Category: Newsletter
Review: Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, Maclehose Press 2020
(First published in Russian by Folio, Moscow, in 2018). Translated by Boris Dralyuk. This unusual and delightful novel by Kurkov, a Russian-born Ukrainian, follows many others. He is probably best known in Britain for his satirical novel Death and the Penguin. All of them are humorous but with a hard edge. Grey Bees, which is …
Project report: family relationships without violence
Grantee: Bonuvoni PyanjProject: Raising awareness of domestic violence within communities in Pyanj province Implementation of Tajikistan’s State Programme for the Prevention of Domestic Violence for 2014-23 depends on cooperation between the Committee for Women and the Family; the state structures for education, healthcare and internal affairs; the Commission for Children’s Rights, and public organisations. The CSO Bonuvoni Pyanj, in cooperation with the district branch of the Committee for Women and the …
BEARR Newsletter, June 2021
23 June 2021 Dear friends and colleagues, In this edition we are delighted to share with you the winners of our 2021 Small Grants Scheme, as well as those of our 30th anniversary photography competition. We bring news of a partnership with Luke Grenfell-Shaw as part of his tandem bike journey from “Bristol to Beijing” raising …
An ordinary story of a simple village woman
June 2021 Read the inspiring account of a woman who was once a beneficiary of NGO Bonuvoni Pyanj’s support services and now gives talks and provides training to other volunteers at the organisation. Bonuvoni Pyanj, Tajikistan, received a grant in 2020 for a project focusing on raising awareness of domestic violence within 10 communities in …
Women in a man’s world
Pippa Ebel joined Luke Grenfell-Shaw for the Azerbaijan leg of his tandem ride from Bristol to Beijing, staying in various communities and visiting charities on the way, including 2017 and 2020 BEARR grantee, the Centre for Women in the Modern World. A full account of Pippa’s experiences can be found on Luke’s blog at “A country …
BEARR’s 2021 Small Grants Scheme: Results
In 2021 BEARR’s Small Grants Scheme sought applications from across the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region for projects to “reduce the social isolation of people living with disadvantage”, an issue which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We did not specify the beneficiaries: instead, applicants were asked to describe the problems faced by the …
Young people leaving care in Russia
Charlie Walker, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Southampton and BEARR Trustee June 2021 Young people leaving care are amongst the most vulnerable members of any society. Compared with the wider youth population, they are at significantly greater risk of educational failure, unemployment, homelessness, poor mental and physical health, and involvement in prostitution …
Project report: women’s entrepreneurship
Promising potential for economic development Grantee: “Nurjolber”, KyrgyzstanProject: to raise awareness of domestic violence in Naryn province through support for entrepreneurship and small business development Global trends are showing a steady growth in women’s entrepreneurship. Despite having played a major role in creating jobs and improving social wellbeing, its development still faces great challenges in …
Project report: women for good governance
Grantee: NGO Center, Armenia Project: To promote gender-balanced, needs-responsive local government in targeted communities by establishing a participatory model. The programme “Women for good governance”, supported by the BEARR Trust Small Grants Scheme, was implemented by the NGO Center in Armenia. The programme was launched in May 2020. It aimed to promote gender-balanced and needs-based local self-government in target communities through the development of a community-based participatory model. It …
Project Report: Empowering women in rural Georgia
Grantee: Partnership for Education and Communication, Georgia Project: Strengthening the position of rural women through public and economic participation Despite positive legislative and policy frameworks concerning gender equality in Georgia, women still face significant challenges in terms of participation in local decision-making processes, especially those women living in rural areas. Partnership for Education and Communication (PEC) has responded this challenge in several ways, by providing training, networking, and mentoring opportunities to the most marginalised and under-served women in rural communities. The project, supported by the BEARR TRUST, aimed to support rural women’s public participation and economic empowerment using the innovative …
