Kenya

A dusk to dawn curfew has been installed nationwide by President Uhuru Kenyatta. In addition, travel restrictions increased to ban movement in and out of Nairobi, Mombasa, and two counties for three weeks.

Concerns, Challenges and Adaptation Measures

Most of Women in Sustainable Enterprises’ (WISE) activities involve trainings. Due to the ban on gatherings, these have been canceled. WISE continues to operate though as Caroline Odera, Founder and Director, and her team of volunteers works from home.

One of their main challenges at the moment is assisting their women entrepreneurs. Due to a lack of daily income for many households, those who are renting solar lamps are unable to pay. WISE is exploring how to combat this issue. Additionally, WISE was expanding to Mageta Island. However, the inter-county travel restrictions have put this on hold.

Emergency Fund

WISE received Emergency Funds from Rockflower. They quickly utilized the money and put many local interventions into action.

WISE issued 60 facemasks, bars of soap and cereals to the local women entrepreneurs that they engage within their programs.

They also involved the use of drama in the local language to better educate the women and the rest of the Dunga community on the importance of handwashing, wearing face masks and social distancing as part of the WHO preventative measures for contracting the coronavirus.