WHO WE ARE
Promoting Women Economic Empowerment in Kenya and beyond
WHO WE ARE
Promoting Women Economic Empowerment in Kenya and beyond
Joyful Women Organization is a national movement dedicated to empowering grassroots women across Kenya through financial inclusion, social transformation, and sustainable development.
Founded by Her Excellency Mama Rachel Ruto, First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, exists to create opportunities for women to rise socio-economically by offering them the ability to make decisions for their own stability. We believe that when women are empowered, families thrive, communities prosper, and the nation grows stronger.
At the heart of our work is the Table Banking model, a group savings and lending approach that helps women access affordable credit, build financial discipline, and invest in income-generating activities. We currently have a presence in 44 counties within Kenya, and boast a constituency of over 240,000 members revolving KES 3.4 billion.
Table banking brings together a group of women 15-20 guided by the Joyful Women policy and the group’s constitution.
- Quarterly Bonuses: of short-term loans distributed every 3 months
- Education & Agriculture Boosters: Extra savings from January to August
- Annual Dividends: Profits shared among members
- Favourable Loan Interest Rates: Affordable borrowing
- Strong Group Bonds and continuity: Built on trust, transparency, and shared responsibility
Purpose
To be an agent of transformation for a quality holistic life in the society.
Our Vision
An equitable society where every person lives a happy, fulfilled and transformed life.
Our Mission
To catalyse socio-economic transformation in society through spirituality, collective agency, voice and influence
Our Projects
Joyful Women Organization implements practical, high-impact programs designed to improve the economic wellbeing, health, and resilience of our members and their families. Our projects are community-driven and respond directly to the needs of grassroots women across Kenya.
Water Access – Distribution of Water Tanks
We improve access to safe water by distributing water tanks to households, groups, and community institutions. This enables rainwater harvesting, reduces the burden of water collection on women and girls, and supports hygiene, kitchen gardens, and household resilience against drought.
Clean Energy – Household Air Pollution Awareness & Green Fund
We train women on the dangers of household air pollution caused by traditional cooking methods and promote cleaner, safer cooking solutions. Through the Green Fund, Joyful Women members can access affordable financing to acquire clean cooking technologies such as improved cookstoves and alternative energy solutions, improving health and environmental outcomes.
Digital Literacy Training
We equip women with essential digital skills including smartphone use, online communication, financial technologies, and digital safety. This program enhances access to information, markets, and services, enabling women to participate more actively in the digital economy.
Kitchen Garden Project – Food Security & Nutrition
We support households to establish and maintain kitchen gardens to boost food security and nutrition. Members are trained on sustainable farming practices, seed selection, and efficient water use to ensure year-round supply of nutritious food and surplus for income.
Agroforestry – Environmental Conservation & Livelihoods
We promote tree growing integrated with farming to restore degraded land, improve soil fertility, and enhance food security. Agroforestry increases climate resilience, provides additional sources of income, and strengthens environmental conservation efforts at the community level.
Leadership Training
We build women’s capacity in leadership, governance, and advocacy. Members are trained to lead groups effectively, manage finances responsibly, and engage confidently in community and public leadership spaces.
Poultry Value Chain Development
We support women across the poultry value chain through training in best practices in production, disease management, feed formulation, and marketing. This enhances productivity, improves income, and strengthens household livelihoods.
Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Farming
We introduce women to Black Soldier Fly farming as a sustainable waste-to-value solution. Members rear BSF larvae to produce affordable, high-protein animal feed while reducing organic waste and supporting poultry ventures.
A Message From Our Patron
The year was 1997, and the Kenyan general elections were just months away. I was traversing Eldoret North Constituency, meeting people from the community and rallying support towards my husband’s parliamentary bid. It is at one such meeting that I saw an elderly woman, possibly in her sixties, amidst the crowd. It was evident that she did not have much. She looked like she had not eaten that day and she didn’t have any shoes on her feet. Looking at her, I wondered what the situation with her children and husband back at home was if she looked like that.
What was different about her was her big radiant smile. She personified joy, a joyful woman. Struck by the picture of the woman without shoes, I was inspired to find a solution to empower her and others like her. For 12 years, I spent time researching sustainable solutions for women’s economic empowerment. In 2009, armed with purpose and the transformative concept of table banking, I went back to Eldoret North Constituency and on 31st August, sixty women gathered under a tree and Joyful Women Organization was born in honour of the woman without shoes.
Table banking may seem simple, but it reflects a profound truth: when people feel seen, trusted, and valued, they rise. It shows that women do not lack ability; they often only lack opportunity. This model is built on the belief that community wealth starts with individual dignity and choice.
Choice is the freedom to start a business, educate a child, or invest in a dream without fear. Agency goes deeper; it is the confidence a woman gains when she realizes that her decisions shape her life. She is not just a recipient of support, but an active driver of her future.
Financial inclusion restores this agency. It tells a woman, you have the power to act, and the ability to direct your own path. As a woman, a leader, and a mother, I have seen how transformative this is. When women gain both choice and agency, they uplift themselves, their families, and ultimately, their communities.
I hope Joyful Women becomes a symbol of what women can achieve when they believe in themselves and each other. A legacy of women lifting women. A legacy of strengthened families, transformed communities, and daughters who grow up knowing that leadership and prosperity belong to them. I hope future generations will say, “This was the movement that changed the story of the African woman.”