The Poverty in Kenya
Women represent 75% of those people worldwide who live in absolute poverty. In the rural areas of Nyanza in Kenya, thousands of women live on less than $2 USD per day. With the increasing spread of HIV/AIDs, thousands of women are becoming widows and are now trying to support themselves and their children on this income.

The social structure within Kenya is such that the women are often defines as, mothers, a role which maintains job segregation and low wages.

The United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) reports that profits made by women in business, as opposed to men, are more likely to benefit the entire families, as the funds are used to purchase food and other health-related supplies rather than the consumer goods which men are likely to purchase. For this reason, Maisha international sees the empowerment of women as essential to help alleviate the overall poverty levels in the country as a whole.

It is very common in Nyanza Kenya for women to form communal groups to support members needs through group loaning, merry-go-rounds, and a general mutual support. Since these groups are already formed, they are ideal basis on which to start a microenterprise business. The groups are well-organized with executive committees, written rules and monthly meetings. They are made up of hard working women with a vision and determination, but they lack one very important element tool… CAPITAL.

How Maisha International Helps Empower Women in Rural Communities
Maisha international is assisting women in the rural Kenya by providing the necessary seed capital and training to start small business enterprises. Our microenterprise Development Program aims to assist in the reduction of poverty through the establishment of income-generating activities for women. We have been funding, training and advising microenterprise projects, with each group consisting of 15 to 25 women.

We believe that assisting microenterprise programs for local women will go far in fighting the increasing poverty in Kenya, through the microenterprise development we are helping women gain economic independence allowing them to fill a more active and assertive role in the communities they live in.

Through funds raised by our overseas volunteers and individual donors, Maisha International provides a start-up material, equipment, capital, training, and advice to women’s groups in order to establish small income-generating group businesses.

Most of the enterprises we have supported thus far are:

• Sewing and tailoring shops that sell school uniforms, clothes etc (where donations of sewing machines are needed)
• Horticulture projects that grow maize, beans, sugarcane, tomatoes, and other crops
• Poultry operation ( we already have 300 chickens and will expand it to 3,000 chickens)
• Boda-boda groups that provide bicycle taxi services in the rural areas.
• Tuk-tuk groups that provide a little cheaper taxi services compared to an ordinary car.
• Computer and communications skills for the modern world
• Hair dressing and make-up applications to help build self-esteem and develop skills
• Carpentry for making furniture.
• Cooking and food preparation

Our seed capital is not used for consumable assets, but rather is used to purchase productivity enhancing technology and recourses. Each business is set up through our initial grant of$650 to $750 that is used to purchase start-up equipment, materials, tools and training. The program provides a long-lasting impact on the women and the community due to the newly acquired tools, and knowledge which enable the women to increase their efficiency, productivity and output.

Benefits and Impact of the Program
The Kenya women we assist are from very rural villages and farms and usually have no source of income. Many of them have been widowed by HIV/AIDs or are HIV positive. Having previously experienced tremendous struggle in gaining access to capital, these women are incredibly grateful to the overseas volunteers who come to meet them and help them start a group business.

Profits received from the businesses are generally used for one of the following purposes:

• Reinvested in their business
• Used to pay school fees for the members’ children
• Pulled into a group bank account that members can take a small loan from ( $10 to $25)
• Used for agriculture products such as seed and fertilizer to help produce higher yields
• Used to support the groups ’HIV/AIDs community assistance programs

The benefit of the Microenterprise Development Program is not only the new access to capital that the income-generating activities provide to the group, but also a sense of hope and empowerment that women gain from organizing and running their own business.

Volunteering
Our microenterprise groups are always eager to have volunteers come work, train, and start a small business with them in Kenya. We encourage the volunteers to raise extra money to start a small business before they leave for the trip, they can help a new enterprise project or help grow one of the excising projects in the community. The volunteers will be involved in buying the materials, equipments and tools while in Kenya and will personally handle the donation of this equipment to the women’s group, which is usually very festive celebration organized by the women. The atmosphere of excitement, joy and gratitude is incredibly moving during the start-up celebration. The women are so grateful for the donations, which now enable them to take charge of their future and help provide for their families.

If you are interested in volunteering with our Microenterprise Development Program please contact us at microenterprise@maishainternational.org or call 1-800-518-0255.