However that being said, there are great joys in seeing positive change take place and one must never let despair or dissolutionment get one down. During our 6 years of working with The Ronnie Fund in Wongonyi Village, Ronnie has often felt discouraged when things do not go as planned or fellow villagers try to derail a project but a positive outlook and continued education can turn a project around.
The focus for 2012 International Development Week is Empowerment for Women and Girls and Sustainable Economic Growth. We know that women are the lifeblood of all economies worldwide - they are the ones who keep the families going. In the developing world it is women who work tirelessly to provide food, clothing and school fees for their children and it is women who are left to look after families when their husbands desert them after learning their partner has HIV/Aids (most often given to them by the husbands). These women, often considered widows, are left to fend for themselves often suffering abuse from their families by shunning and rape for those living in slum conditions. Recently we were given a special gift from Bracebridge United Church which allowed us to provide doors, windows and iron sheets for roofing for a church in Wongonyi that is building homes for widows. Kinandi, a mother who lives and supports two adult daughters and 4 grandchildren living in a one room windowless mud hut, cried with joy when she heard she was to be the recipient of new roofing. She has invited me to sleep at her new home on my next visit to Wongonyi Village. I am constantly amazed by the resiliency of these women. They seem to have an inner strength that I'm not sure I could possess. They continue day by day to provide what they can for their families.
Constance, one of our secondary school graduates is now taking computer courses while waiting for her acceptance into university.
For girls, it can be just as difficult as they are often the last to be supported by the families for secondary school education. If a family can't afford their fees, they will send them out to work or marry them off at a young age keeping them in a perpetual cycle of poverty. We are doing our best to keep girls in school for we know that education is the only way to break out of poverty. Our Sere Girls Club is providing an opportunity for 30 girls in Wongonyi Village, Kenya to meet for educational, spiritual and emotional guidance along with a mentoring program and training in leadership skills. We have seen girls blossom under this program.
Some of the women of Jitolee Crafts group - empowering women who advocate about HIV/Aids
Finally sustainable economic growth is the key to improving women's lives and that of their families. Through our Microfinance program we have been able to provide small loans to women to help them expand their businesses. This has provided them with increased income to supply their families with the basic necessities of life. A key component of our Microfinance program is training in business skills so they can continue to expand and improve their businesses. We also support women's groups like Jitolee Crafts, a group of 15 HIV positive women living in Kiberia Slums of Nairobi. Because of their HIV status they are unable to get jobs and so have banded together to help each other and themselves. After making beaded crafts and clothing, they visit markets to sell their wares. At the same time, they educate the public about HIV/Aids and the empowerment of women to take charge of their own lives.
During International Development Week 2012 we salute and celebrate the wonderful women of the developing world for the optimism and their quest for a better quality of life.
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