The Journeys of Courage booklet is a celebration of the courage, creativity, and determination that have defined the We Lead program. Within these pages are stories of young women who challenged stigma, reimagined possibilities, and turned advocacy into lasting action for SRHR. Each story is a seed, a future transformation that has been planted in policies, movements, and communities across nine countries. Together, these seeds tell a larger story of collective power, resilience, and progress.
We lead and the SRHR landscape
Over five years, We Lead has contributed to tangible and lasting change in the SRHR landscape. Across nine countries, rightsholders and partners have driven policy changes that advance inclusion and equity, from influencing national SRHR strategies to securing recognition of the rights of young women in their diversities. Our investment in capacity strengthening has empowered rightsholders to lead their own advocacy, research, and movement-building. Many have transitioned from being recipients of services to becoming recognized leaders, trainers, and policy influencers in their communities and beyond.
Alongside this, We Lead has contributed to shifting narratives, replacing stigma and silence with stories of resilience, leadership, and possibility. We Lead’s journey has also sparked key innovations in SRHR advocacy. From creative arts-based awareness campaigns, feminist leadership models, and digital learning tools, to inclusive resources like sign language SRHR dictionaries. These approaches not only strengthened advocacy but also set new standards for how SRHR can be made truly inclusive.
Acknowledgements
The Journeys of Courage booklet is a result of the collective vision, passion, and dedication of many individuals and organizations who have walked this journey with us. To the young women rightsholders: your courage lit the path, your voices stirred the winds of change. To our Host Organizations, and Community of Action (CoAs): you nurtured the soil where these seeds could grow. To every hand that wrote, photographed, designed, and dreamed: you gave this story its colors.
Our immense gratitude to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who funded the We Lead program under the SRHR Partnership Fund, which is part of the Strengthening Civil Society subsidy framework. Without your support, these stories of change would not have been possible. Many thanks to our consortium partners: Positive Vibes, Restless Development, Marsa, FEMNET, and the Central American Women’s Fund. Your support and thoughts contributed to changing the lives of hundreds of women in the countries we intervened in. To the team at Hivos, the lead consortium partner: thank you for your tireless efforts that ensured the program was implemented seamlessly. To M&C Saatchi World Services, thank you being our much-valued technical partner.
