Building Blocks for Success

Over the last couple years, we’ve helped Maasai widows obtain their rightful land and learn important business skills. Last week, we went to Amboseli and the Kilimanjaro Highlands to meet with women from our first groups of the Hope for Widows program. We asked them the most impactful skills they learned in the program’s pilot, and there were two answers that were repeated: making a profit and becoming self-reliant. In spite of a devastating drought that carried into this year, these women managed to make enough money to cover their expenses, send their kids to school, and create a savings box, even during rapidly increasing inflation.

This might seem like a small feat, but its significance should not be overlooked. WILK Co-founder Joseph Larasha noted that these women look very different this year; specifically, they’re healthy. The widows are eating regularly, feeding their children and sending them to school, and building their businesses. One widow said, “My life is very different now. I am able to take care of my children and eat a meal every day.” Another widow said, “What more can I need?” It’s humbling to hear these reactions, and it shows us that the Hope for Widows program is impacting their lives—for the better.

Responding to Needs

We also asked the widows what they would do with a second grant. At first, the Kilimanjaro widows said they wanted to use the grants to buy more land. This is outside the requirements we have to receive the second grants; buying land, at this stage, would not help them increase business capital. These widows seemed to have missed the point.

We traveled down to meet them, anticipating a difficult talk where we crush their homesteading dreams. When we arrived, however, they had collectively changed their minds, noting that they could use the money in better, more profitable ways. After sharing their initial plans with us, they got together and had their own brainstorming session. Without our prompting, they realized their ambitions were off track and readjusted their hopes to better support what would be best. The fact that they came to this conclusion shows just how much they learned by participating in the program.

They received their second grants from us last week, this time for $100. With their businesses already off the ground, this cash infusion should help stabilize operations and take these ladies to the next level. We can’t wait to see what they do to further improve their businesses.

Hope for Those Without It

One widow named Koyiaso has certainly made the most of her new business skills. She decided to sell Maasai fabrics, which she purchases in Arusha, Tanzania, and then sells at various markets in Kajaido County. She will walk as far as 5-6 km (about 3.5 miles) to sell shukas and other garments. As a result of her efforts, she saved enough money to buy a fence that now surrounds her property.

One day, our team was driving to visit one of our boreholes when they saw a very small woman carrying a pack on her back about the size of her. They slowed down only to see that it was Koyiaso, making her daily commute. She was so excited for our team to see her putting her training into action. This is just one example of the success our widows are achieving.

Another mark of success has been a true Maasai favorite–baby goats. At the Goats and Grants Ceremony last year, three goats and $200 USD grants were distributed to the widows. In the past few weeks, many of the goats had babies. The widows have agreed to paying their good fortune forward by giving one of their baby goats to other women in need. They’ve learned to work hard, work together, and work towards autonomy.

They also have new goals they’d like to reach. When we asked what else they’d like to get out of the Hope for Widows program, they had some suggestions. A group bank account of their own was one. Another was a chance for field trips. We’ll continue to provide training and opportunities for these widows in order to help them have successful businesses.

What’s Next for the Widows

After distributing the second round of grants, we began meeting with the second round of widows in Ogulului to start their training. This time, we’ve chosen mostly young women (the average age is 30) who are recently widowed. These widows have younger children who are still dependent on them, and many have lost their husbands within the past couple years. They also are still dealing with the drought because it didn’t rain in Ogulului. Unlike the Kilimanjaro or Amboseli widows, some of these widows have been working as day laborers, hiring themselves out to build houses in other towns. Others have been building thorn-bush fences. Still others have been making beadwork and selling it at the market.

It’s also clear these younger widows are having difficult time processing their grief. It’s our hope that having a community of women who are dealing with the same issues will benefit them as they step out of the darkness of isolation and into the light of community. Already, this group shows great promise, resolve, and determination, characteristics needed to run successful businesses in the hard, semi-arid Kajiado bush.

We’ll be carrying out essential training session in August, culmination with the next Goats and Grants Ceremony on August 26 so that they can get started with their businesses as soon as possible. We’re forward to another successful, transformative year with this new group.

The post Widows Update: Hope, Part II appeared first on Water is Life Kenya.

Life for Maasai women has never been easy. Even now, many women will remain uneducated, marry young (without choosing who they will marry), bear an average of six children, have full responsibility of their household and family, and stay fixed in a cycle of poverty. Because Maasai value cattle more highly than women, this is not an easy cycle to break. That’s why we’ve developed several programs and services specifically for those who are most in need of help.

Specifically, WILK empowers women by teaching them skills to develop into business people and diversify their business opportunities. By switching away from a reliance on livestock—which, during a drought, causes tremendous challenges—our programs help women by giving them entrepreneurship skills and teaching them to work collaboratively. In this way, the cycle of poverty can be overcome and, one day at a time, women can be uplifted.

First Comes Water

The most direct way to help Maasai women is to bring the water to them. One of the daily duties for a woman is to collect enough water for the day. Water is used to clean bodies and clothes, prepare meals, make tea for guests, and feed the animals. But finding water is a problem in such an arid region. Often women must walk for hours just to find water, and then they have to turn around and carry it back to their settlement. Water is found in low-lying areas, so that journey home literally is an uphill climb.

Our WASH projects bring water to these women, saving them hours of time and labor. This gives women a chance to start their own businesses (more on that later) so that they can make and, more importantly, save money. Also, girls who used to accompany their mothers on these water-seeking trips have a better chance of going to school. The water collected from the boreholes is clean, which prevents water-borne diseases in people and their livestock and controls the spread of diseases through handwashing. Because “water is life” for the Maasai, we can help these women have a better quality of life by reducing their burdens.

Taking Ownership Through Building Businesses

Men in Maasai communities have been far from home with their cattle as they search for water during a three-year-long drought. Therefore, the onus of taking care of children falls on the women left behind. That includes paying both borehole and school fees. Widows have a more difficult time generating income since they’re at the bottom of the social totem pole. Fortunately, some women can build on Maasai cultural strengths, like livestock-keeping and beadwork. They also learn to think like business owners and generate more profit based on their location and circumstances.

We started our LAB (Livestock as a Business) program to help Maasai learn new strategies for raising livestock, including cows, goats, and sheep, and managing the drought cycle. We also provide loans and teach them to manage their money and create higher earnings. That money can be used to reinvest in more cattle as well as pay for education costs. We have trained more than 400 women in our LAB program, empowering many of them to own and manage their own livestock for the first time.

Maasai also have a tradition of making beaded handicrafts. Our artisans can make paper beads or glass-beaded jewelry, ornaments, and accessories. When we buy beads directly, artisans are paid upfront—they don’t need to wait for tourists to stop at their villages. When we sell beads on our website, the money goes back into future water projects and other programs we have to support women in Kenya.

We began the Hope for Widows Program specifically to help widows start businesses that help them pay for daily expenses they cannot afford. These businesses range from selling clothing and beads for tourists to preparing and selling food to people in their community. This provides widows with greater autonomy so that they aren’t begging for food and money like they used to do.

Special Cases

In spite of all the ways we try to help, we can’t overcome every obstacle. With a prolonged drought, Maasai women had more obstacles to overcome. Without water, people and animals can’t thrive. The search for water gets longer, which prevents women from generating income through business. Tourism stalls. Schools are empty. The cycle of poverty remains intact.

Until the seasonal rains come back, women still need our help. We’ve started the Special Faces, Special Cases sponsorship program to help as many women and children get through the drought. The best way out of poverty is through education, and donors can sponsor children by covering school expenses that Maasai women can’t afford. Eventually, those children will grow up with a renewed sense of self and purpose as well as knowledge they can use to rise out of poverty.

Women Helping Women

When we help women, we support each other. It doesn’t matter if those women live down the road or in Kajiado County. It’s important for us to empower each other in whatever ways we can. We at WILK will continue to think of new ideas that support Maasai women and encourage them to gain skills and gain confidence in order to improve their lives.

The post Women Helping Women: How WILK Empowers Women in Kenya appeared first on Water is Life Kenya.