Counselling Service
Helping people to help themselves – in practical terms!
Four of the widows have been trained as psychosocial counsellors and offer free counselling on the cooperative’s premises and in the surrounding communities to women, children, teenage mothers, neighbours and others seeking support.
Project Goals:
- To offer hope to people in difficult circumstances
- To provide free counselling – so that everyone receives the help they need
- To promote training and employment for women in Kenya
Project Description:
Women and girls in particular are victims of violence, stigmatisation, land grabbing and discrimination. Many bear the heavy burden of their fate.
The Widows’ Counselling Service was established to give the soul some breathing space, to turn the focus towards the positive, and to help people find new paths with confidence and through their own efforts. The aim is to support people in shaping their own lives.
The idea for a counselling service originated within the cooperative itself. Four members – all widows themselves – were trained for this purpose. In Kenya, widows are often subject to social stigma and have endured profound experiences and tragedies from a young age.
The counselling service not only offers understanding, but also shows ways to take control of one’s own life. It offers hope and new perspectives.
Impact in Kenya:
The team of counsellors provides information, explains rights and offers protection where needed – for instance, through emergency accommodation on the cooperative’s premises. Counselling is provided both on-site and on a mobile basis: The counsellors visit surrounding villages and support people directly in their homes.
Counselling topics:
The challenges discussed are diverse:
- Tradition of widow inheritance
- Unlawful appropriation of land following the death of a husband
- Psychological and physical violence
- Cases of rape and unwanted pregnancy
- Health issues, particularly HIV (infection rate in the region: approx. 20%)
- Financial worries, e.g. lack of school fees or inadequate nutrition
Particularly when it comes to sensitive issues, many of those affected are more likely to confide in the counsellors than in government agencies. The counsellors support and empower the women to forge their own path.
