Sahiyo receives grant from Ben & Jerry’s Foundation
Sahiyo U.S. would like to thank our friends at Ben & Jerry’s Foundation for a core support grant award of $20,000 per year for two years. Ben & Jerry’s Foundation supports grassroots groups throughout the U.S. and its territories that are led by the people most impacted by the legacies of white supremacy culture, as they organize for racial equity and social and environmental justice. They center the leadership and collective action of Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color in their efforts to build movements to dismantle oppressive and discriminatory systems toward a more just and inclusive world. These funds will help Sahiyo specifically by strengthening the network of community-based anti-female genital cutting (FGC) advocates leading prevention and policy campaigns in the movement to end FGC in the U.S.; continuing to build FGC survivor and community-driven state coalitions who advocate for policy in states that don’t yet have laws to address FGC; and expanding on our original Critical Intersections work, forming partnerships with allied social justice movements and working together to build more comprehensive and inclusive systems of care and support for FGC survivors and/or those at risk of FGC. We are truly grateful for the support!
Farewell to Programs Coordinator Catherine Cox
For the past three years, we have been honored to have Catherine Cox, or Cate as we know her, serve as Programs Coordinator at Sahiyo U.S. In this role, Cate saw Sahiyo’s community education and outreach program, including training and technical assistance, grow and blossom. It is thus with great excitement and some sadness too, Sahiyo wishes Cate success and luck on her next adventure! Cate will be transitioning off of Sahiyo as Programs Coordinator to journey to the United Kingdom, where she will start her Masters at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London with the goal to study Human Rights Law. Cate first joined Sahiyo as a Programs Intern in 2020, while she was a freshman at Simmons College studying International Relations. Being the stellar intern that she was, after her term ended, she was offered the position of Sahiyo’s first ever Programs Coordinator; since then, she has worked to strengthen and expand the many services Sahiyo offers. Though we will miss her dearly, we are glad that Cate will remain active as a Sahiyo volunteer, and look forward to the many accomplishments she will make in the field of human rights law!