Posts

HOW ADULT EDUCATION IS EMPOWERING WIDOWS IN RURAL KENYA IN THEIR EFFORT TO OVERCOME MARGINALIZATION

/0 Comments/in , , , /by
A bolack woman wi

TGF October newsletter – Empowering Widows with education to overcome marginalization.

The Goat Foundation has taken note of how the Kenya Adult Learners’ Association (KALA) plays an important role in promoting micro-enterprises and advancement in the informal business sector as a way of alleviating widows’ unemployment and high rural poverty in Kenya. We are cognizant of the fact that helping widows in the pursuit of socio-economic emancipation is a multi-pronged approach that requires the input of many stakeholders. 

 

The World Bank states that strong job growth is only possible with the legitimization of the informal business sector, which can increase household productivity. Accordingly, the Economic Empowerment Programme implemented by KALA tackles the vulnerability of farmers to climatic conditions – a serious challenge to development in rural Kenya – by equipping widows with skills which allow them to engage in other income-generating activities besides farming.

By focusing on widows in rural areas as a target group, KALA’s literacy programme addresses some of the country’s major problems: educational shortcomings, poverty, unemployment and social marginalization.

 

The Economic Empowerment and Functional Adult Literacy Programme has been implemented by the Kenya Adult Learners’ Association (KALA) in various rural areas of Kenya. The programme aims to provide hands-on training to economically empower widows by equipping them with basic literacy and functional skills. Economic empowerment refers to entrepreneurship and management training, which enables the target group to pursue income-generating activities. Such activities lead to important supplementary income, thereby reducing the dependency of households on income from weather-dependent activities such as farming.

Aims and Objectives:

  • Improve the lives of widows through functional literacy by increasing the enrolment of learners in literacy classes;
  • Facilitate entrepreneurship and management training for widows and facilitators;
  • Improve networking and sharing of experiences among groups/members through peer learning exchange programmes;
  • Initiate a capital savings grant to widow groups;
  • Provide learning and teaching materials for the literacy classes; and
  • Monitor and supervise small businesses and literacy classes.

 

The first area is the empowerment of widows’ groups through the application of economic and literacy skills (functional adult literacy).

The second aspect is based on developing economic literacy skills where adult learners acquire reading, writing and arithmetic skills, while KALA integrates supplementary entrepreneurship and management training outside the traditional reading and writing context.

The third component of the KALA literacy programme is a supplementary kitchen-garden programme, which is meant to improve widows’ knowledge of agricultural production and food provision. In addition to contributing to widow’s empowerment, the kitchen-garden programme has domestic importance, as women are the main providers of food at the household level. Due to unpredictable weather patterns, subsistence farming cannot always guarantee a sufficient food supply, or indeed a surplus income. Issues of poverty and hunger in rural areas are therefore alleviated through the kitchen-garden project.

 

The fourth aspect focuses on health. In order to improve health conditions in rural areas, the KALA literacy programme includes primary health education, as well as information on HIV and AIDS control, prevention and care. Widows also learn about the care of orphans and vulnerable children, enabling them to provide children with basic health care services.

The empowerment of widows through literacy has meant that they have become more actively engaged in decision-making at the household level, and widows can pursue and advocate their own interests. One impact of the programme has been the alleviation of women’s marginalization within society, as improved literacy has given widows’ a greater level of social, economic and political status.

WHY GENDER INCLUSIVITY ACROSS DEVELOPING NATIONS HOLDS KEY TO ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

/0 Comments/in , /by

Gender inclusion is a concept that transcends mere equality. It’s the notion that all services, opportunities, and establishments are open to all people and that male and female stereotypes do not define societal roles and expectations.

Gender inclusivity across developing nations is the only way to achieve sustainable development goals.

At The Goat Foundation, we are aware that in developing nations, the seeds that cause gender exclusion stem from customary laws and practices, gender stereotypes, and discrimination. We have observed too that ignorance, poverty, and the absence of robust laws and policies to reinforce the equitable inclusion of all genders in matters of development and social policy play a major role in perpetuating exclusion.

Sadly, women and girls have been on the receiving end of gender imbalance across Africa and other developing nations. This has created a situation where women have less opportunity to shape their lives and make decisions than men.

The relationship between gender inclusivity and gender equality is inverse. The higher the recorded adherence to a Gender Inclusive agenda, policies, and culture, the less the gap in gender equality is experienced.

According to the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report: Gender Equality and Development, closing these gender gaps matters for development and policymaking.

Every aspect of gender inclusivity —access to education and health, economic opportunities, and voice within households and society—directly contributes toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

For widows, most of whom have been forced into poverty by their communities, access to institutional services such as inheritance, education, and legal counsel still remains a challenge. This inhibits their freedom to participate in economic activity, income generation, education, and policy formulation.

Development across all genders is therefore a process of expanding freedoms equally for all people—male and female. Closing the gap in well-being between males and females is as much a part of development as is reducing income poverty.

It will do this in three main ways:

Women represent over 49 percent of the eligible labor force in developing countries and overall productivity will increase if their skills and talents are utilized fully.

Elimination of barriers against women working in certain sectors such as engineering or occupations like construction work could increase output by raising women’s participation and labor productivity by as much as 25 percent in some countries through better allocation of their skills and talents.

Second, greater control over household resources by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, can enhance countries’ growth prospects by changing spending in ways that benefit children.

Finally, empowering women as economic, political, and social actors can change policy choices and make institutions more representative of a range of voices.

For the avoidance of doubt, pursuing gender inclusivity in developing nations is akin to promoting gender equality. This is because, women have been marginalized and discriminated against for too long, and any effort at inclusivity basically refers to including women.

To bring about gender equality through inclusivity, policymakers need to focus their actions on five clear priorities:

  • Reducing the mortality rate of girls and women through GBV and diseases.
  • Eliminating remaining gender disadvantages in education.
  • Increasing women’s access to economic opportunity and thus earnings and productivity.
  • Giving women an equal voice in households and societies, and
  • Limiting the transmission of gender inequality across generations.

In order for these policies to succeed, new or additional action on multiple fronts such as the combination of more funding, coordinated efforts to foster innovation and learning, and more effective partnerships must be undertaken.

To completely assist widows The Goat Foundation advises that partnerships must also extend beyond those between governments and development agencies to include the private sector, civil society organizations, and academic institutions in developing and rich countries.