Ellen Daniels-Howell, Executive Director of Global Interfaith Partnership

I doubt many of the women of Hope Women’s Group were aware that last Monday was International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women around the globe. If they knew, I have no idea what they would think about such a day –I can imagine they might wonder how anyone has the time to celebrate when there is so much work to be done! However, for me, this group embodies both the accomplishments and challenges that International Women’s Day is designed to recognize.

Hope Women is an ecumenical group of 30 women who have taken it upon themselves to support the many orphans in their “neighborhood.” Most are widows themselves, many are HIV+, and almost all are part of the hand-to-mouth economy which dominates this area. These women have difficult lives, but, as their name suggests, they are not without hope. And they intend to do whatever they can to strengthen their community by supporting its children. Weekly, they gather to identify households in need and create their own small-scale intervention plan: home visits, emergency food delivery, school supplies, and social activities to give the children a sense of family. Everything is paid for out of their own pockets, with each woman contributing as much as she can as often as she can.

Margaret Owira, founder of Hope Women’s Group, has hosted me in her home the last couple of days. An amazing woman! Her home is the meeting place for much of the community, so I have been able to have many interesting conversations with lots of different people. My reason for coming here is to learn ways in which a program like Umoja can collaborate with and support groups like Hope Women. While Umoja has more resources for providing things like the school lunch program or school tuitions, these women are the ones providing day-to-day support for the children.

I am so impressed by what I witness here. It would not be at all unreasonable for these women to focus all of their attention on their own survival. Instead, they are putting a significant portion of their time and resources into helping the children, believing strongly that the future of their community depends upon them doing so. A great way for me to celebrate International Women’s Day!