16 years old Nezline Achieng Daniel writes about overcoming early teenage pregnancy and early marriage to go to school:
In my community, we have many out-of-school girls. Most of us girls want to be educated but due to high rates of poverty some parents value marriage for their young daughters at tender ages.
In my family we are eight children. My father is poor and he is unable to pay tuition fees for me and other siblings.
Without the Deborah Ullian Kashdan Scholarship Program, I would be already married with many children. CWPFG came to my rescue; with support from CWPFG I am now in school.
I am Carolyn Akinyi. I got married at the age of 14 years after completing my primary school, and I have been married for 10 years.
I joined CWPFG in 2024 and I am a beneficiary of the Natalie Andre Women Entrepreneurship loan/grant. I have benefitted twice: in April and in August. Because I completed repaying the April loan, I qualified for the August loan/grant, and for a slightly higher amount.
I am happy that my small business is doing well and I am optimistic that my loan limit will increase so I can expand my business. I am proud to be a member of the CWPFG group.
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I am Anne Awuor aged 32 years old. I am married in a polygamous family of four women. I have 5 children and my cowives have a total of 16 children, making the entire family to have 21 children.
Our husband does nothing to earn even a single income; we have been struggling to raise our children—looking for food for them to eat, clothes to wear and taking care of them when sick.
I have benefited a lot from CWPFG’s F.W. Reproductive Health and Sexual Education Program; from February of 2024 I have been getting free contraceptives and this has helped me a lot.
Through its loan/grant I can testify that I have received the grant twice and now I am engaged in selling vegetables out of which I get some income.
Without CWPFG I could have sunken to a desperate and miserable life forever due to deep poverty. Any support for this program is highly commended. Thanks to all who have sacrificed to support CWPFG; this is indeed a good charity to support.
I am Jane Akinyi, 26 years old. I am physically challenged. My husband is also physically challenged; we have 3 children. I could not afford to buy sanitary towels during my periods, so I used to cover myself with old clothes. This made me have infections every month.
Through F.W Reproductive Health and Sexual Education program, I am a beneficiary of free sanitary towels provision; we are being given these every four months. Thanks a lot for those who are supporting this program.
On behalf of CWPFG I would wish to appeal to those who may wish to generously donate for this worthy charity to join hands.
Below is a message from one of our 50/50 loan/grant recipients, Lucy Kepher, with some explanations by us. Below that is a set of “before and after” photos—one, from April 2024 when she first received a loan/grant, and one from February 2025, after receiving her third one; note the difference in expression! She says:
Left with a lot of depression after the death of my husband 3 years ago, I was stranded. How I would begin life since I never wanted to risk being inherited. (Wife inheritance is a practice in Africa where once your husband is dead, you are given to another man (often an in-law) to marry you. The practice has contributed a lot to the rise of HIV/AIDS infection in Africa.)
In April 2024 I applied to the Natalie Andre Women Entrepreneurship Program for a loan/grant (50/50) to do business. I succeeded by getting ksh 5000 ($39); for the subsequent loan/grant in August I got ksh 9000 ($70) and by December my limit was increased to ksh 12,000 ($93).
With these, I am doing business. Out of the proceeds I make, I can take care of my basic needs and those of my children.
Personally this is one of the brilliant ideas by the co-managers for this community; thanks to Kenas, Vivian and Natalie, you have actually revived hopes for many hopeless women like me. — Lucy Kepher
