The official death toll has surpassed 20,000, and Pakistani officials expect the number to rise significantly. Pakistan's military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan, lamented the large numbers of young people killed in some areas, saying, "it is a whole generation that has been lost in the worst affected areas." In addition to the deaths, more than 50,000 people have been injured and the Government estimates that 2.5 million are now homeless.

Messages of solidarity can be sent to the YWCA of Pakistan at ywcapak@brain.net.pk.

Accompanied by volunteer Art Guides who describe the paintings and sculptures, they are enjoying art, building confidence and socialising. Participants praise the programme that has helped to ease the trauma of losing the ability to see, and normalise life for them. One art enthusiast says, “I thought after I lost my sight that I would never have a chance to visit an art museum again, but now I can see the paintings and sculptures again. It is great!”

The volunteer guides as just as enthusiastic about the programme, which has been unexpectedly enriching. Sachiko Hirayama from the YWCA said of her first experience as an Art Guide, “we guides felt a sense of satisfaction we never had when we viewed the pictures by ourselves.” She now has dreams that the programme will be replicated all over Japan. Her hopes are already materialising as more and more museums are opening their doors to the Art Guides, and YWCAs in Tokyo and Kyoto have begun similar programmes for the sight impaired.

The programme, which is based in Chengdu, provides three months training at a well-respected vocational school that specialises in cooking. The participants spend the day learning Sichuan Style cooking and continue the regular syllabus for the nine years of compulsory schooling in the evenings. Targeting Tibetan orphans from the “Home for Youth” in Shiqu County, the YWCA seeks to enable these young people to overcome the disadvantages they face as orphans and ethnic minorities. Statistically, these young people are headed to an adulthood marked by unemployment and poverty. The YWCA is providing opportunities to learn new skills that will help them beat the odds and achieve economic independence.

Speaking at the World YWCA headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Ms Wagura shared insights gained through 17 years of working to improve the situation for women and their families affected by HIV in Kenya. As cofounder of KENWA, Ms Wagura’s mission has been to ensure that nobody experiences the same stigma and isolation she faced when she tested positive.

Despite the significant effort still required to meet the needs of people testing positive, Ms Wagura believes her country is making progress: ‘people now talk about it and how you can get HIV, stigma has gone down and families accept their own who test positive.’ KENWA has a membership of over 4000 positive women and extends a helping hand to well over 400,000 women and their families. With the support of many volunteers KENWA provides support and counselling, access to treatment, food assistance and income generation training to those in need. Ms Wagura says, “We tell those we help, if KENWA has helped you to live one more day, you must do the same for someone else.” Ms Wagura reports that the system works well, as positive women are anxious to help others when they have been empowered to live productive, hopeful lives. She says, “People often come to me and say Asunta I no longer need you to provide food for me. I am able to take care of myself now and I can also provide food for two orphans.”

After sharing her personal testimony Ms Wagura, who had been told she had 6 months to live after testing positive in 1988, said “Don’t feel too sad for me. I am alive. I am here, and I am doing what needs to be done.”

Young Women attending the centre will have a chance to gain recognised qualifications and hopefully move on to a job and career. They will also be able to get information on sex education, staying safe, challenging abuse, as well as having the opportunity to be themselves and have fun.

YWCA Kirkby provides programmes on personal development and alternative education for young women not in mainstream education.

The new centre, opening in October 2005, will offer a firm foundation for expanding the YWCA's essential work to develop young women.

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Notes to Editors
1. For further information please contact Lin Beekar, Media Officer at YWCA, on 01865 304228 or e-mail lin.beekar@ywca.org.uk

2. YWCA England & Wales is the leading charity working with young women facing poverty, discrimination or abuse. In a safe environment, we support young women to learn new skills, finish their education and improve their health and self-esteem. YWCA runs 150 programmes for young women from centres in England and Wales

With nearly 2.2 billion of the world’s population under the age of 18, Alliance members and UNICEF recognise the importance of strengthening young people’s capacity to meet life challenges and make a positive impact on their communities. A fact made even more striking with that an estimated 87 per cent of the world’s adolescents living in countries affected by poverty, hunger, disease and violence.

The document identifies principles and barriers in promoting meaningful participation of children and young people in decision-making processes, and offers guidelines for creating a more conducive environment. It draws on the extensive experience of the YWCA in preparing young women for leadership and the work of other Alliance members in supporting young people to fully participate in society. The document appeals to individuals and institutions to rise to the challenge of facilitating youth participation and offers concrete actions to be taken at regional and country levels. Email communications@worldywca.org to order your copy.

‘Women from all sectors of society must mobilise in response to the AIDS epidemic that has already taken the lives of millions of our sisters worldwide. Business leaders can bring significant expertise and resources to the fight against AIDS. By forming strategic partnerships with NGOs and making long term sustainable commitments, businesses can make a difference,” said Dr Kanyoro in the lead up to the meeting.

BWI was founded in 2004 to help reverse the trend of increasing HIV infections among women. BWI links women business leaders with successful ongoing HIV/AIDS initiatives that target women and girls, including YWCA programmes in 67 countries. BWI aims to leverage the private sector's extensive resources and networks to strengthen these efforts to empower women and girls to protect themselves from infection. BWI was created by Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and President of Ireland, and Dr. Mary Ann Leeper, President of the Female Health Company. The World YWCA serves on the BWI Steering Committee.

Working with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the YWCA of Belarus has also published a guide for organisations working to address the issue of trafficking. Both publications are based on the YWCAs extensive work to prevent trafficking of women and assist survivors, and are available in Russian from the YWCA of Belarus at ywcabelarus@telecom.by .

The dinner aimed to raise funds for the YWCA of Auckland’s Future Leaders programme. Future Leaders is

a unique YWCA mentoring programme designed to provide ‘community parenting’ to young women who show potential in leadership but, due to their circumstances, are unlikely to achieve at a high level unless early support is given.

Visit the 2005 Leading Women Dinner photo gallery.