Widows Might
Skill and business training that empowers widows to support their families paired with Bible teaching that give them eternal HOPE.
THE LIFE OF A WIDOW IS HARD
- Most of the time when a husband dies, his extended family comes and forcefully takes everything of value from the widow, often leaving her homeless.
- Widows often send their children to find work at young ages to help provide for the family.
- Many widows were victims of child marriage and never had the chance to attend school.
- The average age of our widows range from 20 years old to unknown (as many of our widows never knew their birthday).
Widows Needing Sponsorship
Joyce Moraa
MAS-WM2
Mashimoni Hope Center
Her husband's name was Andrew Ombura Chuma and he had a road accident and eventually passed away. They had been married for 22 years and had 7 children. They had a beautiful marriage until Joyce had an accident which really drained their finances. Andrew was a business man, but her sickness was challenging for his business. After Joyce recovered, Andrew had the road accident and died 3 months later. His family took the parcel of land that she had, which is the custom of that area. This land case is now in court, and she is frustrated that she can no longer provide for her children. She is ready to get trained to acquire skills for her sustainability.
Mashimoni is a section of Kibera, a slum in the heart of the capital of Nairobi. Kibera is the third largest slum in the world with over a million people living in a very small area. Life in Mashimoni is difficult, with most of its residents living in extreme poverty earning less than a dollar a day. Kibera is a maze of narrow, deeply rutted alleys lined with mud and corrugated metal houses. The majority living here lack the most basic services such as electricity, clean water and medical care. paid.
Mary Wanja
MAS-Wm4
Mashimoni Hope Center
Mary's husband was Gabriel Mutuku Mutua and he died of pneumonia. They had two children, both boys. They had a peaceful marriage until he died. Her in-laws frustrated her and she was chased away to go back to her family. Her mother-in-law, who was also a widow, stood up for her and Mary is staying with her to this date. They are taking care of each other because they need the support. Mary is determined to learn skills that can enable her to support herself and her mother-in-law.
Mashimoni is a section of Kibera, a slum within the heart of Nairobi. Kibera is the third largest slum in the world with over a million people living in a very small area. Life in Kibera is difficult, with most of its residents living in extreme poverty, earning less than a dollar a day. Kibera is a maze of narrow, deeply rutted alleys lined with mud and corrugated metal houses. The majority living here lack the most basic services such as electricity, clean water and medical care.
Beatrice Masista
MAS-WM5
Mashimoni Hope Center
Beatrice's husband was Thomas Otieno Hongo and was HIV positive and died in Kenyatta Hospital. They had been married for 24 years and had 5 children. Their marriage had a lot of problems and they had separated by the time he died. He did not take care of his responsibilities of the family and the children. The children lacked the proper education. After he died, his family has been good to her because of the children. Life has been hard on Beatrice. Her husband had never built a house, so she has no place to stay. She does casual jobs like washing clothes for others, but this is not enough to sustain her and her children. She is ready to learn new skills to be able to support herself and her family.
Mashimoni is a section of Kibera, a slum within the heart of Nairobi. Kibera is the third largest slum in the world with over a million people living in a very small area. Life in Kibera is difficult, with most of its residents living in extreme poverty, earning less than a dollar a day. Kibera is a maze of narrow, deeply rutted alleys lined with mud and corrugated metal houses. The majority living here lack the most basic services such as electricity, clean water and medical care.
Lilian Adhiambo
KIB-WM31
Kibera Hope Center
Lilian Adhiambo, from Kindebay, in Kibera Hope Center area became a widow in 2017 when her husband, Kennedy Otieno, passed away from throat cancer. He left her with six children including two girls and four boys. Her oldest daughter dropped out of high school in 1999. Her second child and third child are twin girls who finished high school in 2004. Her fourth child was in Grade 9 in 2010. Her fifth child is in Grade 6 and her sixth child, a boy, is in Grade 4.
After the burial of her husband, the extended family gave her humble time to mourn and up to now she is still in the home but there is no assistance, no one helps her even with school fees. She is all alone struggling with life, food for her family, rent and all the basics. This mama is really struggling. She has small business to keep her, but not much, as she is selling charcoal dust for a living. She is wanting to join the Widows Might program to give her more skills to help provide for her family.
Kibera is the name of an area located within the heart of the capital of Nairobi. It is the third largest slum in the world with over a million people living in a very small area. Life in Kibera is difficult, with most of its residents living in extreme poverty earning less than a dollar a day. Kibera is a maze of narrow, deeply rutted alleys lined with mud and corrugated metal houses. The majority living here lack the most basic services such as electricity, clean water and medical care.
Mable Vugusia
MAS-WM3
Mashimoni Hope Center
Mable and her husband, Rodgers Lung'afwa, had been married for 20 years. They had two children, a boy and a girl. Her husband had been sick for a long time, so she decided to take him home to try the traditional way of medication and, by bad luck, he passed away. His family took everything from her, as is the custom in that area. They frustrated her in every way, fought her out of the family, except for her church and the chief who has protected her. Since that day, she has not returned home. She is staying in Kibera with the grandchildren. She only does casual jobs for a living, but these days such jobs are scarce. She is a strong mama and is ready to acquire a skill to enable her to manager her family and life.
Mashimoni is a section of Kibera, a slum within the heart of Nairobi. Kibera is the third largest slum in the world with over a million people living in a very small area. Life in Kibera is difficult, with most of its residents living in extreme poverty, earning less than a dollar a day. Kibera is a maze of narrow, deeply rutted alleys lined with mud and corrugated metal houses. The majority living here lack the most basic services such as electricity, clean water and medical care.
Pamela Olesia
MAS-WM6
Mashimoni Hope Center
Pamela's husband was Mathew Onyango Odhiambo and he died from throat cancer. They had been married for 30 years and had 4 children. They had lived a difficult life in Nairobi, Kibera because they didn't have a home. Pamela has encountered a lot of problems and challenges, including the rent for her house, the school fees for her children and many other things. She is a strong and dedicated mama, she is committed to learning skills to be able to take care of her family.
Mashimoni is a section of Kibera, a slum within the heart of Nairobi. Kibera is the third largest slum in the world with over a million people living in a very small area. Life in Kibera is difficult, with most of its residents living in extreme poverty, earning less than a dollar a day. Kibera is a maze of narrow, deeply rutted alleys lined with mud and corrugated metal houses. The majority living here lack the most basic services such as electricity, clean water and medical care.
24 Months to Generational Hope
The Widows Might Program seeks to instruct, encourage, and empower destitute widows by providing food assistance each month, skills training they can turn into a business, and Bible teaching.
The cost of this program is $65 per month, and the length of the program for each sponsored widow is 24 months. At the end of the 24 months each widow receives a "Business in a Bag" that provides her all the tools she needs to run her own business. Our Maasai widows receive five goats to start their own self-sustaining goat herd and our Kibera widows receive a sewing machine. The impact of this program stretches beyond the widow herself, but allows her to support her children, send them to school and create a generational hope.
Skill Training
Five goats (Maasai Widows)
Sewing Machine
Monthly Food Assistance
Bible Study
Widows Might has proven to be highly effective in helping widows become completely self-supporting.
To date, 204 widows have graduated from our program with 85 currently enrolled.
Our graduated widows are able to afford homes for their families, put food on the table and send their children to school.
For every widow that we help, there are hundreds of other widows who also need assistance.