WEEP, Women's Empowerment Equality Project
As an orphan prevention initiative, WEEP enables women with
HIV/AIDS. The project saves the lives of mothers suffering
from advanced stages of AIDS, therefore, their children are
spared from becoming orphans. Operating in impoverished areas,
WEEP identifies mothers who have been widowed or abandoned
when their husbands learned of their HIV status. WEEP commits
to providing medical care, nutrition, vitamins, rent assistance
and access to ARV drugs; it also assures that their children
have a school uniform and necessary resources to attend school.
Once physically stable, the mother is taught a trade and provided
a job at a WEEP center. In a country where the unemployment
is estimated to be between 40% and 70%, a job allows the WEEP
women to provide for their families in a way that would be
impossible without this project. Beyond the devastatingly
high unemployment level, the lack of information and the stigma
associated with AIDS make it nearly impossible for an HIV
positive woman to secure employment, support her children,
or access ARV drugs. WEEP’s objective is to provide
training so that HIV positive women may break the impoverished
cycle so many are caught in. WEEP = keeping mom alive, healthy,
employed and her vulnerable children from becoming orphaned.
Program Successes
This project started in 2005 with five ladies. We currently
have 8 centers with 38 women and 152 children being supported
by this HEART project. Additionally, others have left the
project for full time outside employment.
We have had several other organizations interested in modeling
this program.
Opportunities For You To Help
$25 a month supports one women enrolled in the WEEP program.
The WEEP women sew uniforms and bed nets.
$12 will purchase a bed net that will then be distributed
to rural Kenya.
$65 will enroll a child in the Kids For School program and
also provide work for the WEEP women.
$6000 will allow us to open another center.
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