400 Community Members in Nyando get sensitized on economic empowerment to reduce cases of GBV

 

Nyando Social Justice Center Convener Carren Omanga address members of the community from Nyando Sub-County who have been trained from two wards on the issue of Table Banking as a means of economic empowerment following support from barefoot law-Story and Photo By Dickson Odhiambo 

July 9, 2024

400 Community Members in Nyando get sensitized on economic empowerment to reduce cases of GBV

A total of 400 Members  of the Community from Nyando Sub-County in Kisumu County have been sensitized on the issue of economic empowerment to help reduces cases of Gender Based Violence.

The 400 who are from the two wards within Nyando Sub County namely Ahero ward and East/Kano Wawidhi ward have been trained on impact of table banking and merry go round as economic empowerment activities within the community.

Addressing the participants during the two day event held at East/Kano Wawidhi and Ahero wards respectively, Nyando Social Justice Center Convener Carren Omanga said the two days dialogue has been supported by the barefoot Law.

Omanga says the Community Dialogue forum as best innovators in access to justice in Kenya where they have been supporting survivors of Gender Based Violence.

She says under the program, the Community Members have been trained on the culture of simple saving and borrowing under the Table Banking.

Omanga says the issue of Table banking has picked up so well, adding that a number of Gender Based Violence Survivors have fully embraced it.

The Nyando Social Justice Center Convener says the have also been able to purchase various water storage tanks as another means of economic empowerment to some of the Members of the Community who have been having a problem of getting water easily, adding that some of them have been fetching water as far as six Kilometers from River Awach.

Omanga says the other form of economic empowerment to the community members is the issue of purchasing for them six Kilograms cooking gas, adding that the issue of energy for cooking has been a problem to most of them.

There are a total of 75 GBV Survivors in Nyando Sub-county who have since turned to be champion against Gender Based Violence and are now sensitizing members of the community on the dangers of GBV within the areas they stay.

George Okoth Okeyo, a former perpetrator of GBV, now a human rights defender and survivor of Gender Based Violence turned champion says it has been a long journey for him to transform.

He says three years ago when he wedded, he believed in Gender based Violence and further believed that a woman is an inferior being who should never be heard, adding that he has now reformed.

He says after being summoned following a Gender Based Violence then taken through a psychosocial path, he decided to transform and became a Champion against Gender Based Violence.

Okeyo says his wife was also immediately rolled in the Table Banking program by the Nyando Social Justice Center, adding that this has really helped in transforming her to an entrepreneur who now help by providing for the family.

Beatrice Awuor, a champion against Gender Based Violence at the Nyando Social Justice Center says the issue of Table Banking has been of great help to the survivors of the Gender Based Violence because a number of them are now economically empowered.

She urges more members of the community to get economically empowered in order to help in reducing cases of GBV, adding that this is very vital indeed.

Wanjiru Mutero, Legal Consultant with barefoot Law says Nyando Social Justice Center won an award to help it spearhead the Table Banking initiative from barefoot Law.

She says the award has been through access to justice challenge and the Nyando Social Justice Center applied where it emerged one of the winners.

The award is a 1,000 United States Dollars for the Nyando Social and Justice Center for the economic empowerment training.