Resilient Woman is a Kenyan Community Based Organisation committed to promoting healing, restoring dignity and supporting the successful reintegration of women, girls and children affected by imprisonment and those in difficult circumstances.
Our vision: Formerly imprisoned women and girls restored to wholeness, dignity and freedom from stigma.
Our mission: To respond to the needs of formerly imprisoned women, girls and children in difficult circumstances through training, mentorship and reintegration advocacy by fostering partnerships and collaborations.
We believe that a woman’s experience of imprisonment should not define her future.
Imprisonment can have lasting effects on women, girls, children and families. Beyond the period of incarceration, women may face trauma, stigma, disrupted family relationships, loss of livelihoods and difficulty finding acceptance and opportunities when they return to their communities. Children may also experience separation, emotional distress and disruption to their education and wellbeing.
We believe that a woman’s experience of imprisonment should not define her future. With the right support, she can heal, rebuild her life, restore relationships and regain the confidence and opportunities to live with dignity.
Resilient Woman exists to walk alongside women and girls affected by imprisonment, both during and after incarceration, while also supporting their children, families and communities. Through trauma healing, mentorship, economic empowerment, education & life skills and reintegration advocacy, we create pathways towards healing, restoration and resilience.
Our approach recognises that successful reintegration is not the responsibility of the woman alone. Families and communities also have a role to play in creating safe and supportive environments where women can rebuild their lives and children can thrive.
By strengthening women, families and communities, we seek to break cycles of vulnerability and contribute to a safer, more resilient society where women and girls can overcome barriers and live to their full potential.
“Resilient Woman is a Community Based Organisation, located in Nairobi, that equips women and girls with tools to address barriers – harmful practices, societal norms and attitudes that keep them disadvantaged – by creating awareness, training, mentorship and advocacy, so that women and girls can live to their fullest potential.”
Between 2013 and 2014, an interaction with imprisoned women at Lang’ata Women’s Prison, and later with girls at Kamae juvenile detention, revealed the life circumstances and experiences that led these women and girls to prison. These experiences are not unique to women in prison or girls in juvenile detention; they are shared by women and girls across the board.
Adverse childhood experiences, such as the loss of loved ones, the separation of parents, abuse and neglect, leave women and girls vulnerable and expose them to risky behaviour that can lead to prison. Many also suffer the effects of harmful cultural practices like female genital mutilation and early marriage, and of societal norms, attitudes and socio-economic challenges such as domestic violence, the inability to make decisions at household level, the burden of care and unpaid work, all of which keep them perpetually disadvantaged.
Older women bear the burden of cultural norms and the inability to make decisions within the family, in addition to the burden of care and unpaid work. These barriers cause women and girls to lag behind in socio-economic development. Resilient Woman’s mandate is to create programmes that remove the barriers that keep women and girls at a disadvantage.
Resilient Woman was formed on 24 May 2014 by a group of like-minded, passionate individuals, who were also its first board members. Two years later, in 2016, it was registered in Kenya under the Community Based Organisation (CBO) Act as a non-profit, non-political entity. Since then, RW has helped women, girls, children and their communities overcome these barriers and mitigate the impact of the harmful cultural norms, socio-economic challenges and practices that stand in the way of their progress.
Conversations with women at Lang’ata Women’s Prison, and later with girls at Kamae, reveal the experiences that led them to prison.
A group of like-minded, passionate individuals come together and become the first board.
Registered in Kenya under the Community Based Organisation Act as a non-profit, non-political entity.
Two years of organisational capacity mentorship with Life in Abundance (LIA) Global Institute.
Second runner-up in the family category, for our work in restoration, healing and reintegration.
Three senior team members graduate, and Resilient Woman is accredited by LIA Global Institute.
We provide psychosocial support to promote emotional stability, healing and resilience among women and girls affected by imprisonment.
We support women and girls to rebuild livelihoods and achieve economic independence through mentorship and business skills development.
We support children impacted by imprisonment and those living in difficult circumstances to grow wholistically and develop essential life skills.
We create awareness and advocate for dignity, inclusion and community support for formerly incarcerated women and girls and their families.
At the heart of the model is our commitment to breaking cycles of vulnerability by strengthening women and girls, supporting their children and families and engaging communities in the reintegration journey.
