A new fishing boat and nets have been donated to three women’s groups at Kusa Beach in Nyakach Sub-County, Kisumu County to help widows and other vulnerable women reduce their dependence on fishermen and middlemen.
The donation by Geno Community Development Initiative (Geno-CDI) is intended to help women take greater control of fishing and fish trading and reduce their exposure to the practice known as “sex-for-fish”.
The three beneficiary groups are Shining Ladies, We Weya Gi Gowi and Kusa Lower Widows Group.
Shining Ladies chairperson Pamela Akinyi welcomed the donation, saying women at the beach hoped eventually to own their own boats.
“I am happy. We want all women at Kusa Beach to own boats,” she said. Perez Ouko, chairperson of We Weya Gi Gowi, described the boat as an important step in improving the group’s fishing activities.
“The boat is here, a big step. We expect fish in surplus, but we need a deep freezer,” she said.
Elizabeth Adongo, chairperson of Kusa Lower Widows Group, said the initiative would help widows earn a livelihood with dignity.
“This is a good initiative. It is helping widows through the boat. As widows, when we get help, we are happy,” she said.
Geno-CDI chief executive Enos Odera said the organisation was concerned about the effect of sex-for-fish practices on women’s dignity, health and economic independence.
“There is a lot happening in the lake, including sex-for-fish. We want our women to trade peacefully, without intimidation or coercion, and to be in charge,” he said.
He said many widows in fishing communities faced difficult choices as they tried to provide food, education and healthcare for their children.
Odera said the organisation would work with partners to provide more boats and equipment, but urged the beneficiary groups to manage the donated assets responsibly.
“We are looking for partners to help us with boats. The management of the boats we have donated will make partners add more,” he said.
Geno-CDI has previously donated boats to fishing groups at Sango Rota, Achuodho and Kendu beaches.
The organisation said it would also provide a deep freezer to the Kusa groups if the boat was put to productive use.
Geno-CDI chairman and founder Loraine Odera said the organisation was moved to act after learning about the challenges faced by widows in the fishing sector.
“When I heard about sex-for-fish, I was saddened and prayed to God to give me strength and knowledge to get help for widows in the fishing sector,” she said.
She said consultations with women showed that access to boats could reduce the dependence that can expose them to exploitation.
“We talked to these women and they proposed that they have boats to help eliminate sex-for-fish in the lake,” she said.
The organisation said the boat and fishing nets would help the women become more economically independent, with proceeds from fishing retained by the groups for the benefit of their members.
Women involved in fish trading around Lake Victoria have long faced challenges in accessing fish for sale, particularly when they lack the capital or equipment needed to fish themselves.
Such dependence can leave some women vulnerable to exploitation by those controlling access to fish.
Geno-CDI said it planned to mobilise additional funding for more boats as part of its efforts to address the problem in fishing communities.
For the three Kusa groups, the new boat is intended to be more than fishing equipment- it is a step towards greater economic independence and a livelihood that does not depend on exchanging sex for access to fish.
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