Our economic empowerment projects include business skills training, seed funding for businesses, cooperative business projects, and expert support for business mentorship. In our micro-business training sessions we seek to provide the tools and skills for widows to start sustainable agriculture and business ventures that meet their basic needs, provide a surplus for their income, and facilitate their economic independence. We have trained over 120 widows in micro-business techniques which has led to the creation of a “table banking” program which allows the women to pool their resources and borrow money from one another for micro-businesses. Nyanam has also began a “kitchen gardens” project which has improved food security, nutrition, and provided additional income for the widows and their families. 

Why economic initiatives?

Widows in Kisumu and globally face economical challenges as 4 in 10 of the 258 million widows in the world live in poverty and 1 in 10 live in extreme poverty. Globally, 70% of widows are the sole breadwinners in their families. Because of poverty, many widows are unable to adequately provide for their basic needs including access to healthcare. They are similarly unable to provide their children with secondary and tertiary education.