MADRE

MADRE, Spanish for the word mother, is an organization created, advised, and sustained by women. By 2010, MADRE boasted a membership of over 25,000 and thus functions as a strong international political force. MADRE's slogan, “Demanding rights, resources and results for women worldwide,” supports the mission of “advancing women's human rights by meeting immediate needs and building lasting solutions for communities in crisis,” as advertised on the MADRE Website. The organization examines, in particular, U.S. foreign policy and how it affects women and children around the world.

In 1983, a group of Nicaraguan women invited some American women to witness their war-dominated lives. Nicaraguan women, ceaselessly threatened by the Contra War, sought help from the United States because the United States helped fund the Contra militias and was thus partly responsible for the violence in Nicaragua during the early 1980s. Unsettled and shocked by what they witnessed, some of the women who had visited Nicaragua founded MADRE and vowed to educate Americans about the ramifications of U.S.-sponsored policies throughout the world and how those policies affected women who found themselves ravaged by war and its accompanying violence. Since the organization's inception in the early 1980s, MADRE has assisted women in countries including Mexico, Pakistan, Lebanon, Haiti, Colombia, Cuba, Kenya, and many others.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, MADRE has increased efforts to combat problems affecting women around the world. MADRE prides itself on not opening new offices in the countries in which it supports projects; instead, the countries receiving assistance from MADRE build their own programs and thus sustain and expand existing efforts into successful organizations that also champion the rights of women. The organization does provide relief and protection in critical situations; once any urgency has been addressed, MADRE encourages women to work toward change.