Strengthen Relations

Through social and economic empowerment programmes, we educate and strengthen relations to protect widows from SGBV, increase social capital and provide micro business grants (matching fund) to structured widow groups. Our social empowerment projects are building dignity houses, providing dignity packs to girls and other humanitarian support for emergency situations.

Widows Rights Rona Foundation

Economic Empowerment

We offer our widow groups a matching fund (an interest free grant) to start and/or improve their income generating activities. Our programs ignite potential to reduce poverty, with the ultimate goal of empowering widows to thrive. We believe gender project should go beyond rights, and put resources of knowledge, money and networks in the hands of widows.

We champion and advance the rights of women, mostly widows who continue to suffer exclusion and marginalization by both formal and informal systems and structures.

Inua Mjane Loan

Our widows empowerment Program is a periodically, nonformal education program that facilitates community-led development, economical and social progress to its members. Inua Mjane is a micro credit facility available to solidarity groups and/or individual widows to cover start up, and/or unforeseen business challenges. The loan is processed in less than 14 days after application.

Features:

  • Lending to solidarity widow groups, and/or individual widows
  • Group must be in existence for more than 2yrs.
  • Group should have more than 5 members.
  • Individual widow must belong and be guaranteed by a registered group.
  • Loans from 500 – 5000/=
  • Repayment period is 3 months
  • Monthly meetings
  • Track records
Rosalo

In 2018 Rona introduced Rona Savings and Loaning micro-financing programme for structured rural widow groups, to empower rural widows on their way towards a dignified independent life. At Rona we believe that in order to help marginalized women we cannot stop at socio-cultural support, and our interventions must go beyond rights. Economic empowerment is required to turn around the life of a widow, to lift them out of poverty. We administer micro-financing either through our established Rona Widow Groups all over Siaya County or to individuals in Nairobi’s Kibera slum through our Inua Mjane project.
Rona funds over 50 widow groups ranging from 20 USD to 250 USD, disbursing a sum of total of 2,000USD. Through this program a total of about 3000 widows were impacted in 2019.

WEEP

Matched Funding programme to empower rural widows with entrepreneurial knowledge & skills

The Widows Economic Empowerment Program (WEEP) aims to empower rural widows with business – entrepreneurial knowledge & skills, and provide a matching fund to them. It aims to ignite their potential to reduce poverty. To help them identify, and tap the opportunities in key sectors around them, such as – general trade, supply chain, value addition, fishing, agricultural etc. It is aimed to improve a widow’s access to self-employment, group micro credit financial services (ROSALO), and other local productive resources to help them ‘build back better’ during/post covid19.

Objective:

  • Rural widows receive business coaching in entrepreneurial knowledge, financial literacy, and business skills.
  • registered widow groups receive a matching fund of 200 USD (Ksh. 20,000/=) (interest free loans) to boost their income/start their own small businesses.

To qualify for SBS training, the widow members will have to meet the criteria below:

  • Active Members of Rona Existing Widow Groups.
  • Group Covid19 Impact Verified from the Rona M&E Visits.
  • Caring for Orphans (with HIV+ household)
  • No other financial aids e.g. under governmental programs
Rona Revolving Fund (RRF)

Micro Matching grants to active rural based widow groups for income generating projects

Rona offers micro matching grants to active rural based widow groups for income generating projects to lift them out of poverty. The groups use the fund(s) to start income generating projects, or boost their businesses either as individuals or group. The Rona Revolving Fund anchored on enterpreneurship training using the SBS (Street Business School) Model is aimed to empower rural widows to embrace socio-economic activities. The fund range from 5,000/= to 25,000/=. A vetting process is conducted to determine group registration, business idea, member’s commitment and record keeping. So far, Rona has supported over 8 widow groups with RRF Funds totaling 60,000/=, namely, Miganga Widows, Bondo, Kwe gi Hera, Alego, Uhendo Widows, Bondo, and Amallo Widows, Rarieda and amongst others. And it has impacted over 200 widows who currently have increased their ROSALO funds to a rising 200,000/=, and growing. The Revolving funds are sourced from partners, and friends of Rona.

She Goat Project

Offered to widows and widowers for agri-business activities & income generation

In an effort to foster a spirit of self-reliance among the widows, Rona  launched the goats project in 2015. The pilot project was implemented through online fundraising.  26 goats were given to widow/ers to raise at home for agri-business activities & income generation to support orphan education.  The project is self-sustaining; the first offspring is passed on to another widow. A she goat costs $30.

Mini-shop (‘duka’)

The mini duka sells a variety of household commodities to the surrounding community, and stocks items like sugar, cooking oil, soap, rice, lentils, bread, milk, sanitary pads etc. It is among the income generating projects for the Rona Centre.