Muwayire Henry

The Widows' Club Muwayire Henry

This book is a vivid and captivating collection of personal stories from the women of "The Widows' Club". It unveils to the world the true experience and the extent of the plight of isolated, widowed mothers and their children in rural Uganda. Funds raised through the sale of this book will improve the lives of countless widows and children. Widows are major players in ensuring a household's wellbeing in most rural areas of developing countries, including Uganda. The capacity to improve the livelihoods of their households is hampered because they are disempowered economically and socially in agriculture and in civic arenas. Widows need a sense of agency and more access and control of resources, which together constitute the empowerment capabilities, to improve their livelihoods. The probability of a household becoming vulnerable to food insecurity in Uganda decreases with increasing levels of a widow's economic agency, physical capital empowerment and socio-cultural empowerment. Since income is the most significant determinant of food security in Uganda, improving income opportunities for widows and their families improves their household food security. Action for Youth and Women in Development (AYWD) wants to empower widows in the rural areas of Uganda by providing suitable support for these women with their employment or businesses, which will reduce their dependence on relief aid as well as relieve their worries, idleness and depression. It will also give them and their children a sense of dignity so that the community will be in a better position to participate in other development projects.