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Welcome to International Human Relief Canada

Women & Youth

Gender Equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance – Kofi Annan

Nearly half of the world’s population are women and children under the age of 16, yet they are the most vulnerable among us. Women and youth are not just the faces of poverty, they are the key to overcoming it.

Every child has the right to see its potential. But for girls and women everywhere, that potential is cut short by discrimination and inequality. Our focus on working with women represents ‘gender equality’, to dismantle the barriers to women’s progress. Our widow’s program is exclusively designed to empower women and women head families.

The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. The mission of our organization is to mobilize resources to improve and sustain the quality of life for all people in need, by providing upliftment, relief and rehabilitation. We see the gap in services for youth in identifying their needs, bridging opportunities and shaping their careers. We at IHRC foresee the potential of our youth who are underprivileged and marginalized. We aim to empower them through our programs.

Did you know?

There are an estimated 258 million widows around the world, and nearly one in ten live in extreme poverty. (UN)

Poverty:

No access to credit or other economic resources, even for childcare or education.
No rights or limited rights, to inheritance or land ownership under customary and religious law.
Dependent on the charity of their husbands’ relatives.
Disowned by relatives and made homeless in countries like India, forcing many women to seek informal work as domestic labourers or turn to begging or prostitution.
In some cases, widows can become liable for the debts of a deceased spouse.

Violence:

Particularly across Africa and Asia, widows find themselves the victims of physical and mental violence, including abuse related to inheritance, land and property disputes.
Widows are coerced into participating in harmful, degrading and even life-threatening traditional practices as part of burial and mourning rites.

Health:

Poor nutrition, inadequate shelter and vulnerability to violence, combined with a lack of access to health care.

Conflict-related situations:

Vast numbers of women are widowed due to armed conflict in some parts of the world.

Widows struggle to care for themselves and their children in their own countries, refugee camps or countries of asylum.

Trauma during and after the conflict, suffering cruel and inhuman treatment. Widows may themselves be subject to discrimination or conflict-related violence.

https://www.un.org/en/observances/widows-day