The NEED.
A commitment to enhancing the wellbeing of women is needed because across nations and cultures women and girls experience violations of their human rights and significant gender disparities remain. Women’s empowerment is a pre-condition for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which chart an ambitious global development agenda for 2015-2030. Empowerment involves individuals setting their own agendas, gaining skills (or having their skills and knowledge recognised), increasing self-confidence, solving problems and developing self-reliance.

An estimated 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner in their lifetime. Women and children in the South Pacific experience some of the highest rates (57%) of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the world. In Papua New Guinea an estimated two thirds of women are subjected to physical or sexual violence. There is evidence that abusive behaviour is likely to be passed down through families and that living in a violent environment affects children emotionally and physically and impacts their behaviour and schooling.

The PROJECT.
SHINE is a 6-9 week personal development curriculum tool designed to equip individuals with skills to live an empowered and productive life. The curriculum explores three universal concepts – worth, strength and purpose.

SHINE is committed to seeing every individual increase understanding of their intrinsic value and significance. Individuals who go through the program increase confidence, self-esteem and emotional intelligence. They identify strengths, develop decision-making and problem-solving skills and are mobilised to make decisions that will enhance their quality of life such as pursuing healthy relationships, engaging in further study or gaining employment.

SHINE is implemented in schools, churches, correctional centres, hospitals, Indigenous and rural communities, and women’s shelters. The Colour Sisterhood seeks to support SHINE in reaching women in the Pacific Island region. SHINE has been facilitated in Papua New Guinea and plans are underway to develop and roll out the program further, with a focus on women who have experienced abuse.

A Great REPORT.
In Palermo, Italy, a group of 45 women attended training on SHINE, facilitated by the SHINE London team and using manuals translated into Italian with the support of the Colour 500 project. The training outlined the purpose of SHINE and what it means to help women discover their worth, strength, and purpose. Many women who attended the training were inspired to become SHINE facilitators. One young woman shared her story with the team. She shared that on the previous day she’d had suicidal thoughts. She had felt something inside her say to wait until after the SHINE training. “Just wait for Shine, just wait for Shine,” she kept telling herself and persevered until the training day. The training reminded her of the journey of discovering her own worth and value and she made the decision to not end her life! Following the training, connections were made with two schools and SHINE received coverage through a prominent media outlet. Further training is planned in both the North and South of Italy.

Local Church AWARENESS.
If you are part of a local church please be mindful of your local church vision and be sure to graciously submit and share your heart with those in leadership in your life. We believe we should see this as an ‘above and beyond’ endeavour that has the capacity to reach out and build bridges into our unchurched communities and ultimately be a blessing.

Our RESPONSE.
PRAY for women participating in SHINE to discover their personal worth, resilience and purpose. Pray for courses facilitators to have wisdom to invest into the lives of the individuals participating in the program.

FUNDRAISE.
Check out our handy little tips on various ways to raise funds. Please see the financial guidelines document online for more practical information. Please note that if a project is completed we reserve the right to transfer any excess funds to another project.

THE DETAILS
$500 AUD can provide SHINE kits and training into regions that have had no access to this message of value (SHINE) in the Pacific Islands.

£500 can provide can provide SHINE kits and training into regions that have had no access to this message of value (SHINE) in the Pacific Islands.

€500 can provide can provide SHINE kits and training into regions that have had no access to this message of value (SHINE) in the Pacific Islands.

R500 can provide can provide SHINE kits and training into regions that have had no access to this message of value (SHINE) in South Africa

$500 USD can provide SHINE kits and training into regions that have had no access to this message of value (SHINE) in the Pacific Islands.

TELL US YOUR STORY
Send us an email at [email protected] as we would love to hear about how you did it!