Eldoret Women for Development
(ELWOFOD)
Kenya recorded it’s first confirmed COVID-19 case on 13th March, 2020. Only a few days later, when President Kenyatta announced strict measures to contain the virus, the offices of Eldoret Women for Development (ELWOFOD) started receiving distress calls from the Eldoret Women Prison: hundreds of women inmates were being release in order to decongest the prisons. Most of them ended up in Langas slum, where ELWOFOD works.
“Programs for women behind bars are very limited, inadequately funded, and mostly faith based. Re-entry services for women leaving prison are pretty much limited to NOT even a bus ticket home during release after spending months and or years in prison. While the biggest fear for trans women might be GBV and arrest, the biggest fear for women in general in prison is what will happen to them when they are released. These women have returned to their communities desperate and defined by their experience. ”
In a normal year, ELWOFOD supports 50 formerly incarcerated women through their Women First funded economic empowerment program. When they reached out to us for an emergency grant, they were already supporting 100 additional ones. This program was the perfect vehicle for the women to reintegrate into the community, but the organization did not even have resources to cover their most immediate needs. Women First stepped in immediately. We helped ELWOFOD provide nutritious dry food and essential safety and hygiene supplies to all newly released individuals. With the emergency grant, ELWOFOD was able to expand their program to include the ex-inmates. They now had their own kitchen garden where they could grow organic produce for their families as well as to sell for income. The grant also facilitated educational training for these women and trans people in financial literacy and agribusiness, and the creation of a new Saving and Lending Cooperative. Through this program, the women and trans people not only found a sustainable source of income, but they rediscovered their role as important members of society by contributing to the overall food security of their community.
ELWOFOD was aware that a sudden release from the prison system can have dire consequences on the physical and mental well being of these women, and they used a part of their funds to establish a virtual health counselling service. This was specially essential for trans women, for whom being released from prison meant a sudden disruption in their hormone therapy. With Women First’s support, they could make sure that trans women continue to receive the treatment and care they needed and, more importantly, deserved.
“ELWOFOD shares in the principle of equality according to Beijing declaration, which stipulates women ex-prisoners have unalienable rights and mandates states to provide women ex-prisoners economic re-integration opportunities that allow them to re-integrate equally as their male offenders. At ELWOFOD we will continue to advocate and lobby for the economic rights of these women even as we continue to provide emergency relief and hold those who violate their rights accountable.
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about the organization
Eldoret Women For Development (ELWOFOD) supports formerly incarcerated women and trans people reintegrate into their communities through economic skill development and psycho-social support. It was founded in 2007 by two women ex-inmates who had served 6 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. They observed that it did not take a lot for the women and trans people of their community to be arrested and given long sentences: most of the time it was because of petty crimes, wrongful accusations, or just the sheer inability to post bail. They have first hand experience of the hostility and stigma former inmates face once released, and the uphill battle to meet their basic needs and provide for their families. While most of these individuals intend on living a conventional, lawful life, they have very few job skills, lack a formal education, and experience discrimination in housing and job markets because of their felony records.
The organization trains these women and trans people in an innovative method of home based sack gardening, where they can grow fresh, organic vegetables for their families and for sale. They also provide training in financial literacy and employability skills, so that the women and trans people they serve are able to grow sustainably. Through the income they generate through these programs, these ex-prisoners and their families are able to pursue education, get quality healthcare, and start other business ventures. ELWOFOD’s mission is to build community, not more women prisons.