Project Grants - Who We Are - Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada

Generous donations made through the World Day of Prayer have enabled WICC, the Canadian coordinator, to fund a variety of programs and initiatives in Canada and around the world which speak to the Council’s four areas of focus and priority: justice, women’s issues, ecumenism and the growth of women’s spirituality.

In fact, we are pleased to report that well over half a million dollars has been granted by WICC to 160 organizations for projects that benefit women and children around the world and here in Canada from WDP offerings over the past 6 years. To learn more about our WDP 2007 grant recipients click here.

Grant applications are to be received in our office no later than March 1st of each year.

From the least coins collected around the world, more than $1 million has been granted by the International Committee of the Fellowship of the Least Coin (ICFLC) to projects that benefit women and children around the world. Close to $200,000 in FLC offerings in Canada over the past 7 years has been contributed to the global FLC fund by WICC. Grants are issued to a number of project areas: literacy, health, social justice, education, leadership development and disaster relief. Click here to learn more about the 2007 FLC grant recipients.

As WICC is the coordinator of the Fellowship of the Least Coin program in Canada, requests for FLC grants are made thorough our office. For additional information, contact our office directly.

Gifts in Action – WICC Project Highlight

Iziko lo Lwazi Craftworkers, Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

This non-profit organization provides employment and education for women living in Cape Town’s Imazamo Yethu informal settlement. It began as an adult literacy program, offering free English lessons in the library. Learning is a luxury when families need food so this project was developed to enable students to earn while learning.

The Xhosa women chose papermaking as their project. Raw materials – waste paper from the local recycling centre and Spanish reeds were freely available and easy to come by and the equipment needed in the early stages was minimal. A large tin bath was purchased, frames were donated, a pounding stick was unearthed in the wood pile and the project was underway.

The project has since moved to the local Community Cultural Centre where the women now make a wide range of hand-made papers, cards, beadwork and gifts which are sold locally and at several overseas outlets. They also have a website at www.izikoll.co.za

Iziko lo Lwazi Craftworkers have received support from the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada in 2007.

The organization profiled above has received project funding from WICC grants funded by money donated to the World Day of Prayer. For more information on these projects, click here.