We made it to the end of 2022!
This year has been a whirlwind of growth! From learning opportunities and amazing work experiences to new challenges and tremendous achievements, the team at Sista could not have done it without our donors, our partners and each other – Gel Pawa at its finest!
December started off with a partnered workshop with Care as part of 16 Days of Activism (DoA). The workshop was facilitated by Care with young men to open up conversations on resetting gender relations and identities in a way that is healthy, respectful, equitable and non-violent.
Then a report writing workshop with Dr Astrid Kersten from Human Capacity Development International (HCDI) was held. The workshop was a great learning opportunity for Sista’s Communications and Project team as it was an introduction on how to write a report and the key components that create a successful report.
At the beginning of the month our social media platforms were filled with 16DoA posts, reminding people about the annual campaign, the #orangetheworld theme, and the many initiatives that were developed in the past to help spread awareness on ending violence against women and girls – initiatives like our Rod Blong Jenis and Stanap Strong campaign!
And a big thank you to Stef Mahuk as her donation to Sista contributed to the delicious lunch the team had to end the year together!
Projects
Regina Ova – Sista Gat Style, Vanuatu Daily Post
To end Sista Gat Style in 2022 we celebrated the gorgeous Ms Regina Ova!
Regina comes from the island of Espiritu Santo from the beautiful village of Port Olry. She is an intelligent woman who has a wicked sense of humor and is tremendously kind, which makes her beautiful from the inside and out – and is exactly why we have chosen to celebrate her to close off 2022! She is Sista’s Financial and Administration Officer and the team appreciates and acknowledges the effort and time she has put into her work this year.
16 Days of Activism – Gender Equality Workshop with men
On Tuesday 6th December 2022 Sista partnered with Care to facilitate a workshop with young men to open up conversations on resetting gender relations and identities in a way that is healthy, respectful, equitable and non – violent. The communications team was assigned to lead the men through an exercise, for the advocacy component of the workshop, to help Sista and CARE understand how men feel when they are placed inside the Gender box and what the participants wanted other men to know when it came to stepping outside the Gender box. Click HERE to see what the men had to say. The team ended the workshop with a self-care exercise! It was great to see the men open up about their self-care routine and what self-care meant to them. It was also a nice reminder to everyone that taking time out is important.
Sista’s Journey through Film
The communications team also spent early December with Jane Spitz who came to Vanuatu as a volunteer to capture Sista’s journey through film. The team used the December Sista Gat Style photoshoot as an opportunity to show Jane the energy that goes into this fashion feature and how it encourages women in Vanuatu to express themselves through beauty, fashion and style!! The team at Sista cannot wait to share the video Jane has created!
Other News
Report Writing Workshop with Dr Astrid Kersten from Human Capacity Development International (HCDI)
The Sista team went through two sessions of report writing with Dr Astrid from HCDI on 8th and 15th of December 2022 at the Grand Hotel. The main idea was to develop an understanding of Program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis and Report Writing. It was also an opportunity to apply the skills and concepts learned to existing Sista project reporting requirements and to develop actual reports.
During the sessions, the team realized the importance of reporting and also the significance of having a good plan at the beginning of a project or program. Reporting is purposely for transparency, evidence and accountability. This workshop was new to a few of the participants but Dr Astrid was patient with the team, explaining a few complicated terms and listening to how understandable the team were. – Thank you Astrid!
This training was supported by the We Rise Coalition.
Finance and Admin Strengthening
This month the Finance and Admin team at Sista engaged a Finance consultant, Marilou Cajot, to help set up Sista’s Management Budget and rearrange our Chart of accounts.Thank you to our partner Care International for making this possible.
In addition to this, Sista’s Finance team had a meeting with the Care Finance team to renew the Sista – Care Partnership Agreement.
Meeting with Spotlight team
On 12 December, the Executive Director met with Jurgita Sereikaite, Programme Coordinator, UN RCO, Pacific Regional Spotlight Initiative and other members of the Civil Society Spotlight Group to discuss how to continue UN’s engagement with civil society.
Information session on Electoral and Legislative Reform organized by Balance of Power
Sista was invited by Balance of Power (BOP) to a workshop at the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the electoral and legislative reform, including women’s participation, led by Margaret Macfarlene. This was an interesting event and we thank BOP for bringing diverse stakeholders together.
Coming soon
Menstrual cup campaign
Sista is thrilled to receive a new grant from Ambassade de France and is developing a campaign to open a new dialogue and direction on menstrual health and hygiene management in Vanuatu that provides an alternative option to promote dignity and good practice in hygiene. Keep your eye out in the coming months for the campaign and distribution of menstrual cups!
