WEEP

I have been spending a significant amount of time working with the women of WEEP (Women's Equality Empowerment Program) , their journey's are incredible. These women have all literally come back to life. Jane, a woman from the Kibera WEEP center told me her story. When she first came to the center she was so weak she couldn't walk, and she couldn't eat because of thrashing. Jane traveled to the clinic several times to figure out why she was so sick. The doctors knew that she was HIV positive but they would not tell her, they told her husband instead. Her husband abandoned her and her children shortly thereafter. It took Jane two more trips to the clinic to get the doctors to tell her that she was HIV positive, finally Jane had to demand that she "wanted to know what was going on even if she was dying". At that time AIDS was a death sentence, it took unimaginable courage to face up to her reality. Jane is a powerful woman, she frequently wears a bright orange t- shirt that reads "I'm Positive" and on the back it says "Do You Know Your Status?" Jane is a leader at the WEEP center, she has several successful side businesses and owns her own home. Jane is one of many inspiring, dynamic women that the WEEP program has helped empower.

WEEP is an orphan prevention program, it seeks to empower mothers, like Jane, who have AIDS so that they can take care of their own children. HEART has a number of WEEP centers throughout Kenya, several in and around Nairobi and one in Mombasa. Each WEEP center has between six and fifteen members, the women stay in the program for a number of years. When the women first arrive at the centers most of them are near death. Through the WEEP program the women are given food, receive psychological support, and are taught to sew. Once the women are healthy they begin to sew either school uniforms or mosquito nets depending on the center. The women receive income for each net or uniform that they make. After a period of years the women graduate from the program. We are preparing for the first WEEP graduation, it will be held on August 21st. The women who are graduating will receive a sewing machine and $500 to start their own businesses. I am working with the women to finalize their business plans and think through the logistics of their businesses.
I apologize for neglecting to write blog posts regularly, I promise to write more frequently in the future.
Best,
Margaret