Our History
“Women Pathfinder as the name implies was established in 2004 as a Women and Children right organization to help women and children find purpose in life through achieving a gender equal and equitable world for Women, Girls and Youth.
The organization started off as African Women in Diaspora Organization (AWODO), which served as an umbrella body for women organizations from 17 African countries in The Gambia. AWODO had a vision to embody and collaborate closely with African organizations in diaspora, to amplify the voices of these women from different backgrounds but as a unified voice to enact Change.
During that time, there was a grey area and blind spot towards campaigns that had to do with women’s right and empowerment in The Gambia, so AWODO saw the need to come together as a body, instead of working as separate agents for change with little to no recorded success. We represented these women associations in all spheres and worked closely to bring to the fore challenges AFRICAN women were facing respectively in Local and international forums, while implementing a lot of women empowerment projects. Shadowing these organizations AWODO had its first international recognition and observers’ status with the African Union in 2007 in Ghana.
Looking at the Paradigm shift with the SDG’s and recorded progress AWODO decided to break the body and stand alone as an entity not just for promotion and protection but as a diversly integrated Organization for Women, Children and The Youth, hence the name was changed from AWODO to WOPA.
WOPA was founded by a phenomenal human rights activist who spent her early years as a passion driven advocate for women rights in London, United Kingdom. She was always of the opinion that women’s rights are human right and thus should be respected and treated with utmost concern. After spending a number of years in the west, she thought it beneficial to use her voice in her continent where the need to address the behaviors and practices violating the fundamental, socio-economic, physical as well as the Sexual and reproductive health rights of women and Children was greater and more prevalent.
During earlier years of establishment WOPA was focused on violations involving sexual and reproductive health rights which includes all forms of SGBV’S- Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Child/Forced Marriages and rape. WOPA formed close working relationships with Government agencies that worked against child sex trafficking, prostitution And Trafficking in persons as this was the organizations core mandate.
WOPA’s core values has been committed to the Promotion and Protection of Women and Youth Psychosocial, Fundamental, Political, Educational, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights through advocacy, sensitization, awareness creation, capacity building, reintegration, counselling and rehabilitation.
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