Losing a relative, especially a close one, such as a parent, spouse or sibling, is devastating. Hellen Kimanzi, 23, witnessed first-hand the kind of helplessness such loss triggers when her two elder sisters lost their husbands within a space of eight months, back in 2013.
“My sisters’ husbands were the breadwinners of their households, and by extension our larger family back in Kitui County. Their deaths plunged their families into poverty and suffering within a short time,” Hellen recalls.
She adds, “My eldest sister, who was 34 years old at the time, was left with eight children to take care of all by herself – it was uncertain that they would complete school.”
Her sisters’ suffering troubled Hellen, but as a first year student at Technical University of Kenya, there was little she could do to intervene. Still, she was determined to act.
“In 2014, I initiated, Help a Widow Save a Life. This is a women’s investment project that provides business interest-free loans to widows in Mwingi Central Sub County, where I come from. The projects was registered in 2015 as a women’s self-help group. I facilitate table-banking services among widows in our area” she explains.
The widows, she says, contribute as little as Sh100 every week, which goes to a common kitty. This money is then loaned out to the women on a rotational quarterly basis – they use it to start small businesses for self-support. She adds, “Running their own businesses keeps them engaged and distracted from their grief, as well as able to support their families.”
A business, Hellen notes, is a sustainable source of support for these women, and more impactful than say, food donations. The forum, she adds, also acts as a support base for the women, who share and confront their fears and challenges, giving each other hope and forming lasting friendships in the process.
“Widowhood is frowned upon in my Kamba community. In most cases, the woman is neglected by her husband’s family. This group, therefore, gives the women a sense of belonging and hope,” she says. Help a Widow Save a Life currently has 15 members on board, and is looking to recruit more.
“Seven of these women are running their own kiosk hotels, shops and cereal stores, and are able to support their young families without much struggle,” she points out. Three years since she set up this initiative, she has supported more than 40 widows in Mwingi Central Sub County.
The former Miss Tourism Kitui County, capitalises on her modelling opportunities to reach out to more widows and to seek funds.
“Once in a while, I also invite established entrepreneurs to give investment tips to the women. I also host professional counsellors to speak to the women, some of whom are traumatised by the loss of their spouses,” she says.
Recruiting a widow, she says, entails “evaluating her family’s financial status to determine her level of need.” Her biggest setback is the lack of steady funding for her project. Hellen, therefore, relies on goodwill from other social enterprises for donations. One of these enterprises is Akilidada, who granted Hellen’s initiative Sh80, 000. Akilidada is a leadership incubator that offers scholarships, personalised mentoring and leadership training to promising young women. Hellen is a beneficiary of this programme.
Running such an initiative, Hellen emphasises, demands a great deal of devotion and sacrifice, especially for someone without an income.
“My belief in this initiative is what keeps me going. Giving hope to desperate women gives me joy and satisfaction.”
Besides financial challenges, lack of commitment among some of the women is another obstacle that she has to deal with from time to time. “Some of them participate in group activities only when they learn that there is money and other donations being given out - this defeats the purpose of the project, which is to provide sustainable sources of income to these women.
Her family’s reception of this project, which she holds dear, has also been lukewarm, a factor she hopes will change with time. Having graduated with a journalism degree in 2016, the expectation was that she would find a job immediately and start support her siblings, being the only university-educated child in her family. “Some relatives argue that running an initiative that doesn’t generate any income is a waste of the skills I learnt in school and a waste of time, too,” she explains.
Hellen won a scholarship to study a Master’s degree in journalism and public relations at Brunel University in the UK starting this year.
“Working as a journalist will definitely give me a bigger voice and a wider reach in my advocacy for the rights of widows in my community and in Kenya,” she says. She is also optimistic that the new administration of Kitui County will consider funding social enterprises such as hers.
“When I recently met Governor Charity Ngilu, she was inspired by my activities and promised that she was going to support my cause,” she says.
In July this year, Hellen was selected by Moremi Initiative (a non-profit organisation that supports young African women and girls) to represent Kenya during a youth leadership training in Ghana, in recognition of her community service.
She observes, “Everyone is capable of giving back to their community in whatever capacity. The willingness to do something to improve the circumstances of others is one of the most important steps one can take.”
“Widows should have the capacity to fend for their families without losing their dignity to achieve this. While death is unavoidable, it shouldn’t rob one of happiness and a decent life.”
