ROHINGYA WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT NETWORK – GIVING VOICE TO THE COMMUNITY Rohingya Women’s Development Network (RWDN) was founded in 2016. It is one of the first female Rohingya led organisations. It works to empower women and grow female leadership in society by teaching women to harness their abilities, develop new skills and provide them with opportunities to lead. Action Award (EUR 25,000) READ MORE ON COVID-19 This project aimed to mobilise the Rohingya community (In Bangladesh IMPACTS ON THE ROHINGYA HERE and beyond) through capacity building and trainings to ensure they were empowered to understand COVID-19 and related health issues and implement measures to prevent its spread. Stateless Rohingya refugees in 34 camps in Bangladesh benefitted from a COVID-19 awareness raising campaign and distribution of hygiene and sanitation packages. Researchers gathered information through interviews, case studies and testimonies from affected people. Discussions with experts, researchers, scholars and Rohingya leaders helped increase dialogue about Rohingya human rights. Further, the project had a regional component, bringing these discussions to Rohingya communities in other countries. Impact • 20 volunteers were trained to conduct COVID-19 awareness sessions at community level. They worked with 80 religious leaders to disseminate information on COVID-19, carrying out 160 community awareness sessions and distributing 1,300 COVID-19 information posters. • The team conducted four webinars on the impacts of COVID-19 faced by Rohingya communities in Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. Prominent Rohingya figures from these countries and the diaspora led the discussions, reaching 29,400 people worldwide. • Hygiene packages were distributed to 800 women involved in training sessions and to 30 mosques in camps. • Small-scale grants were given to two community-led organisations to empower local initiatives and further share COVID-19 awareness and hygiene materials. Reflecting on the impact of its work, the RWDN team said: “ What is most effective is to provide timely support and always verify with the target population their needs and their willingness to participate, learn and actively get involved with the planned activities…we have tried to focus on the ground level to provide the support with field volunteers…this increases trust, cultural appropriateness, cultural understanding and capacitated the target population.” Future Plans RWDN’s future plans revolve around continuing to develop their work to empower female leadership and to nurture and support community-based and locally led activities. With sustained funding, they would be able to strengthen their operations in Malaysia, and also support women’s leadership and empowerment initiatives within Rohingya communities in other countries. 25