International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the strengths and accomplishments of women around the world. For me, the first person who came to mind was my grandmother, someone who decided after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 to fight for compensation of her Jewish grandfather's textile business that was taken away by the Nazi government. She did all this from Argentina, where she grew up and lives today, and though it took her nearly eight years to fight the case she and her cousins were finally compensated.

It is women like my grandmother who have paved the way for me to do the work I do now, and be involved in organizations like Project FOCUS.

Recently I spoke with my grandmother over skype. She called me from Buenos Aires to congratulate us on our worldview spot that she listened to after seeing it posted as my skype status. She shared how inspired she was by our project to bring Internet to a community in rural Uganda. We began to talk about the complexities of development work and activism, and I found myself connecting with her in a way I had not before.

So Happy International Women's Day, in honor of all our grandmothers and these beautiful moments that connect us.

Here is a video from the World Food Programme made especially for today: