One of our most important programs in the Mathare Valley is the Women Economic Empowerment Program – an initiative aimed at helping impoverished single mothers to set up their own businesses.
Like much of Africa and the developing world, there is not only an unemployment crisis, but also significant gender disparities in education and employment. Men are more likely to advance through the education system, learn employable skills and gain employment or become self-employed. While the employability of girls is already reduced because they are less likely to continue to secondary school and college, there is also a culture of early marriage in the community. With women lacking employable skills, they become mothers and devote their time to raising their families. In the case that they become single mothers; their financial situation becomes severe – the burden falls to them to support their children financially. Single mothers struggle to pay for food, clothing, rent, let alone the school fees. While education in Kenya isn’t free, it is one of the most important factors in breaking the poverty cycle. It is vital that children attend school so that they have the best chance at improving the economic and social conditions in the community and for generations to come.
The Light and Hope Initiative set up the Women Economic Empowerment Program to help ease this burden on single mothers. The aim behind helping them to set up businesses is to grant them long term independence and a stable income. The program helps these women to break into the economic sector as self-employed business owners.
Our mentors help the women who are eligible for the program to identify and nurture their skills and strengths. The women are trained in areas like hairdressing and beauty, cooking and baking, tailoring and cloth making, and detergent making. In addition, they are taught literacy, finance and basic business skills in order to make them truly self-sufficient and independent. To provide our mentees with the best support, we engage experts to offer their guidance and mentorship in their chosen field. We also provide the necessary materials and resources needed to ensure high quality training. Our mentors offer support and guidance to the women throughout their enrollment in the program and afterwards when they become alumni following their graduation. The program facilitates them in expansion and development by improving their access to resources like microloans and market connections.
Our program not only helps women to cement themselves in society as female business owners and entrepreneurs, but also serves as motivation to other women and young girls. The program has the power to change the social landscape of Mathare by proving that women are capable of learning the skills necessary to become successful in the economic sector. So far, at the Light and Hope Initiative, we have helped 30 women through the program, witnessing positive transformations in their financial well-being and overall quality of life.
With support from our donors, we hope to increase the representation of women in the economic sector and to continue to provide life changing support to the Mathare community.
