The Positive Deviance Approach

When a woman is empowered, a community is empowered. We strive to change the mindset of male predominant cultures by revealing the potential in a woman. Empowered women are able to contribute to the economic development of a community through their businesses and provide for the needs of their families. When a community realizes that a woman is able to help the household, they will begin to value women and respect the human rights of women. After empowering women with social entrepreneurship skills, Woman of Paradise will meet our goal of creating a path towards eliminating harmful cultural practices such as FGM (Female genital mutilation). This is because a woman will manage to convince her daughter that she can provide an education for her because she has financial stability. The cycle of poverty will also be broken because households will be able to meet their needs of food, shelter, and clothing.

We are also utilizing community role models in our network for aggressive advocacy on the issues that make women and girls vulnerable. Our team will provide young women and girls opportunities to embrace education and economic empowerment instead of “fitting” in the community by succumbing to harmful cultural practices. Our advocacy campaign will also focus on creative ideas that enable women and girls to undergo alternative rites of passage. To avoid being labeled culturally insensitive and cultural conflicts, our advocates invoke the health risks of harmful cultures particularly the physical complications related to pregnancy and child birth such us bleeding, infection and risk to the fetus and the mother. We educate people against their own ignorance with the hope that they will abandon the practice.

Our economic and social development program is coupled with a specific effort to empower women as well as persuading the community to embrace girl child education as an empowering tool. We specialize in income generating activities, health services and literacy training.