The Empower Her project — Empowering Girls and Women through Social and Economic Development — works to promote the rights and personal integrity of women and girls by improving their opportunities for self-reliant and independent livelihoods. The key tools of the project are the formation of women’s and girls’ groups, or clubs, entrepreneurship training provided within these groups, and the social empowerment of participants through the sharing of knowledge and skills, as well as through building their own networks.

In the Migori region of Kenya, women and girls face challenges such as child and teenage pregnancies, child and teenage marriages, school dropout, and female genital mutilation.

Economic and social empowerment, supporting women and girls in advocating for their rights, providing tools for starting their own businesses, training men, boys, and village chiefs on the rights of women and girls, and strengthening networks are central methods of the project.

The need for the project emerged during the ongoing Permaculture project for school-aged children and their parents. In follow-up meetings for the Permaculture project, local government officials highlighted the need to increase the number of women and girls participating in entrepreneurship training. The current Permaculture project has more than 1,000 members, many of whom are interested in joining training activities focused on establishing small businesses. These trainings build on the skills learned in the Permaculture project and take them further toward practical entrepreneurship.

The central idea of the project is that women’s economic independence, together with the social empowerment created through networks, is one of the most effective ways to improve the position of women and girls and protect them from various forms of abuse, including culturally accepted harmful practices. Forming and organizing groups, as well as connecting them into wider networks, creates structure, continuity, and a strong foundation for the work. The network supports its members and also encourages others to join.