The Be Foundation and the Directorate of Gender Affairs for Antigua and Barbuda announced a two-year initiative aimed at advancing gender equality and tackling gender-based violence in the sister-isle. Dubbed “Big Love Buda”, the effort will introduce parallel services to those offered to survivors of gender-based violence in Antigua, all while engaging Barbudans in positive, community empowerment initiatives.
The partnering agencies expressed enthusiasm in announcing that the project will introduce services never offered on the island of Barbuda, while providing the community with the opportunity to shape how those services will be administered.
Tamara Huggins of The Be Foundation noted, “We are talking about an issue that no community in the world is immune to. What we have before us is a unique opportunity to come together as Barbudans to define how we will address it, and how we will use our unity as our strength as we continue to rebuild Barbuda to the island we hope for it to be. That is what Big Love Buda is all about.”
Executive Director of the Directorate of Gender Affairs, Farmala Jacobs, told the attendees that her division knew too well that those impacted by gender-based violence often suffer in silence, and how difficult it is for any community to come together to address this problem. “We have worked diligently to ensure that women and men who come forward indicating that they have been victimised or abused receive the response, care, and treatment they need. We know how important it is for the police, health services, social services and justice sector to work in tandem to protect people’s rights and respond when these incidents occur. Barbuda deserves to have the same structure in place, and as you work together in empowering and supporting each other, we look forward to partnering with you in doing so.”
The organisers emphasised that Big Love Buda will feature a number of activities where the focus is not squarely placed on gender-based violence, but also on empowering youth, meeting the needs of women and girls, and men and boys, and spreading a message of respect, togetherness, trust, respect, and love, hence the initiative’s name: a play on the abbreviation of “Barbuda” derived by the island’s locals.
The launch featured panelists who all spoke to the positive impact the initiative will have in Barbuda. Ms. Jenita Cuffy, Institutional Strengthening Lead for the initiative and Ms. Annette Henry, Campaign Strategy Lead, represented The Be Foundation, while Ms. Farmala Jacobs and Mr. Jamie Saunders, Programme Officer and Men and Boys Partner spoke on behalf of the Directorate of Gender Affairs. Ms. Tulip Nicholas, a community partner who will lead engagements with youth, spoke to the initiative as a Barbudan on the ground.
Over the course of the initiative, The Be Foundation and Gender Affairs will lead training for Victim Advocates, faith-based leaders, health and social services providers, and police officers stationed in Barbuda. The project will also feature youth-led projects that encourage young people to articulate what they hope to see for Barbuda’s future, through music and the arts. As has been the focus of community mobilisation efforts since the passing of Hurricane Irma, the project will feature community clean-ups, sporting events, prayer nights, and other opportunities for Barbudans to collectively engage in the island’s healing and rebuilding. With male focal points who will be working specifically with the male population, the partners hope that Barbudan men and boys will come together to discuss their needs and issues in a gender-responsive way.
After Hurricane Irma devastated the island of Barbuda in September 2017, and Gender Affairs began meeting with members of the community to identify needs throughout the rebuilding process, the division approached the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for support to address gender issues in Barbuda in a way that met the island’s unique situation in the post-Irma context. With two-years of support secured from CDB, and the coordinating assistance of the Project Implementation Management Unit (PIMU) of the Ministry of Public Works, Gender Affairs approached The Be Foundation to advance a special initiative for Barbuda that would be community-led and community-driven.
While the organisers anticipate the impact of this initiative extending well beyond its two-year cycle, Big Love Buda officially runs from January 2020 to December 2022.
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