Meet the women transforming their communities

Corus Changemaker Pabanbati Chaudhary is a member of a women’s mat weaving cooperative in the Tilathikoiladi municipality of eastern Nepal. The cooperative has not only transformed women’s confidence and independence, but it has a long-reaching economic impact. Pabanbati was able to earn enough income to buy a house and pay for her children’s education.

In Nepal, Corus organization Lutheran World Relief has worked to improve women’s access to markets, strengthened fundamental business management and planning skills, improved women’s access to credit, and assisted women to formalize and register their enterprises. After being trained by Lutheran World Relief, Papanbati’s cooperative began selling higher quality mats at increased prices, allowing the women to transform their families’ lives. Before the cooperative, it was believed that women’s work was exclusively in the home. Pabanbati never dreamed she could run a business or speak up publicly. But now, she can’t wait to scale up the business even further.

Corus Changemaker Dr. Gisèle Lowa Asele is a reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNACAH) program coordinator in the DRC. She is advancing women’s leadership and addressing preventable deaths of mothers and babies through the Essential Services for Maternal and Child Health (SEMI) project.

In the DRC, Corus organization IMA World Health implements the SEMI project in all health zones of Kasaï province. By strengthening the health system and supporting maternal and child health, we work to reduce social inequities in access to health care. The project is funded by UK aid from the UK government and managed under the direction of IMA World Health in partnership with the government of DRC and with local implementing partner SANRU. Thanks to such partnership and the dedication of providers like Dr. Gisèle, women’s voices and needs are being addressed in the health system.

Corus Changemaker Tetyana Medvid is our gender-based violence (GBV) and protection specialist in Ukraine where she works to connect Ukrainians with critical humanitarian assistance, psychological support and more.

In responding to the complex humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, Corus filled health care gaps with a mobile clinic, providing health and psychological support and referring patients to additional services. To address critical housing, service and food needs, we supported sanitoriums for more than 15,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Corus ensured that protection and GBV prevention and mitigation mechanisms were mainstreamed throughout our response. With Tetyana’s expertise, we strengthened the capacity of our own teams and partners as well as other humanitarian stakeholders and ensured the affected population had clear referral pathways. We continue to accompany Ukrainians as they lead their own recovery efforts.

Corus Changemaker Elsa Ospino Martin is an agronomist for Lutheran World Relief who is dedicated to breaking gender barriers in cacao production and promoting sustainable livelihoods in Peru.

In the VRAEM region of Peru, one the country’s poorest and the epicenter for coca production, Corus organization Lutheran World Relief employs an innovative market systems approach with the Qori Warmi cooperative. By strengthening the resilience of the cooperative and advancing cacao as an alternative crop in the region, Elsa is committed to advancing women’s leadership and promoting community resilience.