EMPOWERMENT

Margaret holding her tittle deed.

Grassroot women have been empowered despite cultural practices and beliefs,gender based violences and politics.Through community land and property watchdog group and open forums women are able to know their rights and also helping husbands and relatives to understand that women can own or inherit properties and assets.
Margret a  married grassroot woman and a mother of five children,shows a smile of joy holding a tittle deed with her name in it,as she narrates her story.She tells how she involved her husband in on-going communty activities on empowerment,"every meeting i attended i updated my husband and he had no problems when i was to attend meeting workshops and seminars".
She continues telling her story,"one day my husband requested me to take him to visit a friend and my surprise was the place we went was the land registrar office and that where i learnt that my husband had registered a piece of land with my name and i was there to sign the tittle deed".Later her husband explained to her how he understood all the updates she had been updating him and that  how she owns the tittle deed.
w So, empowerment should start from home then to the community through sharing of information and knowledge.

paralegalism and community development

There was a village called kagera where a catechist called Tabutele resided and carried out different development project.People in this village used to take their problems to him to solve and for advice.After sometimes he was joined by a young grassroot woman called wambui who started helping him to solve people's problems but the problems persisted despite their efforts.
A.Which problems do you think the community was facing?
B.Which problems do you think they can :
1.Solve on their own?
2.Solve with little external assistance?
3.Problems they can do nothing about? 

Intersection of land rights and spread of HIV- this far how far?

The Community land and property watchdog (CLPWDG) members in Kakamega and Kendubay are undertaking  a process of reviewing their impact over the last 5 years. The genesis of our organising for land issues under the GROOTS Kenya network that lead to the conception of the women and property program that anchors the CLPWDG model was our concerns around people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS losing their property. further more the victims in most cases were always women!

What is the relation between retaining your land and property rights vis a vis increase in chances of contracting  HIV because of your state of vulnerability when  you lose your land or sorry i mean when your land is grabbed?

Our colleagues in the movement are now working with partners in their regions to undertake this study, we await the analysis and conclusions from this study to further our work.in the meantime back to business lots to do, shambas to plough, cows to milk and people to share our knowledge with.

Happy new year 2011

its another year.

we have created this space to allow those interested in supporting women access and retain their land and property rights dialogue, exchange ideas and experiences to enhance women and orphan land and property rights.

lets engage, lets work together lets contribute towards a just society where the vulnerable can retain their land to mitigate the impacts of poverty and diseases.