Joyful Women is a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) formed to empower

Kenyan women economically and enhance household food security among them through
supporting their involvement in livelihood projects. JoyWo’s flagship project has been providing
financial resources to women to engage in livelihood projects through a scheme known as Table
Banking. Through this concept women are allowed to put money on the table then take back the
money in terms of loan.The organization does not work like the banks and saccos, this is because

the interest of the loans taken by the women remain on their table.This enbles the member to
grow and benefit on their own money. This interest therefore is offered back to every member in
the group in terms of dividends at the end of the year. A member receives the dividend based on
the savings she or he has.

JOYWO was started in the year 2009 and it has grown over the years. It has a membership of
182,542 members in 12,343 groups who are currently revolving Kshs. 1,411,271,903 as of mid-
February 2015.

The membership of JOYWO has spread over to 47 counties in Kenya, some of them being:
Nairobi, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Kakamega, Kajiado, Embu, Bomet, Nyamira, Nyeri,
Homabay, West Pokot, Siaya, Turkana, Tana River and Samburu. The organization’s
headquarters is in Eldoret but it has offices ran by county managers and program officers within
the thirty nine counties. Currently, JOYWO has over 1000 members of staff.

VISION

To have a society in which every woman is empower to attain full potential of supporting their
family and the nation.

Mission

To support women involvement In sustainable livelihood activities.

OBJECTIVES

 To provide affordable micro-credit facilities towards livelihood projects by grass-roots

women
 To facilitate acquisition of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills by women for effective
involvement in livelihood projects.
  To strengthen the capacity of grass-roots women groups for effective participation in
economic, social and governance affairs.
 To support access to markets for products and produce from women’s livelihood projects.
 To support the growth of small-scale livelihood projects by women into large-scale
enterprises.
MAIN ACTIVITIES INCLUDE

Table Banking

market access

capacity building

livelihood activities

ACTIVITY 1,THE CONCEPT OF TABLE BANKING

Table banking means money on the table. This concept is the back bone of joyful women
organization, meaning there is nothing that the organization can put into action without doing
table banking.

WHAT IS TABLE BANKING- this is an initiative developed by H.E Rachel Ruto in order to
empower the women by enabling them realize that they can have control over poverty through
entrepreneurship. This concept has fully empowered women who used to wait for their spouses
to provide for the family needs. This women have woken up and have realized that poverty is
human made and can only be removed through action of change in their ways of thinking.

The concept of table banking has really enlightened the women all rounded. In this case it has
changed the living standards of the member economically, socially, politically and also
spiritually. These is capture through observation, there is a transition of behaviors compared to
how they used to be some years down the line.

The process of table banking is as follows

People who are interested are advised to be in a group of at least 10 members who share the
same goals. Women are required to be the majority as compared to the men. At least a quarter of
the members should be men and the remaining potion which is three quarters should be women.
This is because women are the owners of this project. In order to become a member of joyful
women organization, members are supposed to undergo training process whereby they are taken
through learning what the organization does. If members agree with the terms and conditions of
the organization , they are required to register, registration fee is 150 shillings then a pass book is
issued to him/ her. This passbook act as his or her account. Member’s savings are being captured
in that passbook. The Members have the obligation of monitoring their savings every month
using the passbook. After that they are required to start saving. Minimum for saving is 200
shilling maximum amount is what the member is capable of contributing every month. Every
member is entitled to saving and take loans every meeting day of every month. joyful women
organization has two types of loans given to its member in a group that is long term loan and

short term loans.

short term loans are the advances given to members every meeting day of every month which
the members repays back immediately and given another loan by the program officer with the
help of the treasurer in the group.

Long term loans

These refer to loans given to members who repays back for a long period that is 24-25 month.
This loan can be internally or externally. Internally involves money lending from the group itself
while waiting for external loan from the organization. Internal long term loan enable the group to
reach their target of receiving an external loan, it help in reducing defaulters among the members
of the group. External loans are given by the organization itself after close monitoring of group
performance. This loans are in three form of products:

Loan for three month which attracts an interest of 3.5 percent, Loan for six months which attracts
an interest of 6.5 percent and loan for one year which attracts an interest of 10 percent at the end
of repayment period.

Qualification for a group to receive external funds;

The group must have been actively involved in table banking activities for not less than six
month.

The group needs to have been registered with the relevant authorities as either self help group or
welfare group. Hence acquired certificate.

The group needs to have zero defaulters.

The group needs to have discipline and respect to each other during table banking.

The group must have a constitution.

Members are given 20 per cent of their profit as bonus. This bonus is added to their savings.

Members also receive dividends equivalent to 70percent of their profit at the end of every year.

The organization takes 1 percent of the total revolving funds of every group every month for
administration purposes.he minimum amount the organization takes as admin fee is 100 and The
maximum amount the organization can take is only ksh 3000,when the group has TRF of
ksh300,000 and above. This means that even if the total revolving fund of a particular group
grow to millons of money the organization Can only settle to ksh3000 only as admin fee.

2,CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE

Capacity building has been one of the activities used as a tool to empower members on issues
related to group dynamics, entrepreneurship, business skills, record keeping and many other
areas relevant area of operation. With the help of development partners, JOYWO has
successfully diversified agricultural production and entrepreneurship skills. Women now own
companies, doing horticulture, green house farming, passion fruit and chili, together with the
normal maize, wheat and dairy production.

This is a programme that was sponsored by Eliminate poverty Now (EPN) and HIVOS. This
programme was aimed at equipping JoyWo members on the best practices in Modern
agriculture so as to increase their level of income.

During this training JoyWo members were taught the following:

1. Animal Husbandry
2. Dairy farming.
3. Poultry farming.
4. Bee keeping.
5. Rabbit Farming.
6. Horticulture.
7. White sorghum
8. Passion fruit farming
9. Modern Farming
10. Open drip irrigation
11. Greenhouse farming
From this programme the following has so far been achieved:

1. Members are engaging in Agribusinesses.

2. Health living is by consuming a well balanced diet.
3. Improved agricultural practices.
4. Improved saving culture through proceeds obtained by selling surplus agribusiness produc
 3,MARKET ACCESS

Majority of women working with Joyful Women Organization are involved in

agribusinesses.Such businesses require strong marketing component to thrive. Thus a strong
marketing pillar is needed for the success of JOYWO’s livelihood program
portfolio.Marketing department started its operations on 1 st February 2014 and is currently co-
ordinating its activities from the Head Quarters.Core principle is in line with the
organization’s objective:-access to market for products from our livelihood projects.
Program Objectives
 To support access to markets for products and produce from woman’s livelihood projects.
 To support the growth of small scale livelihood projects by women into large scale enterpr

The goals and guidelines set by the marketing department are by design, in line with the
vision and mission of the organization –  Empowering women to participate fully in economic
life across all the sectors essential to build stronger economies for development and
sustainability, and improve quality of life for women, men, families and communities. In the
marketing department we have adopted a member – registration approach,where members fills
a form indicating their products and when they are due for sale. This helps the department to
plan itself fully to provide ready market for the members.

Products
We have successfully tapped markets for horticultural and Poultry Products such as
 Tomatoes
 Vegetables
 Eggs
 Broilers

, LIVELIHOOD ACTIVITIES

The ability of women to fight poverty is founded on their capacity to engage in livelihood
projects. Such projects guarantee house-hold food and income security. Hence, JOYWO shall
promote and support her members’ engagement in livelihood projects as means of enhancing
their household food and income security. To strengthen livelihood activities JOYWO is
involved with the following projects:

1. Poultry
2. Green house
3. Passion fruit ( purple & Yellow)
4. Horticulture
 5. Open air irrigation
1. Poultry projects.
Joyful Women Organization currently keeps two different breeds of poultry birds:

Brown Layers:
 They are very good layers.
 They mature at between five and six months.
 Brown layers lay up to 305 eggs per year making them profitable.
 They are easy to care for and are easy maintenance birds
Rainbow Rooster- Kruiler
 Its an improved indigenous breed.
 Its a fast growing bird.
 Its good for eggs and meat.
 The cockerels weigh up to 3.5 kg
2. Green Houses
The partnership between JOYWO and National Irrigation Board has enabled women farmers
funded with green houses. Currently Uasin Gishu county received 30 green houses, Kakamega
five green houses, Trans Nzoia seven green houses and Nandi twelve green houses. Joyful
Women organization were funded  with two types of green houses
1. Wooden frame green Houses.
 Measures 7M x 22M.
 It carries a population of 600 plants
Wooden Frame green house

2. Tunnel Green House.

 These are the modern green houses.
 Measures 8M x 30M.
 Carries a population of 1000 plants
Tunnel Green House

 Proceeds from these green houses is ploughed back to table banking.

3. Open Air Irrigation.
This is a pilot projects. Its currently being practiced by 40 members within Uasin Gishu
county.
4. Yellow Passion Project.
Elpis company in partnership with Joyful Women organization launched a working agreement
between JOYWO farmers and Elpis company to contract them grow yellow passion on behalf
of the company. Over 2400 acres is targeted on the first phase in 3000 acres in the second
phase. Over 2.4m seedlings will be distributed to contracted farmers for planting.

Partners of joyful women organization include

Joyful women organization has potential partners who work closely with the organization in
order to ensure effective and efficient resource management.During the period of my internship I
managed to visit potential partners of the organization and able to learn more about what they do.

PATNER 1:HIVOS

Hivos is an international organisation that seeks new solutions to persistent global issues. With
smart projects in the right places, they oppose discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the
unsustainable use of resources. Their primary focus is achieving structural change. This is why
they cooperate with innovative businesses, citizens and organizations. They share a dream with
them for sustainable economies and inclusive societies.

They believe that every human being has the right to live in freedom and dignity. You can be
who you are, whether you are male, female, gay, straight, or anything in between. Moreover, you
should have the freedom to believe and say what you want, to challenge governments and stir up
the established order. Your freedom only ends where another person’s freedom begins, and of
course where the earth imposes her limits. The depletion of natural resources, loss of biodiversity
and climate change already have major implications for the most vulnerable inhabitants of our
planet. They, and future generations, are entitled to a truly sustainable world.

The problems Hivos wants to confront are complex and can change rapidly. Against a
background of structural poverty, climate change and repression, we see economic crises, rising
food prices and growing inequality. There are no simple or quick fixes. For real change to take
place, we need to foster smart thinking and innovative solutions. Courage, creativity and
knowledge are required to build a green and open world.

We cooperate with various partners across four continents. These can be artists, lawyers, or
hackers, but also governments, energy companies and knowledge institutions. The projects we
develop and support can be large-scale and long-term, but also small and experimental – a
farmers cooperative, or a breeding ground for Internet entrepreneurs, for example. They can also
be in the form of a campaign against corruption, a partnership with a coffee trader or a safe
haven for a gay activist. What our partners have in common is that they seek to bring about
social change through innovative ways.  We recognise that same drive in many people across the
world.

Core values of Hivos are:

 human dignity and self-determination

 pluralism and democracy
 focus on material and non-material aspects
 mutual solidarity and responsible citizenship
 respect for people’s cultural and social identity
 responsible management of nature and natural resources
 WHAT HIVOS DO TO ENSURE JOYFUL WOMEN ORGANIZATION SHINES

1,WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Hivos believes that all women and girls should have control over their lives and be able to
actively participate in social, political and economic spheres, so they tirelessly with various
human rights instruments in support of communities’ and countries’ efforts towards gender
equality. 

For decades, they have partnered with frontrunners of change and social justice to further
women’s rights and lobby for new laws protecting women against discrimination and sexual and
domestic violence. Our recent partnerships with global organisations like the International
Women’s Rights Actions Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP), the sexuality and rights institute
CREA, Just Associates (JASS) and the Association for Women’s Rights in Development
(AWID), have played an essential role in linking local activists to the global instruments of
United Nations treaties and special rapporteurs.

And around the world, progressive initiatives are slowly starting to gain ground. More girls are
going to school, more women have decent jobs and political power, and more rights are
enshrined in law and policies – though not always in practice. Now is the time to accelerate
efforts for women’s equal rights.

strategic objectives

We feel that two areas in particular could accelerate women’s participation: opportunities for
decent work and participation in politics and decision-making processes. Our Women’s
Empowerment programme therefore specifically promotes economic rights and justice for
women and enhances women’s participation in politics and public administration.  

The strategic objectives of the programme is to achieve social, political and economic spheres
where:

1. Women have access to employment and ownership over financial means; the right to
decent work for those working under poor conditions is enforced; global value chains
ensure they are gender inclusive, and
2. Women have equal opportunities and the capacity to fully participate in political and
societal decision-making processes, and therefore are recognised and supported in
politics and in society as leaders and agents of change.

Our premise is that improving social, economic and political opportunities for women improves
communities as a whole and positions women as change agents. Hivos seeks to identify
frontrunners to facilitate change, connect networks of daring feminist activists and organisations.
Through a systems approach, we target and create opportunities for change within government
institutions, markets and private sector, media, public and civil society organisations.
methods

 Capacity building for lobby and advocacy by civil society organisations that work to
improve women’s working conditions, such as equal treatment, equal pay, the right to
decent work and a living wage.
 Stimulating an enabling environment for policy development leading to gender
equitable legislation and implementation of measures to enforce the elimination of
discriminatory laws and all forms of violence against women.       
 Promoting gender-inclusive private sector development policies by strengthening
cooperation between the private sector and civil society organisations working on
women’s rights in multi-stakeholder forums.
 Shifting corporate practices towards gender inclusive corporate social responsibility
policies; affirmative action and hiring more women in (senior) leadership positions.
 Creating linkages between (aspiring) women leaders and networks, CSOs, creative
media and industry.
 Organising peer learning trajectories, knowledge development and sharing spaces,
working with frontrunners to develop innovative solutions and alternatives.

Example programmes

Women @  Work (2012-2015, 2016-2020)

In 2012, Hivos started the Women @ Work campaign to bring about decent work for women
who earn their living in global production chains, specifically in the flower industry. Since
relatively high numbers of women work in this sector, and Hivos has long worked with partners
who are committed to working on women’s rights, we focused our campaign on:

 capacity development, specifically in countries in East Africa

 advocating for enforcement of women workers’ rights and their economic empowerment
as part of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and implementation of decent work for
women
 highlighting women’s work and rights of women workers in the flower industry through
consumer action calling for fair flowers

Since 2016, Hivos has extended its Women @ Work campaign to other products in horticulture
and to other regions, namely Southern Africa. The new programme, funded by and in
cooperation with the Dutch government, aims to improve labour conditions for women working
in global horticulture value chains by making these chains gender inclusive. Gender inclusive
means that women workers are integrated in a supply chain that provides fair wages, security in
the workplace and good working conditions. The programme now runs in 8 countries: Ethiopia,
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Shelter Me (Nov. 2014 – Nov. 2016)

The Shelter Me project for migrant domestic workers was set up to empower female migrants in
their jobs as domestic workers, address the concerns of employers, and generate dialogue with
governments in the Middle East and Indonesia on improvements in monitoring the situation of
migrant workers. Since a large number of Indonesian women workers travel to Saudi Arabia and
Qatar, these countries are the project’s focal area.

A mobile information and education network using SMS and web-based tools allows Indonesian
domestic workers to receive job-related information and learn Arabic and English, as well as
local customs. The project also rates the performance of recruitment agencies to help address the
concerns of employers and advocates for the Indonesian government to monitor both the
recruitment agencies that send domestic workers abroad and the situation of its citizens working
abroad.

Women on the Frontline (2013-2016)

The Women on the Frontline programme was an early response to the 2011 uprisings in the
MENA region and the subsequent opening of societies, which brought unprecedented
opportunities to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment. It supports the capacity
development of partner organisations in the MENA region to enhance women's active
participation in the political process in Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

The overall objective of the programme is to strengthen women’s organisations through

organisational and strategic capacity development support based on the needs identified and
expressed by participating organisations. In addition, the programme supports activities of these
organisations in the field of women’s political participation at the national level, and their
participation in international platforms, such as the Women’s Advisory Board to the UN Special
Envoy for Syria.

Women Empowered for Leadership (2016-2020)

The Women Empowered for Leadership programme will work together with local civil society
organisations to improve political participation and leadership by women in the Middle East and
Southern Africa.

Its aims include: a significant increase in women participating fully and effectively in politics
and public administration at sub-national level by the end of 2020; greater influence by female
leaders on political and societal developments and on public opinion; promotion of full and equal
participation of women in leadership positions.by trade unions and political parties; and
recognition of and support from the general public for women in leadership positions.

2,FINANCING RURAL ENTREPRENUERSHIP

Abbreviations
:

 HTF = Hivos Triodos Fund

 SMEs = Small and Medium Businesses
 POs = Producer Organisations

Hivos’ support for financing rural entrepreneurship is geared toward sustainably financing small
scale producers already organised into businesses, and SMEs working in sustainable agriculture,
biodiversity and renewable energy.  This means that over time, donor involvement and social
investor funding will be replaced by funding from the capital market, while rural entrepreneurs
continue to generate social and environmental benefits.

Hivos uses different strategies to increase financing of rural entrepreneurship. One way is by
building Micro Finance Institutions (rural or committed to going rural) in the framework of the
“micro finance graduation model”: providing them with seed capital, technical assistance from
Hivos and loans or equity from the Hivos Triodos Fund (intended for POs and SMEs who want
to increase their rural outreach). Examples of this approach are ASDIR Guatemala (seed capital
partner that graduated to HTF) and Idepro Bolivia (HTF partner). See below for more
information on the Hivos micro finance graduation model.

The second strategy is the application of the micro finance graduation model on financing rural
entrepreneurship. This means using similar instruments and phases of development to build
mature POs and SMEs linked with small-scale producers able to attract funding from the capital
market. In order to increase the credit readiness of POs and SMEs, existing organisations and
programmes providing graduation services have to be supported to deliver those services and
new ones have to be set up. ProCIF is an example of a Hivos programme providing seed capital
to POs in India.  Examples of HTF-like organisations, but established to finance developing POs
and SMEs, are the Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust (in cooperation with local banks), 
ProRural Bolivia,the SME Impact Fund Tanzania and the Eco Enterprise 2 Fund, which have
received grant support and advice from Hivos, or loans and equity and advice from Hivos
Triodos Fund.

The third strategy used to finance rural entrepreneurship is financing them directly through
Triodos Sustainable Trade Fund (a Hivos Triodos spin-off) and by Hivos Triodos Fund (HTF).
Hivos Triodos Fund provides medium to long-term financing to POs which have built up a good
track record in Triodos Sustainable Trade Fund (international trade finance,) like Aldea Global
Nicaragua. 

Another important line of work in this focal area consists of activities to improve fairness and
environmental sustainability. Examples of this are technical assistance to POs and SMEs and
financial institutions in this area and providing incentives such as continued support to reward
progress.

Hivos’ approach to microfinance: the graduation model

Hivos was one of the pioneers of microfinance. After managing our own loan portfolio in the
1970s, we professionalised our approach in the early 1990s by setting up the Hivos Triodos Fund
(HTF). Triodos Bank is responsible for banking and financial aspects, and Hivos sees to the
developmental, social and environmental aspects. Since then, Hivos has built micro financing
institutions (MFIs) using the graduation model in all countries where we are active

3,RENEWABLE ENERGY

Energy is a vital driving force for development. Access to energy can alleviate poverty, improve
living conditions and propel economic development. However, taking the fossil fuel route
straight towards climate change will have disastrous effects, especially for developing countries.
Hivos therefore stimulates sustainable development fuelled by clean, renewable energy.

Hivos’ Renewable Energy programme focuses on governments and large corporations as well as
people without access to modern forms of energy. Hivos and its partners demonstrate that
renewable energy is not a pipe dream or an alternative, but simply the best choice. We do that by
making simple, smart and clean off-grid technologies accessible to poor people in remote areas,
like biodigesters, biomass briquetting and solar power systems, or mini-grids running on liquid
biofuels, amongst others.

4, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Transparency, citizen engagement and accountability are essential for an open society, where
democratic institutions support and empower citizens to shape society and take control over their
lives. When governments are transparent, civil society can help ensure leaders are serving their
people and not themselves.

In an increasingly complex world, citizens’ input is also essential for good decision-making.
Solid policy-making requires the views, values, experiences and knowledge of the public.
Transparency and accountability within governments, but also the private sector, is a sine qua
non for equitable development.

Hivos has invested for years in a broad portfolio of initiatives that use smart technologies and
other innovative ways to exert local and global influence that leads to stronger citizen
engagement and greater governmental and corporate accountability. We have been a frontrunner
ini stimulating the use of ICT and media as a tool in holding governments to account and forcing
them to make decision-making more transparent.

current transparency and accountability programmes continue to focus on engaging and

empowering citizens to demand and exercise greater control over the opaque and corrupt use of
power.

5,SEXUAL RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY

Almost everywhere in the world, people who do not conform to the heterosexual norm or have
been born in the wrong body have a hard time. In many countries the chance that they are
discriminated against or even persecuted for who they are is very high. These people are
excluded and have to fight for their rights. They do not enjoy the same access to employment or
medical care as others, for example. In these countries the position of women is, in a sense,
comparable. Far too often, decisions about their bodies, pregnancy and sexuality are made by
men.

Hivos was one of the first organizations that campaigned for sexual rights. We have always
endeavored to lend a hand to groups of people who fall by the wayside. Naturally this includes
lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBTs), but also men who have sex with men (MSM)
without considering themselves to be homosexual. Hivos has never been afraid to put the most
controversial, politically and socially sensitive issues on the agenda. We believe that this is
essential if people are to have control over their own bodies, their sexual identity and their
relationships.

Hivos cooperates with courageous defenders of equal rights in countries like Uganda, Iraq and
the Philippines. They focus first and foremost on people who most need their help. Our partners
provide legal assistance to LGBTs and prevent people from getting infected with HIV/AIDS.
Worldwide, they also work on addressing persistent prejudices and stigmatisation. Sometimes
they do this in a campaign or a talk show, and other times during a colourful parade through the
streets. Last but not least, Hivos and its partners call on national and international governments
to fulfil their responsibility of respecting the rights of all people.

PARTNER 2:KIVA ZIP

Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 and based in San Francisco, with a mission to
connect people through lending with the use of their website to alleviate poverty. Kiva zip gives
loans to members of a group on an interest free mode. They have levels of loans that they give to
entrepreneurs who have the passion to grow their business. Once group members receives the
first loan and repays well without defaulting then the members will automatically graduate to the
second and the third level.The first loan is ksh 100000 for the entire group. the second loan is
Ksh200000 and the third loan amount is Ksh300000. Kiva serves borrowers in more than 80
countries on 5 continents, with offices in Nairobi and staff stationed around the world. They also
have incredible volunteer fellows working in the field throughout the year.

In order to achieve its objectives of reaching people kiva has the extensive network of Field
Partners and Trustees who help connect with borrowers.

Field Partners do incredible work– they screen borrowers, post loan requests to Kiva for funding,
disburse loans on the ground and collect repayments. Most Field Partners are microfinance
institutions, but they can also be schools, NGOs or social enterprises. They all share one thing in
common: the desire to improve people’s lives through safe, fair access to credit.Trustees endorse
loans, vouching for borrowers who want to apply for direct loans on Kiva, which are loans that
aren’t administered by Field Partners.
How it work include

A borrower applies for a loan

Kiva loans are facilitated through two models, partner and direct, that enable them to reach the
greatest number of people around the world.

For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Field Partner, which manages the loan on the
ground. For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website.

The loan goes through the underwriting and approval process

Partner loans are facilitated by local nonprofits or lending institutions, which approve the
borrower’s loan request. Kiva does due diligence and ongoing monitoring for each of these Field
Partners.

Direct loans are approved through “social underwriting," where trustworthiness is determined by
friends and family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching
for the borrower.

Loan disbursal period

Disbursal refers to when the borrower can access the money— the timing of this can vary. For
most Field Partner loans, the money is pre-disbursed, so the borrower can access the funds right
away. For direct loans, the money is disbursed only after the loan has been fully crowd funded
on the Kiva website.

Borrower repays the loan

Lenders receive repayments over time, based on the given repayment schedule and the
borrower’s ability to repay. The repayments go into the lenders’ Kiva accounts.

Impact of kiva zip.

People have expanded their business and this has enabled them get huge profit

The living standards of most borrowers has improved

Eradication of dependency syndrome

Though sometimes slow due to fundraising process it is effective to upcoming entrepreneurs

PARTNER 3: UN WOMEN

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States
took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the
empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform
agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the
important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on
gender equality and women’s empowerment:

 Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)

 International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
(INSTRAW)
 Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
 United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

The main roles of UN Women are:

 To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women,

in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
 To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable
technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective
partnerships with civil society.
 To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality as well as promote
accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

Meeting the Needs of the World’s Women

Over many decades, the UN has made significant progress in advancing gender equality,
including through landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW). Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous
socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring
productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society.
Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps.
They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the
world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and economic
decision-making processes. For many years, the UN has faced serious challenges in its efforts to
promote gender equality globally, including inadequate funding and no single recognized driver
to direct UN activities on gender equality issues. UN Women was created to address such
challenges. It will be a dynamic and strong champion for women and girls, providing them with
a powerful voice at the global, regional and local levels. Grounded in the vision of equality
enshrined in the UN Charter, UN Women, among other issues, works for the:
  elimination of discrimination against women and girls;
 empowerment of women; and
 Achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of
development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality,
poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. Women make enormous contributions to
economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing unpaid
care work at home.

But they also remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation.
Gender discrimination means women often end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a
small minority of those in senior positions. It curtails access to economic assets such as land and
loans. It limits participation in shaping economic and social policies. And, because women
perform the bulk of household work, they often have little time left to pursue economic
opportunities.

Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment

Benefits of economic empowerment

 When more women work, economies grow. An increase in female labour force
participation—or a reduction in the gap between women’s and men’s labour force
participation—results in faster economic growth 
 Evidence from a range of countries shows that increasing the share of household income
controlled by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, changes
spending in ways that benefit children 
 Increasing women and girls’ education contributes to higher economic growth. Increased
educational attainment accounts for about 50 per cent of the economic growth in OECD
countries over the past 50 years , of which over half is due to girls having had access to
higher levels of education and achieving greater equality in the number of years spent in
education between men and women  But, for the majority of women, significant gains in
education have not translated into better labour market outcomes
 A study using data from 219 countries from 1970 to 2009 found that, for every one
additional year of education for women of reproductive age, child mortality decreased by
9.5 per cent
 Women tend to have less access to formal financial institutions and saving mechanisms.
While 55 per cent of men report having an account at a formal financial institution, only
47 per cent of women do worldwide. This gap is largest among lower middle-income
economies as well as in South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa 
UN women and tenderprenuership

This is a programme that was sponsored by UN Women and GIZ. The aim was to train more
than 700 women on public procurement. As a result of this programme many women who are
members of JoyWo formed and registered companies and business names. 30 companies already
registered from this training. 5 companies have successfully won the tenders.
During the public procurement training the following topics were covered: The un women help
the joywo organization in empowering the women on how to access government tenders.During
my internship period I was luck enough to attend a training session organized by the organization
for joywo members. I had gathered the following requirement for somebody to get a tender

1. Public procurement legal framework.

2. Public procurement opportunities in a devolved government.
3. Bidding for contracts: Do’s and Don’ts
4. Eligibility requirement for doing business with government.
5. Understanding standard tender documents.
6. Strengthening women owned SMEs Access to finance: Opportunities and challenges.
7. Evaluation of bids and contract award.
8. Contract review and implementation.
9. Integrity issues in public procurement and how to deal with them.
10. Complaints mechanism.
11. Women access to finance opportunities.

PARTNER 3: NHiF

Joyful women organization has partnered with National hospital insurance fund in order
to ensure that women access affordable medication because it their right to receive
medication. Most of the members of joywo have been covered by NHIF.The members
pay a total amount of ksh500 Every month on the table. The organization enable member
receive medical attention whenever they become sick or the Family as a whole. Before
NHIF was introduced most member lacked the knowledge of registering to NHIF.They
used to borrow money on the table that was meant for business to pay as hospital bills but
JOYWO In partnership with NHIF stepped in to rescue the women by educating the
women on the importance of medical cover.

At the end of education

Member were able to register with NHIF

They started contribution on a monthly bases

There were reduced default cases on loans

 Many went able to feed their children because the burden on hospital bill reduced

Reduced mortality rates

Able to expand their business to the next level

Able to pay fees for their children

PARTNER 4: UNILIVER

Uniliver Company is another partner of joyful women organization. It main contribution

to the organization is to educate the women on the importance of having water purifying
containers that enable women store clean water for the entire family. Women were
encourage to purchase this container at ksh8000.They would pay in three installments.
After paying ksh 2000, the member were encouraged to visit the at Karen to pick the
container and commence using them. The containers were of high standard and did not
require electricity. It had five chambers that were used to purify the water in order to
ensure safety when drinking.

Every Pureit is pre-fitted with the GermKill Kit that can provide up to 1500 litres of safe
drinking water. Pureit helps you save more than 80% of your monthly expenditure on
drinking water that sums up to savings of 30,000 KES annually.

Key benefits

Huge Savings
No Expensive Packaged Water
 No Electricity
Advanced technology that needs no electricity

Germkill Life Indicator

Gives you an advance warning before Germkill Kit needs to be replaced

High Storage Capacity

Convenient 9 Litres of purified water storage capacity

Auto Shut-off
Stops the flow of water once the consumable life is over ensuring that you don't drink unsafe
water 

PARTNER 4: WOMEN ENTREPRISE FUND

Joyful women organization has partnered with women enterprise fund in order to ensure that
women access credit facilities so that to acquire adequate loans for their business growth and
sustainability
Women Enterprise Fund is a Semi-Autonomous Government Agency in the Ministry of Public
Service, Youth & Gender Affairs established in August 2007, to provide accessible and
affordable credit to support women start and/or expand business for wealth and employment
creation. 
the Kenya Government’s commitment to the realization of sustainable development goals on
Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (MDG 3).
Within a span of four (4) years this commitment has been actualized in 2011 when the Fund
emerged the winner of the Sustainable Development Goals Award for outstanding achievement
on promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

The Fund seeks to create awareness of the 30% procurement opportunities and ensure that these
opportunities are available to women. There have been conscientious efforts to ensure that
women throughout the country are trained on the 30% procurement process and access to
government procurement opportunities.
The Fund has further set aside 30% of its procurement opportunities for women. The Fund’s
prequalification of suppliers allows for entities owned by women to be given preference when
any procurement opportunities arise.

PARTINER 5:HUAWEI
The partner has ensured that joywo move to the next level by donating huawei phone to filed
officer. this has enabled the organization move from manual system to digital operation
The phone services the purpose of data computation and it has quicken the operation of table
banking and made work easy to manage.

OTHER IMPORTANT PARTNERS OF JOYWO INCLUDE

eliminate pover now

KASS TV
Kenya seed company
National irrigation board
Techoserve
Cooperative
kcb
kenya power
NSSF
USAID

COMPETENCY ACCQUIRED

1,Seeing the big picture

seeing the big picture means getting to understand whats going to happen in future through the
decisions made in the present time.This is achieved through proper need assesement in order to
understand the needs of the people you are serving.Having worked as a program officer in Joyful
women Organization,I managed to offer women with knowledge of entreprenuership and how to
access to government procurement services.This idea was in tandem with joyful women
organisation vision to the registered members.Most of the people in the slums especially women
passes through hardship in raising their children.This is because they lacked funds to enable
them start their own income generating activities. The little money they get through casual labor
is not enough to cater for the entire family needs like education, food and clothings.This is why I
started the initiative of empowering women economically through planning and organizing for
trainings so that to create awareness on the importance of having a business. As a program
officer my passion is to show people how to fish because if you give them fish they will always
ask you for the fish, but if you show them how to fish they will be doing fishing for themselves.
2 Making effective decision
Making effective decision means having the ability of weighing options in order to reach a
consensus. Team work is key to making effective decisions. People are created differently with
very unique potentials and ideas. when a need is identified, it is important to give people a
chance to brainstorm. Discussions enable people to feel appreciated hence improvement on
performance. After discussion there is prioritization of the need in order to get the most press
need. When the most pressing need is analyzed then a decision is made. This is what is termed as
effective decision making. Having worked with Joyful women organization, I have gained the
spirit of team work and understanding. This was through coordination of table banking concept
as agreed by the group members. Sometimes members used to ask me questions on how to
improve their business and I was ready to answer them. After six month there was an
improvement on their performs.
3 Delivering at pace
Delivering at pace mean able to work under stipulated timeline and meet deadline. Managing
time is very important for the success of the goals of an organization really adhere to time
keeping without failure. Having worked as a program officer in joyful women organization I
have gained time management skills. Training the women to understand what the organization
does required an energetic, confident, enthusiastic,focussed and passionate person in order to
convince the people on the importance of joining the organisation.During my time in the
organization I managed to recruit over 300 groups which are actively engaged in table banking
concept up to date. This has been my achievement of witnessing women in charge of their own
money where they lend each other in terms of loan for their own benefit and growth.
4,Leading and communicating
This is through clarity to strategies and the plans of the organization through effective leadership.
When I was newly employed by joywo I was quite shy to communicate to the crowd, but through
continues training of many people in public, my confidents has tremendously improved am a
very different person two years down the line. In order to ensure effective communication, it was
important for me to study the appearance of the people and maintain proper eye contact. It was
vital for a program officer to know how to balance between making jokes and being serious with
the members which I managed to achieve. I was a role model to many women who saw light in
me.
5, Collaboration and partnership
During difficult and challenging moment I used to call upon my colleagues for a hand of help, in
order to maintain the happiness of our women.
6 Changing and improving
There are changes which have been identified since I joined joyful women organization.
One, women came out of the comfort zone and started working hence offered basic needs for
their children like food, clothing’s and educational
Two, There was a change in the attitude of people hence creation of awareness and knowledge
which they lacked some years back.
Three, Most of the women in joywo are busy and no longer interested on handouts from
politicians and religious organization.
Four, The women have increased the total revolving fund from hundreds to millions of money,
its amazing'.
Five, the women are now visiting the needy people in homes and offer their support for their
growth. This has been a mark that will never vanish at all.

CHALLENGES FACING THE ORGANIZATION INCLUDE

Funding of the groups
has become the biggest challenge facing the organization. Joyful women organization has really
expanded all over the country which has made it difficult for all the groups to be funded. During
training session, groups are usually informed of external funds from the organization after six
month and above of table banking activities which delays to be offers to them or never
gets.JOYWO had partnered with KIVA-ZIP which used to fund members after presenting their
problems and business photos on their website. This partner would have worked very well for
our members, but this became a night mare it worked for sometimes and stopped after
sometimes.
Defaulters-
This is also the biggest challenge in the organization. People in a group agree to borrow money
on the table and fail to return on agreed timeline. There is also poor follow up on defaulters, the
organization gives warning letters to defaulters which is good, but little effort is put on follow
ups,this actions encourages other members to default on the grounds that no actions was take on
the first defaulter hence money gets lost and the group dies like that.
Postponements of groups
also a challenge that facing the organization this affects the organization plans
Most of the Projects are on a stand still until further notice.
 the organization had projects last year that really were good for the members example poultry
farming mushroom farming yellow passion farming, housing project, but currently there is no
active project in Nairobi except table banking activity. Where is the problem? I don’t know
Poor management
This is expressed in the way activities are channeled; there is sometimes breakdown of
communication. Sometimes the program officer gets information concerning a particular issue
with the members of which she or he is supposed to get from the office first then to the members.
Another challenge is embezzlement of funds; employees decide to steal organization resources
this has resulted into closure of some county offices example Kajiado County.
Lack of motivation to employees

Many youths have been employed in the organization; this is very encouraging and am happy
about this, the challenge come in when an employee does not receive any motivation in any way
example salary increment. New staff get recruited and still paid the same amount with the
pioneers The salaries give to the employees are very embarrassing to disclose to people who
really respect the organization activities.
Critics Some women feel like the organization is not helping them in any way they think that
JOYWO is exploiting them instead of empowering them.

Recommendations
Funding solution
The organization should stop expanding the project all over the country without a substantive
plan. They need to have plans on the table. Expanding the project all over the country is good but
it needs to be gradual. This is because many groups become interested on the objectives and the
goals of the organization that in turn delays because of minimum resource at hand.KIVA-ZIP
needs to be activated so that it can help minimize the challenges of funding.
Defaulter
Drafting warning letters to member who have defaulted is okay but an extra effort needs to be
put on follow up in order to ensure the amount on default is return to the groups.JOYWO needs
to have a lawyer who will help groups recover their money on default. This will discourage
future defaulters hence build trust of the organization.
Activation of the projects
Most of the project are on a standstill and when you ask the manager the reason as to why they
are not active the answer is wait for the annual general meeting in November we shall get an
update. For the organization to succeed, the attractive projects presented on the website and
brochures needs to be implemented according to the felt needs of the people in the counties.
Every county has a project that they can comfortably do and it succeeds. For example housing
project has been admired by almost everybody in Nairobi County, this is because most of the
people living in Nairobi are landless and they are waiting for that time when JOYWO would
implement that attractive project, They usually ask the program officer an update but the officer
tells them to wait for the annual general meeting.
Proper management needs to be practiced
Good leadership needs to be put in place for the success of the organization this will ensure
proper use of resource, employment of qualified staff to handle different department and not
relatives.
Motivation of staffs
The organization needs to have a platform of motivating its employees this by
Offering salary increment to the employee for their growth. I admire the organization for
employing mostly youth to handle different activities in the organization but they need to offer
motivation to its employees so that they are able to become fully independent and satisfy their
basic needs. Also it is important to think about their welfare even if it requires reduction on its
staffs.
There is a need of organizing trainings once in a month for the members and staffs on the
projects apart from table banking so as to build their intellectual skills and become outstanding.
In order to eliminate critics the organization MUST strive to implement and be true to its goal
and object in order to retain its dignity and trust on its registered members.

Conclusion
I had a wonderful time of working with Joyful Women Organization. I have gained useful
experience which will help me currently and in future. some of the skills acquired are leadership
skills, communication skills, analytical skills, listening skills interpersonal skills, counseling
skills, people management, and team work. The lesson learnt include, when you want to walk
very fast, walk alone but when you want to grow walk with people. I have witnessed members
expanding their business through table banking concept which were not doing well in the past.
Members have registered their enterprises and companies including myself most of them have
won government tenders and they have decided to quit employment and stick to
entrepreneurship and tenderpreneurship. This is very encouraging having worked in Joyful
women organization. I thank the leadership of the organization as a whole for being prayerful,
friendly and transparent. people have the spirit of team work and you might not realize the
difference between the senior personnel and the subordinate.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF THE JOYFUL WOMEN ORGANIZATION

THE PATRON

THE EXUCUTIVE DIRECTORS

THE PROJECT MANAGERS

THE ACCOUNTANT

THE AUDITORS

THE SECRETARY
THE PROGRAM OFFICER

OFFICE ASSISTANT

CASE STUDIES NUMBER ONE

Joyful women organization was piloted in two counties including uasingusu and bondo.The
ideas that joywo had was basically to empower women economically through a scheme known
as table banking. This concept has changed many house hold and families especially in the rural
area. Most of the women could not afford to accomplish their missions and goals because of the
scarcity of resources but when they joined joywo their lives started improving to the better. This
was because the were able to work together in solidarity.

During my stay in joywo I was privileged to visit many group in different counties and from this
visits and exposure I managed to gather a lot of information concerning the progress of the
women in the organization. The following case study impressed me a lot.

There was member called Roselyn achieng from Nairobi County who had nothing at all in terms
of resource to educate her children and earn a living Her husband left her after giving birth to a
disabled child. She used to be a beggar in the streets of Nairobi. One day while she was in her
normal duties of begging a relative of hers passed by and greeted her. She asked her where she
was coming from and the women told her that she was from a table banking meeting. So Roselyn
inquired more information from the relative and she was really inspired to join a group of her
own choice.

She did not have a friend, because of her status. This became a challenge of getting a group to
join that can accommodate her. Finally she contacted her relative to include her in their group,
the relative was welcoming but the rest of the group member were uncomfortable with her in the
group and really hard on her to the extent of limiting the amount she would take as loan even if
she would qualify to get more as loan.

This really made her feel less of a human but she was a prayerful women. she used to pray every
day and took the little loan as agree but the entire group. She did this for four months. When she
qualified to take a long term loan she was very happy because she wouldn’t find pressure in
repaying back. She was given but with conditions that if she failed to pay she wouldn’t
summoned to the chief and her relative would act as her guarantor in case she defaults. All this
threats did not bother her because all what she wanted was a long term loan to start her business
and provide for her children.

The money she received was enough for her to start an income generating activities. She was
convinced to start selling food stuffs along the road side. The business was lucrative and paid her
loans in time. Her life started changing suddenly and the members in the group started embracing
her. They were now able to give her any amount of loan she needed without conditions. She
registered her business and now she does tenderprenuership with the government of Kenya.

During the meeting she lends members who have financial problems money to put on the table
then they refund after the meeting. Members who used to think that she wouldn’t make it were
now in total shock.

The husband who left her because of giving birth to the disabled came back to her and
apologized. This was because the woman was determined to achieve her goals. She has bought
large pieces of land in kitegela and are now under construction.