Voice of Change

Voice of Change is a widow-centric curriculum that seeks to unpack the difficult experiences of widowhood and enable widowed women to design and implement social change projects that can bring meaningful improvement in their lives. Voice of Change incorporates narrative Bible study methods that give women the tools for critical analysis of their Bible and their lived experiences. The series of studies that Nyanam has crafted are used to help build the leadership capacity of the widows, and amplify their voices from their communities to their government.

Curriculum Themes

Every six months the widows focus on a different topic. In 2020 the widows chose “home options” and “widow inheritance” as their first two topics for the initial training. After the training, these topics are central to conversations in the widows’ leadership circles. For future themes, the widows have outlined around twenty topics which have come from conversations among themselves and with Nyanam since 2017 in the realms of faith, relationships, family, and land.

Voice of Change Pilot

In 2020, we piloted the first study of the Voice of Change curriculum in a three-day training in which we explored the concept of home for widows. Beginning with a thought provocative question, “Where is a widow’s home upon a husband’s death,” the widows discussed the “home options” they have, the advantages and disadvantages they face with each home option they choose, and what influences their decisions for home. They also considered how their homes are viewed and treated in the community and what can be done to improve their home situations.

Home Options

Together we learnt how the idea and place of “home” is a significant and life changing experience for many widows. Home might be where widows remain single in their matrimonial home, or opt for widow inheritance, migrate to a new place away from matrimonial home, or officially remarry and find a new husband. Although some researchers and public health professionals object to this idea due to the risk of HIV/AIDS, some widows find widow inheritance preferable to remaining single. 

Widow Inheritance

Widow inheritance, or ter, can contribute to the spread of HIV, but this is not necessarily the fault of the widows themselves, and can be more attributed to “serial widow inheritors”: men who inherit multiple widows and have sexual relations with multiple people and increase the spread of HIV.

Other studies in this curriculum include remarriage, safety at work, access to justice, self and social perception, and many others. The curriculum brings to light core issues that widows face and provide the widows with opportunity to change the narrative and experiences surrounding these issues.