Njoki Ng'ang'a (3rd from left) and the US women's delegation meets with Huda Ben Amer (3rd from right) Secretary of Women's Affairs, General People's Congress of the Libyan Arab Jamarihiya

Late in the fall of 2009, IOWD Executive Director, Barbara Margolies, received an invitation to join a delegation of US women scholars and activists in discussing women's human rights in Libya, hosted by al-Fateh University, the leading institution of higher learning there. Busy with preparations to visit Kigali, Rwanda during the same week in January 2010 to look into starting a fistula program at the request of US Ambassador, Stuart Symington, Barbara designated Njoki Ng'ang'a, Director of Nursing, to represent IOWD in Libya. In two short days, the US women's delegation met with senior government officials as well as women in academia, health care and the military to hold talks aimed at raising awareness about Libyan women and their claim to human rights. IOWD is proud to have participated in this inaugural effort to establish a long lasting relationship with Libyan women as Libya seeks to rebuild her image and unite with the international community.