2023 International Widows Day report
Nairobi dinner celebration
Nyanam widows during the dinner celebration
In June, we hosted two major events in marking International Widows' Day (IWD) 2023. The first event was our inagural celebration dinner of widows in Nairobi on 22nd June, the eve of International Widows Day. This dinner brought together 42 of Nyanam friends and served a triple purpose: to introduce the impactful work of Nyanam to a new audience in Kenya; to celebrate the remarkable widows who embody resilience and strength, and to raise funds to extend our support to more widows.
Our board Chair, Teddy Onserio, gave a powerful and inspiring speech, narrating the growth of Nyanam from 80 widows in 2019 to almost 800 in 2023. He thanked all our institutional partners for helping make our impact with widows possible.
We also thank our Chief Speaker Eva Muraya who beautifully described Nyanam as the “hummingbird” putting out the fire in the forest with her little beak. Eva encouraged the Nyanam widows at the event to be courageous, to grow their capability, to remain committed to their values and the values of Nyanam, to strive for excellence in all they do and to drive empathy and compassion for other widows, especially young and new widows.
We also thank our partner Onsite ICF for gold sponsorship of the celebration dinner.
23rd June KISUMU celebration
Nyanam widows during the 23rd #WidowsDay celebration
On 23rd June, we celebrated with 600 Nyanam widows. The event brought together a total of 50 guests and partners who celebrated the day with us. On this day, we offered FREE medical health screening, covering cervical cancer screening, family planning, HIV testing, fertility, TB screening, Malaria testing and other general services to widows.
70 widows received eye care services and 238 widows received legal aid services from our partners: KELIN, TI-Kenya, and FIDA.
During the event, 39 widows were awarded certificates of recognition and Nyanam branded mugs for their compassionate leadership and contribution towards improving the lives of fellow widows and their communities. All the 600 widows were gifted with 2 kg sugar and Women in the Window International blessed them all with WIW and Nyanam branded shopping bags.
