The Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women

Disadvantaged women world-wide are locked into a lifestyle of exploitation. The Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women, established in 1975, is trying to improve their lot through projects implemented on a village level. One such project in the Sahel is the introduction of a smoke-free, fuel-efficient wood stove for cooking. While reducing the time-consuming task of wood-gathering, it limits at the same time the severe environmental impact traditional cooking methods, where almost 90 percent of the heat is lost, have had on the drought-stricken area.
Madame Awa, an assistant at the UN Office for the Soudan-Sahelian Region, drinking water at the home of Mme Wedda, wife of a retired civil servant. In her company is an official of the Office for the Advancement for Women.