On today’s episode of HERO, the last show of the season, we look at how a Women for Women International program in the Democratic Republic of Congo worked with families to try to overcome longstanding cultural barriers to women owning land. We hear from a mother, father, and son who participated in this program. Also, Women for Women International’s country director in the DRC, Rachel Boketa, explains how this project attempted to change men’s and boy’s opinions about female property ownership. Special thanks to Francis Shok Mweze, who acted as our field producer for this segment.  

Boketa's program was supported with a grant from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. The U.S. currently gives more money to international development than any other country in the world, largely through USAID.

In the second part of the episode, host Reena Ninan talks to Isobel Coleman, the deputy administrator of USAID. Coleman explains why the Biden administration is doubling funding towards gender programming and how USAID plans to invest that financing. This conversation first took place at Foreign Policy’s Her Power Summit, an annual gathering all about women’s leadership. 

Finally, we are conducting a listener survey to better understand what you like about the podcast and what else you’d like to hear in future episodes. All participants in the survey who provide their email will be placed in a raffle to win a $25 Amazon gift card. To participate, follow the survey link below. Thank you very much for your time and feedback. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/heropodcast

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