Widow empowerment

We are a group of widows with ages between 30 and 70 from Mfangano Island in the Victoria Lake (Kenya). The HIV/AIDS has a prevalence of 30% within the population of this island and our husbands died or are unable to work because of it. Due to the lack of incomes, we have to face many inconveniences to take care of our children and grandchildren, as well as, fight against disease.

In this Island, the main economic activity is the fishing which has been historically carried out by men and thus, the income of a woman is less than 1$ per day. Therefore, we have decided to start a mini petrol station because we want to be self-sustainable and show that we can also do the same work as men. The land has been donated by a local NGO and the place is strategic for this purpose (as the picture shows).

To develop a basic petrol station we need:

BUDGET
A Mini fuel Dispenser	$2,700.00
Storage tank	$1,500.00
Gl pipes class B	$60.00
Argul check bulb	$120.00
Installer person	$150.00
Licensing KEBS officer	$49.00
Country government fax	$100.00
Fire extinguisher	$50.00
Ferry for the fuel provider	$70.00
Storage tank transportation	$100.00
Land preparation	$271.00
Filling storage tank	$4,680.00
Security guard	$150.00
TOTAL	$10,000.00

The participants in this project are: Margaret Okeyo (50 years old) whose husband died in 2000, she has 7 children and collect stones to earn less than $0.50 per day. Other are hairdressers earning $1.00 per day, like Ester Okoth (55) and Millicent Marindi (35) whose husbands died in 1991 and in 2006 and with 2 and 4 children, respectively. Mary Ogutu (55) lost her husband in 2003, she has 6 children and takes care of two of her granddaughter, she makes basket of banana leaves for a living but she does not earn more than $0.50 per day. Julieta Ojwang (46), Carolina Osenda (33), Josephine Ogutu (65), and Elizabeth Onyango (44) have to take care of their children and grandchildren earning $1.00 per day drying fish and reselling it. Benta Ojwang (53) also works in the fish business buying fish and reselling it, she has 5 children and lost her husband in 2006 and Eunice Ben (38) who smokes the fish to sell it then, her husband died due to AIDS in 2007 and she has 5 children. Margaret Apiyo (68) lost her husband in 2002, she has 2 children and she collect fire wood from the mountains and sell it to earn $0.60 per day. Roseline Auma (50) and Mary Oketch (48) lost their husbands in 2010, staying helpless with 10 and 6 children, respectively. They burn charcoal earning less than $1.00 per day. Ulda Odenyo (39) has 3 children, her husband died in 2010 and she does vegetable farming to sell it with a daily income of less than $1.00. Lastly, Rose Mary Adhiambo (37) whose husband died in 2015, she has 7 children and she carries water from the lake to the mountains earning less than $1.00 each day.

The total budget is $10,000.00 which we know that are a lot, however, we truly appreciate any amount. We, of course, will handle your money with great responsibility and care knowing that this is for our future but also for the future of our children and grandchildren. Finally, we will keep you informed about the progress of our project.

Contact persons:

Rose Mary Adhiambo and Benta Ojwang