Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about At The Heart of a Woman (ATHOW), our mission, and our work in the community.
At The Heart of a Woman (ATHOW) was founded in 2021 by Winfred Atemba, a passionate grassroots leader, in response to the urgent need to address poverty, inequality, and gender-based vulnerabilities affecting women and girls in Kenya. Witnessing the daily struggles of women in informal settlements, many of whom rely on transactional sex to survive, Winfred was compelled to create a safe, empowering space that would support women in reclaiming agency over their lives.
Registered under the NGO Act, ATHOW’s mission is to champion the rights and well-being of women and girls through advocacy, education, and community empowerment. Our vision is a world where every woman and girl thrives with equal access to opportunity and leadership. Our key objectives include promoting education, healthcare access, economic empowerment, and leadership development. ATHOW designs holistic programs that address both immediate needs and long-term transformation, creating sustainable pathways out of poverty and exclusion.
Registered under the NGO Act, ATHOW’s mission is to champion the rights and well-being of women and girls through advocacy, education, and community empowerment. Our vision is a world where every woman and girl thrives with equal access to opportunity and leadership. Our key objectives include promoting education, healthcare access, economic empowerment, and leadership development. ATHOW designs holistic programs that address both immediate needs and long-term transformation, creating sustainable pathways out of poverty and exclusion.
Vision
To empower women and girls to achieve equal access to education and sustainable well-being, fostering a world where every woman and girl has the opportunity to thrive and lead.
Mission
To champion the rights and well-being of women and girls through advocacy, education, and community empowerment, working towards a society that values and supports their full potential, breaks barriers, and promotes gender equality.
Women aged between 17 – 44 years and their children.
In Korogocho, one of Nairobi’s most underserved informal settlements, over 150,000 residents live amid poverty, insecurity, and limited opportunity. Here, women and girls face intersecting challenges: gender-based violence, limited access to healthcare and education, and chronic unemployment. Many young mothers are pushed into transactional sex for survival, exposing them to trauma, exploitation, and HIV risk. Findings from our 2024 Badilisha evaluation showed that most participants earned less than 200 KES per day, struggled with mental health, food insecurity, and lacked access to digital tools and safe spaces.
These are not just statistics. They represent women seeking safety, dignity, and a future. At The Heart of a Woman (ATHOW), our proposed project responds through holistic, trauma-informed support: vocational training, psychosocial care, mentorship, life skills, and digital empowerment. Our goal is to disrupt systemic cycles of vulnerability and help women reclaim agency, rebuild their lives, and pursue sustainable, self-driven futures.
These are not just statistics. They represent women seeking safety, dignity, and a future. At The Heart of a Woman (ATHOW), our proposed project responds through holistic, trauma-informed support: vocational training, psychosocial care, mentorship, life skills, and digital empowerment. Our goal is to disrupt systemic cycles of vulnerability and help women reclaim agency, rebuild their lives, and pursue sustainable, self-driven futures.
We actively involve the women we support in shaping our programs to ensure their needs and preferences are central to everything we do:
- Food baskets: We consulted them to determine which items were most essential.
- Vocational training: We engaged them to identify which skills they were most interested in learning, ensuring the training remains relevant and empowering.
- Counseling structure: We sought their input on their preferred one-on-one sessions, group counseling, or a hybrid model and adapted accordingly.
- Digital literacy and scheduling: We involved them in deciding the most convenient times for training and other activities, to accommodate their daily responsibilities.