By Amuri Robert Mwenda, Bard College Annandale

Background

During the 2024 Spring Semester, Amuri Robert Mwenda proposed a community project named Weshwa_Be Empowered as a part of OSUN Civic Engagement and Social Action Course. In Kakuma refugee camps, many women are the primary breadwinners of their families. Yet, they receive limited support to overcome the systematic barriers such as restricted access to employment opportunities, and insufficient availability of financial capital.  Even when other INGOs and NGOs provide grants to support these women in the camps, many of them are one-time offers. When the grant recipients lack essential skills and knowledge to start their businesses sustainably, the cycle is repeated for them back to poverty. Robert observed this gap in his community and wanted to do something to change the situation. This is why Robert developed a community initiative to support these women in the camp in a more sustainable way different from the traditional approach of giving a one-time grant. Rather than giving away the money to the women as a charity, he initiated a sustainable model that provides the learning opportunity for capacity development and repayable financial capital loans. From this project, Robert aims to improve the sustainable livelihoods of women living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya where he grew up. Robert highlighted that OSUN Civic Engagement and Social Action Course provided him the foundational structure and knowledge to design the project.

Project Objectives and Target Group

Weshwa_Be Empowered is a community-driven project designed to promote sustainable livelihoods among women in Kakuma Refugee Camp by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills and providing access to financial capital. The project targets women from Kakuma Refugee Camps who are willing to start or grow their own businesses but face structural barriers such as poverty, gender inequality, and lack of access to necessary skills-building training. Currently, 25 women from the camp have been recruited and trained with capacity-building workshops on important topics such as financial literacy, bookkeeping, business planning, and entrepreneurship. After the training, 10 women were selected to receive interest-free micro-loans, and they can repay the loans within a year. Unlike traditional models that provide one-off grants, Robert chose a loan-based model. He said “this is a strategic approach to promote ownership, and motivate the loan recipients’ women to work well in their businesses.” At the same time, this approach can  make the project financially sustainable over the long-term. The goal was not only to help women launch small businesses but also to provide opportunities to develop the skills and confidence needed for long-term self-reliance. By combining financial access with practical training, Weshwa_Be Empowered offers a supportive environment for women to lead their own paths out of poverty and contribute meaningfully to the economy of Kakuma and Kenya more broadly.

Role of OSUN Civic Engagement Course

Robert thanks the OSUN Civic Engagement and Social Action Course, for equipping him with practical knowledge and skills such as community mapping, leadership, communication, conflict resolution, and SMART goal setting. Through this course, he learned that leadership in community work is not about imposing solutions based on what he thinks is right but about engaging with the community to identify root causes together with the community. Only after that, it was possible to collaborate on solutions that reflect and address the needs of the communities. The community mapping exercises taught him how to listen deeply and understand the lived realities of the people he hoped to serve. He also applied SMART goals to design activities to organize a project with clear timeline and objectives. In addition, foundational knowledge he learnt about monitoring and evaluation (M&E) during the course was said to be applicable in selecting loan recipients and measuring the project’s progress. Furthermore, conflict resolution skills also helped him navigate difficult situations within the community and listen actively to concerns raised by both stakeholders and community members.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Robert shared the challenges he had to first-hand encounter during the execution of the project’s idea proposed in class on real ground. One of the first obstacles was the lack of both financial and human resources. Reaching out to organizations or partners to support a new initiative was extremely difficult, especially in Kakuma where several similar projects have already existed in the community run by different organizations. Trust was a pressing concern because community leaders and beneficiaries were critical about the project’s idea, unsure if this would be another one-time  intervention. In addition to external partnership building, the internal struggle was to gain confidence from the targeted community members. When Robert contacted and talked to women in the camps about their situation and what support they require, they were initially hesitant to share, probably due to the fear or uncertainty of the intention of the project. Applying what he learned from the OSUN course, Robert overcame these barriers through strategic community engagement, collaborative planning with local community leaders, and identifying external mentors who provided support in areas of expertise. When asked about the important highlights of the project, Robert shared the story of a woman who lost her husband and faced financial struggle to self-sustain herself. After joining the program, she gained necessary skills training and financial loans to initiate a small grocery business. Few months later, the woman started doing well in her business and generated stable income, even being able to repay the loan. Her ability to repay the loan and sustain her business became a powerful success story that built credibility and encouraged others in the camp to participate. 

What is Next

Robert is now preparing to expand Weshwa_Be Empowered with better opportunities and more community members. He wants to reach more women in Kakuma, especially those who face extra challenges, such as single mothers, young women, and people with disabilities. As part of the next phase, he plans to integrate vocational training such as tailoring, soap-making, and handicrafts, based on what women are interested in and what is needed in the local market. These practical skills will build on the financial and business training already offered, helping women create products and services they can sell. Robert also plans to improve how the project tracks its progress by creating a clear monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. This will help him understand what is working and make evidence-based modifications based on feedback from the participants. Building stronger partnerships is another priority because Robert wants to work more closely with local NGOs, private companies, and community groups for support, mentorship, and funding. To grow the project successfully, Robert stressed the need for more capacity development opportunities and guidance from experienced mentors for him and his team, especially in areas like project management, writing grant proposals, and working with different partners. The next step is a mid-term evaluation, which will help guide updates to the project’s plans towards the realization of the whole project. In the future, Robert hopes Weshwa_Be Empowered can grow into a larger community center that supports refugee-led solutions and empowers women to lead change in Kakuma and Kenya.