PROGRAMS

Global reach

Egypt

Since 2012, the Global Fund for Widows’ Amal Project (‘hope’ in Arabic) in rural Egypt has empowered over 15,000 widows and sustained over 40,000 of their children. What started as a humble effort to economically empower widows and female breadwinners through micro-finance, micro-social savings and lending groups, and financial literacy has turned into a global inspiration, with expansion throughout the Middle East underway through our implementing partners Alfanar and Future Eve Foundation.

The Amal project specifically provides the financial framework to establish micro-enterprises and establishes social group funds for Amal participants. These social fund groups act as collective knowledge bases to share experiences and best practices. These social funds also serve an essential emotional support function while increasing the probability of success for the widows’ businesses.

Kenya

Since pioneering the WISALA Brookbank Project in 2019 with field partner Come Together Widows and Orphans Organization (CTWOO), Global Fund for Widows has opened 28 Brookbanks, empowering 700 widows and 3,500 of their children. Widows participating in the WISALAs – the first ever of their kind in Kenya – have not only launched successful businesses, but have increased their wealth exponentially, earning a 550% return on their initial investment in their Brookbanks and nearly doubling GFW’s expectations!  Because of its great success, nearly 15,000 widows in Kenya in have placed themselves on the Brookbank waitlist.

In a tremendous vote of confidence, GFW and CTWOO received the endorsement of Kenya’s Ministry of Public Service and Gender, with the Honorable Cabinet Secretary Professor Margaret Kobia offering her support.

GFW and CTWOO have also worked together to deliver meals to widows and their families whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns across the country.

Tanzania

With implementing partners International Collaborative for Science, Education, and the Environment (ICSEE), Global Fund for Widows has built 11 WISALAs – Sarabanks – empowering 275 Maasai widows in rural Tanzanian villages.

With loans from the WISALAs, the widows borrowed collectively, and launched co-operative goat and cattle raising business collectively, building corrals, stocking on feed, and and purchasing goats and cattle which they continue to fattened and sell.

Not only have widows participating in the Sarabanks enjoyed strong wealth creation, but they have gained the respect of their community and its leadership. Importantly, widows have been so empowered, that 3 chose to run for local district council in 2020 with one of them successful in her bid for government office!

India

Winner of the Women’s Federation for World Peace Award - 2019
Global Fund for Widows partnered with our cherished Global Goodwill Ambassador for Widows Chef Vikas Khanna to provide 5.5 million meals to widows and their families during the COVID-19 crisis in his #FeedIndia campaign.

The Sanabank project, launched in 2019, consists of 10 banks being piloted in Najafghar, Vrindavan (known as the "city of widows"), and in Kashmir. Alongwith our partner, Guild for Service, the Sanabank provides financial inclusion to 250 widows, allowing them access to critical funds, and legal training which will facilitate their launch of micro-enterprises.

Malawi

GFW's Malawi Country Director and implementing partner, Malawi Widows Association (MAWIA), launched 10 Samibanks in 2021. Despite challenges presented by COVID business interruptions, Malawi’s widows have been quietly expanding their micro-enterprises, freezing fish, grin ding maize, producing peanut butter, and poultry farming. Other widows started sewing ventures and are now sewing uniforms for local schools. Widows even responded to COVID mask requirements, producing and even exporting exquisite masks for global use.

Cameroon

Cameroon remains one of the most difficult places in the world to be a widow. Global Fund for Widows responded to COVID-19 related hunger and malnutrition in 2020. Partnering with Berine& Bokwe Foundation (BEBOF), Global Fund for Widows offered widows 25,000 meals and funded the launch poultry farms for 240 widows.

Nigeria

Global Fund for Widows launched a comprehensive value chain project in Nigeria in 2018. With a small impact investment from GFW, 400 widows in the village of Umuegwu have been able to refurbish a small community palm oil press, dig a well, and build a water storage unit that is not only critical to the operation of their palm oil mill, but saving the widows from the inefficiency and back-breaking task of fetching water to press their palm fruit into oil. Our program also included a donation to plant 1,500 palm trees, giving many widows ownership and income for the first time in most of their lives.

We continue to work with WIDO, operating a small scale WISALA project.
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