Muungano Wa Wajane, previously referred to as Solace Widows Foundation was officially registered as an association in Kenya in the year 2012. Bringing widows with the same challenges together created an opportunity for them to empower each other. In 2016, Muungano Wa Wajane registered with the Government as a community-Based Non-profit organization focused on Championing widow’s and orphans’ rights as well as helping them achieve their full potential through empowerment and projects aimed at supporting them. Widows have been a target of gender-based violence, sexual abuse, and family disputes that resulted into emotional and psychological torture, discrimination, and stigma among others. There are an estimated 285 million widows in the developing world. Over 38 million of these widows live in abject poverty.

Vision
A country and world where widows become empowered and attain their right to protection, development and participation.

Mission
To help widows live fulfilled lives by empowering them socially, economically, emotionally and spiritually, through the establishment of productive and reliable networking and support structures.

Muungano Wa Wajane (MWW) is a community based organisation that has been working officially with widows since 2012 in Kenya.

MWW was founded by Mrs. Bertha Gaitho.

The history of the organisation is best told in Mrs. Gaithos own words, thus: “MWW is a story that begun in 1999 when my late husband was the spiritual head of AIPCA church , one of Kenya’s indigenous churches. It is a story of unifying women. I gained the interest while serving alongside my husband, the then archbishop of the AIPCA church. I continually found it necessary to have a sitting with women after church while my husband would engage with in meetings with the clergy and church elders wherever we would go. Our church having come from a period of wrangles and turned round into a respected spiritual congregation had women forming the largest number of its membership, yet they had no umbrella body they could relate to. I sought to give the women a common identity and a sense of belonging. Before long, I founded the AIPCA women council where all our Dioceses in Kenya had women representation and led by the National women leadership team. I initiated the National annual all AIPCA Women conferences. I would invite speakers to nurture them about family, financial empowerment, social responsibilities and being a righteous woman. The AIPCA women council has come a long way and has over 2.5 million followers. Today’s AIPCA women are well recognized and even included in the church’s highest organ, the Central Board.

I also initiated the unity of the AIPCA clergy wives whose intention was to be a real helper of the clergy team and strengthen spreading of the gospel.
As I taught women and nurtured them spiritually and emotionally, I found that we did not adequately reach out to widows who formed part of our congregation. I realised that our gatherings were insensitive to the widows in our midst. As we taught women how to build lasting relationships with their husbands, the plight of widows in our midst was (unintentionally) ignored.
Though I had a husband, I felt the pain of the bereaved. As women would shout out in joy when taught about good husbands, I knew some were hurting from within. In my own room, I would weep for them in silence. I knew I had to do something. I therefore started small with organising meetings for the widows in my church. We would pray together and at the time, I thought I knew what they were going through, but I actually didn’t.
A few years down the line, my late husband Archbishop
Gaitho was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As we fought the disease together, moving from one state to another hoping to save my dear husbands life, my heart would skip a beat any time I thought of the worst – what if he died?
As fate would have it, my husband passed on. I am now on my sixth year of widowhood and I have seen it all.i now know very well the plight of widows. Where widows find solace is where I also want to be… where we can share our real life problems, share our stories and become strength to one another. This is how MWW was formed.
MWW is therefore an organization where widows find solace. A place where widows regain hope and strength. I desire to empower widows and give them a chance to live a decent, happy and fulfilling life

Muungano Wa Wajane (MWW) is a community based organisation that has been working officially with widows since 2012 in Kenya.

MWW was founded by Mrs. Bertha Gaitho.

The history of the organisation is best told in Mrs. Gaithos own words, thus: “MWW is a story that begun in 1999 when my late husband was the spiritual head of AIPCA church , one of Kenya’s indigenous churches. It is a story of unifying women. I gained the interest while serving alongside my husband, the then archbishop of the AIPCA church. I continually found it necessary to have a sitting with women after church while my husband would engage with in meetings with the clergy and church elders wherever we would go. Our church having come from a period of wrangles and turned round into a respected spiritual congregation had women forming the largest number of its membership, yet they had no umbrella body they could relate to. I sought to give the women a common identity and a sense of belonging. Before long, I founded the AIPCA women council where all our Dioceses in Kenya had women representation and led by the National women leadership team. I initiated the National annual all AIPCA Women conferences. I would invite speakers to nurture them about family, financial empowerment, social responsibilities and being a righteous woman. The AIPCA women council has come a long way and has over 2.5 million followers. Today’s AIPCA women are well recognized and even included in the church’s highest organ, the Central Board.

I also initiated the unity of the AIPCA clergy wives whose intention was to be a real helper of the clergy team and strengthen spreading of the gospel.
As I taught women and nurtured them spiritually and emotionally, I found that we did not adequately reach out to widows who formed part of our congregation. I realised that our gatherings were insensitive to the widows in our midst. As we taught women how to build lasting relationships with their husbands, the plight of widows in our midst was (unintentionally) ignored.
Though I had a husband, I felt the pain of the bereaved. As women would shout out in joy when taught about good husbands, I knew some were hurting from within. In my own room, I would weep for them in silence. I knew I had to do something. I therefore started small with organising meetings for the widows in my church. We would pray together and at the time, I thought I knew what they were going through, but I actually didn’t.
A few years down the line, my late husband Archbishop
Gaitho was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As we fought the disease together, moving from one state to another hoping to save my dear husbands life, my heart would skip a beat any time I thought of the worst – what if he died?
As fate would have it, my husband passed on. I am now on my sixth year of widowhood and I have seen it all.i now know very well the plight of widows. Where widows find solace is where I also want to be… where we can share our real life problems, share our stories and become strength to one another. This is how MWW was formed.
MWW is therefore an organization where widows find solace. A place where widows regain hope and strength. I desire to empower widows and give them a chance to live a decent, happy and fulfilling life

Muungano Wa Wajane (MWW) is a community based organisation that has been working officially with widows since 2012 in Kenya.

MWW was founded by Mrs. Bertha Gaitho.

The history of the organisation is best told in Mrs. Gaithos own words, thus: “MWW is a story that begun in 1999 when my late husband was the spiritual head of AIPCA church , one of Kenya’s indigenous churches. It is a story of unifying women. I gained the interest while serving alongside my husband, the then archbishop of the AIPCA church. I continually found it necessary to have a sitting with women after church while my husband would engage with in meetings with the clergy and church elders wherever we would go. Our church having come from a period of wrangles and turned round into a respected spiritual congregation had women forming the largest number of its membership, yet they had no umbrella body they could relate to. I sought to give the women a common identity and a sense of belonging. Before long, I founded the AIPCA women council where all our Dioceses in Kenya had women representation and led by the National women leadership team. I initiated the National annual all AIPCA Women conferences. I would invite speakers to nurture them about family, financial empowerment, social responsibilities and being a righteous woman. The AIPCA women council has come a long way and has over 2.5 million followers. Today’s AIPCA women are well recognized and even included in the church’s highest organ, the Central Board.

I also initiated the unity of the AIPCA clergy wives whose intention was to be a real helper of the clergy team and strengthen spreading of the gospel.
As I taught women and nurtured them spiritually and emotionally, I found that we did not adequately reach out to widows who formed part of our congregation. I realised that our gatherings were insensitive to the widows in our midst. As we taught women how to build lasting relationships with their husbands, the plight of widows in our midst was (unintentionally) ignored.
Though I had a husband, I felt the pain of the bereaved. As women would shout out in joy when taught about good husbands, I knew some were hurting from within. In my own room, I would weep for them in silence. I knew I had to do something. I therefore started small with organising meetings for the widows in my church. We would pray together and at the time, I thought I knew what they were going through, but I actually didn’t.
A few years down the line, my late husband Archbishop
Gaitho was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As we fought the disease together, moving from one state to another hoping to save my dear husbands life, my heart would skip a beat any time I thought of the worst – what if he died?
As fate would have it, my husband passed on. I am now on my sixth year of widowhood and I have seen it all.i now know very well the plight of widows. Where widows find solace is where I also want to be… where we can share our real life problems, share our stories and become strength to one another. This is how MWW was formed.
MWW is therefore an organization where widows find solace. A place where widows regain hope and strength. I desire to empower widows and give them a chance to live a decent, happy and fulfilling life

Source of funding
Muungano Wa Wajane has three sources of funding. The first one is money collected as service fee from the table banking. Secondly, the organization does fundraisings and finally Mrs Gaitho also chips in with her money acquired from other sources. The organizations plan is to reach widows in the 47 counties.

Our beneficiaries
Muungano Wa Wajane has touched and made an impact in the lives of over 5,000 widows across the country. This has been successful through the little funds we have and the programs we implement in the field. Workshops have helped widows start up small businesses such as groceries, kiosks and also kitchen gardening. The skills and knowledge they got have benefited them in establishment of self-help groups where they are able to depend on themselves and encourage one another as they continue with the journey of life.

• Provide strategic direction for the institution by formulating necessary policies and procedures that ensure the institution is professionally ran and in line with the Micro finance Act.
• The board shall ensure that all policies and procedures are well documented and that the necessary communication is made to all who are charge with implementation.
• Appoint competent and seasoned management to ensure that the organization is properly managed on a day to day basis with the confidence of all relevant stakeholders.
• Help in fund raising and ensure that the organization has adequate finances to meet its needs and deliver on its mandate.

• Ensure that the organization complies fully with set laws and regulations.
• Conduct review and update of policies and procedures annually to ensure that the institution operates at optimal capacity and that new update aids in the smooth operations.
• Develop a strategic plan for the organization and carry out detailed review of the same.
• Ensure that financial reports are prepared in the appropriate time and meet the set standards.

The board of directors shall create committees to aid in fulfilling its mandate. The committees shall be guided by the provisions of the Micro finance Act and The deposit taking regulation and any other relevant laws and guidelines set up by the Kenyan laws.

The committees shall include the following:

• The credit committee.
• Audit and risk committee.

The board can have different additional committees to aid in the proper running of the organization and as they see fit.