The Women Economic Empowerment Program (W.E.E.P)
WEEP is an initiative that aims to save HIV-positive women from a life of rejection and poverty by empowering them to live sustainable lives.
It consists of 3 phases, each lasting 6 months. Each phase prepares the women for the next phase. It is very much a personal journey for each and every one of them. At the end of that journey, though, the women are SET! (Stabilize, Empower, Thrive)
The first phase aims to help the women heal mentally and physically. It helps them get themselves in order. They have six months to improve their health, learn to live a healthy life with HIV, heal emotionally from the stigmatization they have received from friends, family, and themselves, and learn to become responsible for their children. LPK helps them achieve these goals by providing them with:
Once the women have accepted their status and healed from the emotional trauma of rejection at the hands of their loved ones, they are prepared to focus their energy on the next phase. They are enrolled into the WEEP Centre, where they learn skills they can use to start a business or find a job. Skills include:
In the final phase, the women develop their business plans so that they can provide for their children’s needs, both financially and emotionally, and send them to school. The process looks like this:
WEEP Graduation
At the end of the third phase of WEEP, the women celebrate with a graduation ceremony to celebrate 18 months of hard work and growth. Graduation is a very exciting time for everyone at LPK. It is an opportunity to acknowledge each participant and wish them well moving forward. By this point, each woman’s business is thriving independently, and they are prepared to support themselves and their families with their newfound skills and confidence!
Success stories.
Here are some success stories of women who have participated in the WEEP program and graduated and have gone on to establish their own businesses.
The Women Economic Empowerment Program (W.E.E.P) has changed many lives for the better.
Like so many other women, Naomi contracted her HIV from an unfaithful husband. After learning that her husband's girlfriend had died of AIDS, she went and got tested. After testing positive, Naomi left her husband; but with no family to turn to, she was forced to live on the streets. She soon began drinking as well.
Beatrice has suffered a great deal of pain in her life. She was raped at the young age of 12 on her way to school. Instead of receiving the love and support of her friends and family, she received an outright rejection. Her friends abandoned her, while her mother treated her coldly.
Ann Wambui married at the age of 23, and for the next five years, she spent much of her time going back and forth to the hospital, completely unaware of why she was always sick.
Beth lost her husband to AIDS in 1997, leaving her to raise their 2-year old daughter on her own. She didn't know her husband was HIV Positive, though his family knew. Despite being sick and weak all the time, she didn't know of her own HIV Positive status either.
