nini unaweka hiyo picha kwenye dawati yako?”

She said, because she wanted to be reminded

Alisema, kwa sababu alitaka kukumbushwa

of the work that she had left to do.

kaza ambayo bado hajaikamilisha.

Now, you don't have to be a former president of the United States,

Sasa, sio lazima uwe rais wa zamani wa Marekani,

or a former first lady,

au mke wa raisi wa zamani,

to understand the power of sharing information.

kuelewa nguvu ya kushiriki habari.

Honestly, obviously the platform does not hurt.

Kwa kweli, ni wazi kuwa jukwaa halidhuru.

But what we do now is we look at how we match information needs

tunachofanya ni kuwaangalia jinsi yaku linganisha mahitaji ya Habari

with information wants that exist.

Na habari ambayo yupo.

So when we talk to President Carter

Kwa hiyo tunapoongea na Rais Carter

about the fact that there's a gap

juu ya ukweli kwamba kuna pengo

between how men and women receive information,

kati ya jinsi wanaume na wanawake wanapokea habari,

we ask very specifically, we want to run a program on this.

tunaomba tunataka kuendelea na programu juu ya hili

But he is a very disciplined engineer,

Lakini yeye ni mhandisi mwenye nidham

and he said, "It's an interesting thesis, but can you prove it

alisema ni nadharia ya kuvutia lakini unaweza kuthibitisha

and can you come up with a program

akisema unaweza kufanya mpango

that's actually going to make a difference?"

Kwa kweli, hii italeta tofauti?

So not working on anecdotal information,

Basi si kufanyia kazi taarifa za kifamilia,

we decided to survey about 2,000 women --

tuliwaamua kufanya uchunguzi kuhusu wanawake 2,000 --

people in Guatemala, Liberia, Bangladesh --

watu huko Guatemala, Liberia, Bangladesh --

and we wanted to ask government offices: “Are women seeking information?”

uliza ofisi za serikali: “Je, wanawake wanatafuta habari?”

And so when you go into a government office,

unapoingia kwenye ofisi ya serikali,

you'll find women who might be sitting there,

utapata wanawake ambao wemekaa pale

if they brave the odds,

Kama wana ujasiri wa odds

but they're being ignored, they're being questioned,

lakini wanapuuzwa, wanaulizwa maswali,

or they're actually being derided.

au kwa kweli wanadhihakiwa

And so we thought, what are the barriers to finding this information for women?

tulifikiri, ni vikwazo gani vya kupata taarifa kwa wanawake?

Well we all know,

Vizuri sisi wote tunajua,

data illiteracy is greater among women.

ujinga wa data ni mkubwa zaidi miongoni mwa wanawake.

They have less chance of education,

Wana nafasi ndogo ya elimu,

transportation can be very difficult.

Usafiri unaweza kuwa mgumu sana.

You look at gender norms and cultural norms,

angalia mila za kijinsia na mila za kitamaduni,

often women are responsible for not only full-time childcare

wanawake wanawajibika si tu kwa malezi ya watoto wakati wote,

but also raising the family and working.

lakini pia kukuza familia na kufanya kazi.

And it also can be very dangerous if they take transportation on their own.

Na pia inaweza kuwa hatari sana ikiwa wanachukua usafiri peke yao.

And so one government office building,

Na hivyo jengo moja la ofisi ya serikali,

we noticed that there were no women's bathrooms.

tuligundua kwamba hakukuwa na bafu za wanawake.

So if anyone had gone in to try to seek the information,

ikiwa mtu akijaribu kutafuta habari hiyo,

they were there all day without a restroom.

Watakuwa hapo siku nzima bila chumba cha bafu.

So we thought, what can we do to change the situation?

tulifikiria, tunaweza kufanyaje Kuhusu kubadilisha hali hiyo?

So we decided that all politics is local and all development is local.

Kwa hivyo tuliamua kuwa siasa zote ni za ndani na maendeleo yote ni ya ndani.

And so we hired local information liaisons

tukawaajiri wakala wa habari wa ndani

to help connect the dots for women to get the information they needed.

Ili kupata habari wanazohitaji

For example, in Dhaka in Bangladesh,

Kwa mfano, Dhaka nchini ya Bangladesh,

there was a woman who wanted to get a streetlight in her slum,

kulikuwa mwanamke ambaye alitaka kupata taa ya barabara katika nyumba yake,

but her father had said, "Don't ask for the information.

lakini baba yake alisema, ’Usiulize taarifa.

This is not your position.

habari. Hii sio nafasi yako.

You won't get it."

Hutaipata.”

So when the street lamp showed up, he was incredibly proud of her.

wakati taa ya barabarani ilipoonekana, alijivunia sana yeye.

And in Liberia,

Na nchini Liberia,

a group of women came together and they sought information

kikundi cha wanawake kilikusanyika na wakatafuta taarifa.

on county development funds.

kwenye fedha za maendeleo ya kaunti.

And with that money,

Na kwa pesa hizo,

they were able to open a soap business.

waliweza kufungua biashara ya sabuni.

And that created an entire community of women entrepreneurs.

Na hiyo iliunda jamii nzima ya wajasi riamali wanawake.

So it's great to do this one information liaison at a time.

Kwa hivyo ni nzuri kufanya mawasiliano huu moja ya habari kwa wakati mmoja.

But the reality is we wanted to scale up.

Lakini ukweli ni kwamba tulitaka kuongeza.

So in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic,

Mwaka was 2021, katikati ya janga hilo,

we decided to start a campaign called Inform Women, Transform Lives.

tuliamua kuanzisha kampeni inayoitwa Habari Wanawake, Badilisha Maisha.

And it was to connect women with information

Na ilikuwa kuunganisha wanawake na habari

that was out there that they did not have.

ambayo hawakuwa nayo.

So we're now on five continents, across 35 different cities,

Kwa hivyo sasa tuko kwenye mabara tano, katika miji 35 tofauti,

from Atlanta to Chicago,

kutoka Atlanta hadi Chicago,

from Dublin to Rotterdam,

kutoka Dublin hadi Rotterdam,

from Sao Paulo to Kathmandu.

kutoka Sao Paulo hadi Kathmandu.

And it hits 215 million people,

Na inashikilia watu milioni 215, wana

215 million citizens who can be affected by information

raia milioni 215 ambao wanaweza kuathiriwa na taarifa.

through the city's programs.

Kupitia mipango ya jiji hilo.

So this is how it works.

Hivyo ndivyo inavyofanya kazi.

We start with the city,

Tunaanza na jiji,

we find a city service that women have access to

tunapata huduma ya jiji ambayo inapatikana kwa wanawake

but they don't know about it

lakini hawajui

because they haven't been told.

kwasabu hawajaambiwa.

And then we run radio jingles,

kisha tunaendesha jingles redio,

we do murals, we do transit ads,

tunafanya michoro ya ukutani, tunafanya matangazo ya usafiri,

we use social media,

tunatumia mitandao wa kijamii,

and we get them the information.

na tunawapata habari.

We meet women where they are.

Tunakutana na wanawake ambapo wapo.

So it seems quite simple.

Kwa hivyo inaonekana kuwa rahisi sana.

and the results were real.

Na matokeo yalikuwa ya kweli.

In Sao Paulo there was 86 percent uptick in the information

Huko Sao Paulo kulikuwa ongezeko la asilimia 86 katika habari

that was received for gender-based violence and domestic violence.

yalipopokelewa kwa vurugu za jinsia na unyanyasaji wa ny umbani.

In Nairobi, we were able to put the sign up

Nairobi, tulikuwa na uwezo wakuweka ishara

that actually was a hotline for women who wanted help on domestic violence.

nambari ya dharura ya wanawake waliotaka msaadakuhusu vurugu za nyumbani

Before this billboard went up,

Kabla ya bango hili kuwekwa,

there were 10 calls to that hotline.

Kulikuwa na simu 10 kwa laini hiyo ya simu

After this billboard went up, there were 500 calls.

Baada ya bango hili kuwekwa, simu 500 ilipigwa

That's 490 women who needed the assistance the month before

Hiyo ni wanawake 490 ambao walihitaji msaada kabla ya mwezi

but didn't even know it existed.

lakini hawakujua ilikuwepo

(Applause)

(Mshangao)

In Cape Town, we brought women together from a township,

Huko Cape Town, tuliwaleta wanawake pamoja kutoka jiji,

we brought them to the public library.

Tuliwaleta kwenye maktaba wa umma.

We had the city talk about how to access information services,

Tulikuwa na jiji kuzungumza juu ya jinsi ya kupata huduma za habari, na

and there was an uptick in everything

kulikuwa na ongezeko katika kila kitu

from requests for street cleaning to COVID vaccinations.

kutoka kwa maombi ya kusafisha mitaani hadi chanjo ya COVID.

And in Kampala,

Na huko Kampala,

women were able to get increased loans

wanawake walikuwa na uwezo wa kupata mikopo iliyoongezeka.

so women entrepreneurs could start.

ili wanawake wajasiriamali waweze kuanza.

In Chicago,

Huko Chicago, faida

the benefit of having a city keycard

faida ya kuwa na kadi ya ufunguo wa jiji.

was something that many women didn't know about

kitu ambacho wanawake wengi hawakujua kuhusu

until we started the campaign.

Mpaka tulipoanza kampeni hiyo.

It serves as a government ID,

Inatumika kama kitambulisho cha serikali,

a health prescription card, a transit card,

kadi ya maagizo ya afya, kadi ya usafiri,

a public library card,

Kadi ya maktaba ya umma

and there was a 225 percent uptick

na kulikuwa na ongezeko la asilimia 225

in requests for the city of Chicago.

katika maombi kwa jiji la Chicago.

And then here in Atlanta,

Na kisha hapa Atlanta,

we have a program that we call “safe spots.”

tuna programu “sehemu salama.” ni mpango ambao

It’s a program that the city started to create, in fire stations,

mji ulianza katika vituo vya mahali salama kwa wanawake na watoto

a safe spot for women and children

Mahali salama kwa wanawake na watoto

who are going through domestic abuse to enter.

Wanaopitia unyanyasaji wa ndani

The fire station shuts down,

Kituo cha moto kinafungwa,

the immediate assistance is given to the person who needs it,

usaidizi hutolewa kwa mtu anayehitaji,

and it's very difficult to walk into a police station

ni vigumu kuingia kwenye kituo cha polisi

if you're in a domestic abuse situation.

ikiwa uko kwenye unyanyasaji wa nyumbani.

But fire stations we've all been to,

Lakini vituo vya moto tuliyokuwa

we've all sat there, we've rang the bell,

Tuliikaa hapo, na kupiga kengele,

people feel more comfortable.

watu wanahisi vizuri zaidi.

And we always have to check our assumptions

Na lazima tuangalie mawazo yetu

because the reality is we thought

Kwa sababu ukweli ni kwamba tulifikiri

this was going to be something that was used

Hii ilikuwa kitu ambacho kingetumiwa

in the lower-income parts of town,

Katika sehemu za chini za jiji

but in fact, the data shows that in the more affluent areas,

data inaonyesha katika maeneo

people are walking into those fire stations as safe spots.

watu wanatembea kwenye vituo vya moto kama sehemu salama.

So we all do our work for very different reasons.

sisi wote tunafanya kazi zetu kwa sababu tofauti sana.

I will tell you that I am the daughter

Nataka kuambia kwamba mimi ni binti huyo.

of an incredibly amazing woman

wa mwanamke wa ajabu sana.

who taught me I could be anything that my three older brothers could be.

Alisema naweza kuwa chochote kaka zangu watatu wakubwa wangeweza kuwa

I am now a mother of two amazing daughters, who are incredibly independent,

mimi ni mama sasa wama binti wawili wa ajabu ambao wako huru

and a very well-trained and sensitized teenage son.

na mwana wa kiume mwenye mafunzo mazuri na amehamasishwa sana

(Laughter)

(Mshangao)

We need more of those.

Tunahitaji kama hawa

(Applause)

(Mshangao)

And often it’s my vision of Mrs. Carter’s picture

Na mara nyingi ni maono yangu ya picha ya Bi. Carter

that is sitting on her desk

ambayo inakaa kwenye dawati lake

reminding me that for 40 years she looked at that picture,

Kunikumbusha kwamba kwa miaka 40 aliangalia picha hiyo,

and she knew that that was work that still needed to be done.

alijua kwamba hiyo ilikuwa kazi ambayo bado inahitaji kufanywa.

Or, of course, it could be the fact that President Carter,

bila shaka, ukweli kwamba Rais Carter,

who is 99 and still cares deeply about this issue,

Ambaye ali na miaka 99 bado anajali kuhusu suala hili

when he was 89, at the spry age of 89,

Alipokuwa 89 akiwa na nguvu kama za kijana

he wrote a book on women's issues and human rights,

Aliandika kitabu kuhusu wanawake Haki za binadamu

and he gave a talk at TEDWomen.

Na alitoa mhadhara katika TEDWomen.

(Applause)

(Mshangao)

He has always taught me

Amenifundisha daima

that wherever we go in the world, people are intelligent,

kwamba popote tuendapo duniani, watu ni werevu,

they care about their families, they're hardworking,

wanajali familia wanafanya kazi kwa bidii,

but they often just don't have the information

Lakini mara nyingi, hawana tu taarifa.

that they need to be successful.

kwamba wanahitaji kuwa na mafanikio.

And so it's my job,

Na kwa hivyo ni kazi yangu,

it's all of our jobs,

ni kazi yetu sis wote

to help women get that information,

kusaidia wanawake kupata taarifa hii,

because it's really quite simple.

Kwa sababu ni rahisi sana.

When you inform women, you transform lives.

Unapojulisha wanawake unabadilisha maisha

Thank you.

Asante.

(Applause)

(Mshangao)