Caritas Internationalis launches the Weavers of Hope award to help organizations empower women as sources of hope in their families, communities, and societies.
By Kielce Gussie
VATICAN CITY — On the heels of International Women’s Day on March 8, Caritas Internationalis launched their Weavers of Hope Award, “a ground-breaking grants initiative spotlighting the transformative work of women at the grassroots level.”
An award for builders of hope
Open to any and all organizations and projects that empower vulnerable women and girls, the Weavers of Hope Award was inspired partly by the Jubilee Year of Hope. As Stephanie MacGillivray, Senior Officer at Caritas Internationalis, explained the goal was “to reflect on how women build hope across the world in families, communities, and in society.”
Women in many parts of the world face limited access to education and opportunities and continue to be subjected to injustices like under-age marriages. In light of these “ongoing barriers that women continue to face,” MacGillivray highlighted that investing in women empowerment is essential because without resources it is impossible to achieve any progress.
The Weavers of Hope Award is meant to “kick start new projects, but on the other hand, also sustain projects which are ongoing already.” It follows a booklet Caritas Internationalis published last year, called Equality, Encounter, Renewal, focusing on the testimonies and good practices of their work to empower women. So, this Award became a way to “go from something which was sort of a resource and a bit theoretical really down to the practical” on the grassroots level.
Not something new, but celebrating the old
The award is a way to celebrate the initiatives that are already taking place all around the world. Four organizations or projects will be awarded the one-year grant at the end of 2025. “While it is only a one-year grant scheme, sometimes, you just need a small injection of funding or, resources and that can, really kick start something,” MacGillivray explained.
She underlined that this mission is nothing new: people, groups, and organizations globally are trying to showcase and empower women’s role in society and creating hope. But MacGillivray stressed that it is only through collaboration “and supporting other organizations who are also doing the same work as us and having shared goals, only then will we really achieve change for women.”
