About Us
With and for women
Rising Women Organization supports marginalized and very poor women including women domestic works, single mothers and women victims of violence.
Women domestic workers, single mother and women victims of violence, living in urban slums of Nairobi are economically disadvantaged, disfranchised and more likely to experience poverty and economic challenges. While those women who are in business or interested in doing business experiences challenges of getting seed capital, many also have limited skills in business development including lack of skills in identifying profitable businesses, product promotion/marketing, poor knowledge on financial literacy, low saving culture for investment among others. Those who sell their products are not sufficiently aware of existing markets and the commodity price trends in the area.
In the year 2011, some women pioneers drew up a groundbreaking plan to empower disadvantaged women and girls living Nairobi urban slums. Rising women Organization is the brainchild of women in their effort to promote women rights, reduce injustices and powerlessness within the community.
Rising women envisions informed and prosperous women with guaranteed rights. The organization supports marginalized and very poor women including women domestic works, single mothers and women victims of violence.
Things I Can Do
The overall aim of the Organization is to empower women and girls through economic empowerment, skill training, protection, leadership development, information dissemination, participation in governance and gender justice.
Specific Objectives include:
a) To empower women economically to improve their livelihoods, own and control financial resources.
b) To promote participation of women and girls in Governance by providing them with information and spaces to raise their voices and influence government policies and development programs that are of the interest of the women and girls.
c) To build the leadership of women and girls from underserved backgrounds by keeping them engaged through a series of mentoring, life skills and peer-networking, and a space to create and support meaningful engagement, by providing girls and young women with support to engage in sub-national and national policy forums; Support to conduct and participate in community dialogues; Advocating for and supporting the participation of girls and young women in workshops, side events, and panels at national conferences.
d) To promote women’s rights and secure them from all forms of violence.
A Few Accomplishments
The organization is advancing women’s human rights, violence prevention and economic empowerment. We have been working in land rights, undertaken mapping of indigenous women’s land. We have organized dialogue forums, trainings/workshops, flash-mobs/petitions and partnerships with other human rights defenders which resulted into improved awareness on fundamental rights as enshrined in the Kenya constitution, knowledge in human rights advocacy and influenced activism for the women survivors of violence.
We have advanced women’s economic rights by introducing and implementing Saving and Internal Lending communities (SILC). The project strengthens women support systems, increased access to decent work, productive assets, social protection and well as financial inclusion. It is advancing inclusive just economies, feminist macroeconomic agendas, and feminist people-centered economic solutions. Our women’s economic justice work is founded on the philosophy that when women have equal and unobstructed access to resources, opportunities, markets, and innovations, they can continuously increase and leverage their intellectual, social, political, and economic capital as well as productivity and output. Our work has benefited over 30,000 women.
