Uncategorized Archives - Women Like Us Foundation

Women Like Us Achieve Program

Linda Rendleman — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 17:10:02 +0000

Activities for peace and women’s character are a big part of the skills, character and courage for the women at the Women Like Us Center and an important piece of the Women Like Us Achieve Program. Having opportunities to learn skills on the outside, but also are important to understand what they can learn from the inside. When the women at the Women Like Us Center learn skills and discuss how to live their lives on the inside, they bring themselves and their children, plus their community, better lives.

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Ann’s House

Linda Rendleman — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 15:10:22 +0000

I was deep into the 10th year of the work I love. Women’s rights. Women’s equality. And women’s chance to change their world. The Women Like Us Foundation’s mission to educate women and girls was always front and center in my life. We traveled to Kenya with 18 women and volunteered. We supported women-led charities that saved girls from female genital mutilation and in another location, a school of 270 children. We were on our way to meet a woman named Ann who was passionate about helping teen girls stay in a school situated deep into the Rift Valley. Meeting Ann It’s not easy to ride in a jeep day after day and travel for hours on dirt roads that are complete with potholes and mud. But it was important. When she walked toward me, I saw the light and determination in her eyes, the way she held herself, the perseverance of her goal, and the love in Ann’s heart. That’s where our work together started. If we were to help teen girls find strong futures, educations, and skills for a life of economic stability, we needed to help their mothers be examples. And with some trepidation mixed with courage, Ann and I began. The Beginning We started by teaching them to sew. At once, there were five women. The numbers grew, and there were 12 women. They met in their homes. All of them had never threaded a needle. A 21-hour flight distance away, Ann and I Skyped weekly to strategize, raise money and continue building the dream. Months later, a message landed on my phone—the most terrible news. Ann had died. Ann had been a victim of domestic violence. Her work for equality and education for women was her way of fighting her own battles. Why didn’t I listen better when she said she wanted to come to the United States? Why didn’t she tell me of her situation? What could I have done to help her? I would have. I would have found a way for her had I known. Then I Decided With $3,000 from a new donor, we started the Women Like Us Center in Kenya.With Edwin and Jacky, who was a part of Ann’s team, we had begun. Every day, every move, I saw Ann’s bright, beautiful face. And her memory kept me going. We rented a house at the edge of the slums, put up a Women Like Us Center sign, and hung Ann’s picture on the wall. The women and their families found us. They were curious. What is this place? How can we learn here? And so it began. Now, when you walk by the Women Like Us Center, you can hear the hum of 25 sewing machines and are welcome to come in to visit our clothing boutique. You can see the chicken coup and the women tending the chicks, the vegetables sold at the market, and peek inside to our computer lab. Or maybe it will be graduation day when the women wear caps and gowns and celebrate with their families. Over 90% of our women are victims of […]

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Lucy’s Story

Linda Rendleman — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 15:56:29 +0000

We’ve made an impact on hundreds of women and their families in Nakuru, Kenya. See Lucy’s story, one of our students at the Women Like Us Center. It is written in her own words below. My name is Lucy… And a graduate from Women Like Us Center in Kenya, Nakuru, I am married, mother of three kids … I got the skills of sewing from the center… I am now a businesswoman earning more than 700 schillings pure profit from the sewing of clothes, bags, jackets, curtains, and uniforms. I am really happy to make my own money and manage my own business. It’s a feeling that I can’t even describe, thanks to our madam Linda of Women Like Us Foundation and the team. You guys are changing many women’s life’s that God is the only one who can reward you .. am so happy and humbled to be part of the success team. Thanks am now self-employed.

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Meet Agnes Sagimo from the Women Like Us Center

pcarney — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 15:48:18 +0000

The Women Like Us Centre would like to introduce you to Agnes Sagimo. She is a 54 year old wife and mother of 5 children. Unfortunately, many of the women that come to the centre have suffered physical and mental abuse. Fortunately, this is not the the case for Agnes. However, even though she has not been a victim of abuse, she has suffered extreme poverty. This is the reason she came to the centre at 51 years old. Agnes grew up in the slums and was married at age 15. To us in the western world, this seems like a very young age – which it is, but very common in the slums of Africa. She became a house wife, but always had dreams of going to school and becoming a fashion designer. Since the Women Like Us Centre offers the opportunity to learn to sew along with learning other skills, Agnes decided to become an active member. Not only is she a member, but also a brand ambassador and facilitator for various support groups. These support groups include Teen Talk. This group concentrates on peer pressure, early pregnancy and substance abuse. Another support group is Health Talk. Health Talk’s focus is on family planning, FGM (female genital mutilation) and GBV (gender based violence). Her goals are to raise more chickens to sell their eggs; have her own sewing machine and have a shop to sell material. Through the centre’s table banking – a micro-enterprise for learning how to run a business, she hopes to buy a sewing machine by the end of the year. She and her husband are still together. Agnes describes him as a very supportive husband. He is a pastor at a local church, and also makes chairs which he sells.

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Rooting for Ann Mary Akinyi’s Success

Linda Rendleman — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 20:33:24 +0000

Her name is Ann Mary Akinyi. She is now 30 years old, but came to the Women Like Us Centre when she was 29. Like many other women at the center, her story is filled with abuse and tragedy. Ann Mary was married to an abusive man for 3 years. Her husband would beat her on a daily basis. He would also bring other women to their home, and force her to sleep on the floor. On top of that, she was not able to produce a child. This caused even more mental abuse from her husband’s family. She was introduced to the Women Like Us Centre by a friend and began getting counseling and joined group discussions on abuse. Soon afterwards, she became part of the fashion and design group at the center. Ann Mary learned to make clothing that she could sell. She eventually earned enough money that allowed her to leave her husband. Along with sewing she has also learned to make soap, bhajia ( a crispy snack) and doing hair. With the money she earns she is able to take care of herself and send her younger sister, whom she has also introduced to the center, to school. One of the biggest barriers to education in Kenya is the system. Schools in Kenya are private which prevents those that don’t have any money from sending their children to be educated. Thanks to the center, Ann Mary is also learning to break the cycle that has plagued her family. Her father also physically and mentally abused her mother. Her mother had no earning skills and was left to take care of the home and 9 children. Ann Mary is very ambitious. Her future goals are to have her own brand of soap, open a salon and clothing store. She also wants to be a peer counselor for other women who have suffered like her. We are all rooting for her success. With a $55 dollar donation a month, we can help Ann Mary from becoming a victim again and achieving her life goals.

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Lending a Hand for Girls Beyond County Borders

Linda Rendleman — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 14:21:42 +0000

See our most recent report from the Women Like Us Center in Kenya. This report shows our initiative to include teen girls in education and stability through staying in school. And our new initiative will take place as we teach these girls, at risk of homelessness, to sew and make their own sanitary towels. A girl who doesn’t have protection during menses eventually drops out of school. The washable sanitary towels (pads) keep a girl in school for at least 2 years. LENDING A HAND FOR TEEN GIRLS 2020 has been an extremely tough year for Kenyans and the Covid-19 pandemic has only made it worse. Loropili – a small village in Baringo County has had it worse, the recent floods swept away 35 households rendering many homeless, jobless and subjected to extreme vagaries. Young women and girls were most affected with cases of teenage pregnancies reportedly on the rise. In response, a consortium led by Lions Club of Menengai (Nakuru), Women like Us Center and the Tobias Foundation from Nakuru County rallied support from wellwishers and paid a visit those affected on 3rd August 2020. They were joined by the 1st Lady of Baringo County Mrs. Ivy Kiptis who spearheaded in sensitizing the teenage girls in attendance on how to use sanitary towels and undergarments. Accompanying her demo were heartful words to the young girls, ‘hii kitu ni ya kazi mbili pekee, kukojoa na kureceive periods’. This would communicate to any clever person that early sex is not at any point advised. Apart from clothing the girls’ integral body part, they also put food in the empty food baskets of the families affected by the flood. With the current worsening state of the livelihoods and poverty stricken families, this was a heaven sent gesture that left the hearts of the locals smitten. The event was a success and we were all contented with the happiness painted on the faces of the beneficiaries.

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The Story of Paulyne

Linda Rendleman — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 17:17:31 +0000

Her name is Paulyne and is the mother of one child. She has lived on the streets, cleaned toilets with her baby strapped to her back, is a victim of rape and abandonment. Her story is one that is difficult to imagine for many people, but one that needs to be told. In 2011 at the age of 19 Paulyne was raped by her mother’s brother. As a result of the rape she got pregnant and at the same time was infected with HIV leading to AIDS. After the rape she told her mother about it. Unfortunately, her mother was not willing to face her brother or the community at large about what had happened. Her mother went as far as refusing to seek treatment for Paulyne, and did not allow her to go out of the house for 3 months. Paulyne began to feel sick. She was treated with herbal medicine, which obviously did not heal the problem. Eventually, Paulyne’s mother took her to a government facility where she was confirmed to be pregnant and positive for AIDS. After discovering that she was pregnant and positive for AIDS, Paulyne’s mother sent her out of the house to live on the streets of Baringo, Kenya saying that she was a prostitute. Paulyne sought out a friend who helped her get treatment and a job in a hotel. She began taking ARV – a medication for AIDS and slowly accepted her situation. She gave birth to a baby boy but found it difficult to connect with the child given how he was conceived. We only have to put ourselves in Paulyne’s shoes to understand how she felt during that time. During this time Paulyne thought it best to take him to live with her mother. Sadly, her mother did not want to raise the child. She then returned with her baby to her friend’s house where she had been staying. When the baby was 3 months he became epileptic. This caused the friend that Paulyne had been staying with to feel very uneasy about having the baby in her house. Once again, Paulyne was forced to move. This time she moved from Baringo to Nakuru where no one knew who she was. She could have a fresh start in life. She lived on the streets for 6 months until she was able to secure a job cleaning toilets with her son strapped to her back. While at this job she met a woman, who was in her same situation and encouraged her to go to the Women Like Us Foundation. She has been at the center since May 2019. Paulyne is receiving love and counseling to help her overcome her tragic history. She is also learning skills that will eventually help her secure a steady income and possibly give her the chance to have her own business. Her son is now 9 years old and is healthy. She still struggles to connect with him, but with time and the help of the Women like Us center, she will hopefully find the love for herself and her son. Paulyne’s story is not […]

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Women Like Us Helps New York City Hospital

Linda Rendleman — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 21:22:01 +0000

With support from the New York/ New Jersey Metro Professional Network who donated the resources to purchase 300 masks, the professionals on the front line at New York University hospitals on Long Island have welcomed the masks from our women at the Women Like Us Center with open arms. The sewing program at the center is one of many skills they have learned. Each mask guarantees a wage for the woman who made it which, in turn, supports their children and families. Another project, raising chickens and selling eggs and chicks, has been halted during these difficult times making the purchase of these masks even more important to their sustainability. The Women Like Us Center is dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished women coming from a life of abuse, violence, physical hardships, and personal loss. Their trauma is intense and deep-rooted, leaving no hope for the future. The center provides social-psycho support and education for economic stability. Thank you Metro Professional Network. You’ve helped women and children in Kenya and those in your own backyard. Your compassion and support has helped around the world.

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How to Stay Positive & Motivated During COVID-19

Linda Rendleman — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 18:37:30 +0000

This week we have a guest blogger from the gapmuse website. The author, Jedidah Karanja, is a volunteer for our initiative, Masks for Change. … Is there a reset button? Seriously, could we reset this year and start it all over again? The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted our lives in 2020. One minute we’re going about life wondering if we will accomplish our goals for the year; the next minute we’re wondering when and if we’ll ever be able to leave our homes and interact with others freely! Heck, it didn’t even give those of us who had slipped up a bit time to get back on track! If you could have predicted that in the last 3 weeks of March we would be home quarantined, schools and non-essential businesses would be closed, events canceled, restricted travel, millions of people out of work, and sadly, over 1.5 million across the globe infected with coronavirus and thousands losing their lives, we would have thought you were nuts! Yet, here we are, wondering what in the heck happened and when it’s all going to get better. With the media preaching doom and gloom and politicians seemingly confused on how to handle this crisis, it’s easy to feel helpless. But we must not allow that to happen. We can either allow this virus to defeat us or we can choose to fight. We choose the latter! Finish reading this post on gapmuse.com

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“At first I wasn’t super worried about it…”

Linda Rendleman — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 18:29:49 +0000

This is Cori. Cori is 21 years old and a nursing student. Her striking red hair and dramatic brown eyes are barely seen under the cover of her protective equipment. Cori started working at the local hospital near her home in Nevada last year and was assigned to the Neurosurgery unit. Her recent certification as a CNA in hand, she was helping patients and assisting where she was needed in post op. Earlier this year she became a student nurse. Determined and excited to start her studies in a most dedicated and important field, Cori began her classes and continued at the hospital part time. When she arrived to work last Friday, things were different. Cori’s unit had transitioned to a COVID unit. “ At first, I wasn’t super worried about it- but as I learned more about the virus and saw more and more patients come in, I realized this is a serious thing. I started feeling the impact. Each time I go back I see how much my unit has changed. People are dying. Some go home. I’m getting regular updates from my work.” Cori’s days are 12 hours long. She helps 10-15 patients in the unit each day; changes her gown and gloves and disinfects her equipment each time she leaves the room. The N95 mask, then a surgical mask over it, finally the last layer, the shield, are her protection. She’s asked to hold on to her N95 and her shield for 3 months. “It’s hard to get fresh air so when I am not in a patient’s room, I’ll take off the N95 and just wear the surgical mask while I do my paperwork.” Her nursing classes are online now and although she misses the interaction with the other students and the teachers, she knows this is the way it needs to be. This is the new path to her future. This is Cori’s story. There are many more like hers now all over the world. We’re thankful for our health care workers and not the least of these is our young caregivers who will take their experiences of today into the futures of our humanity. Bless you all.

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