Women's Centers International
Home of the Women's Centers Movement
Our Donors Work Miracles
WCI has supported amazing accomplishments since its birth in 2011. From a single small Center with 300 members, we grew to five Centers serving over 4,000 women and their children. We have been honored by the support of hundreds of individuals who are committed to gender equality.
WCI welcomes your donations. In particular, donation of many types of assets to a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) can greatly benefit WCI. Please see details HERE
Baraka Women's Center Director Dr. Teresia Njora joins members of Baraka2 Women's Center in Rumuruti, Kenya for tree planting on Madaraka Day
Who We Are
WCI is the 'mother ship' of the Women's Centers Network, assisting local women-led organizations to adapt the Women's Center Model to local culture and needs.
Core programs at Centers include literacy and vocational training for improved livelihoods. All Centers develop trauma-informed psychological support initiatives. Their reach and transformative impact has grown exponentially in the past year to serve over 4,000 women and their children.
Current Associates of the Women's Centers Network - serving over 4,200 women
KENYA – Baraka Women's Center. Adult education, Entrepreneur & Leadership training, Computer training, Table banking, Gender-Based Violence Awareness and Counseling, vocational training, Jewelry & dressmaking training.
KENYA - Baraka 2. Tailoring, Beadwork, Hairdressing, Beauty skills, Computer Literacy.
KENYA - Women's Power Center (WPC). Adult literacy classes, Bakery skills training for refugee women in Kakuma Refugee camp.
UGANDA - Dreams Destined Women Center. Sewing & sweater-making training program for young mothers.
ZIMBABWE - HOPE Zimbabwe. Community health worker training program & community garden project for women and children in Sakubva, a slum in Mutare.
NIGERIA - The Support Nest Initiative (TSNI). Technical support for community mental health.
A number of logistical dilemmas have caused the temporarily suspension of our support to Centers in DR Congo and Syria.
How We Serve Women
Women's Centers International serves any woman struggling with the burdens of systemic discrimination or enduring poverty produced by protracted civil conflict. In many countries, these circumstances converge; women bear the brunt of diminished resources.
WCI creates and develops safe community centers where women can gather and access resources often denied them due to class, cultural identity, and gender.
A Center is a channel for redistributing the wealth of communities to the women who most need it. That wealth arrives in the form of professionals willing to share their knowledge and skills, as well as donations of money, equipment, and materials that benefit the Center members. The goal of this wealth redistribution is to build the capacity of women to heal, to learn new skills, to accumulate knowledge, and to have the ongoing support of each other to achieve the prosperous, contributory lives they want.
A Center's programs focus on these core needs:
- Education – Literacy or continuing
- Livelihood – Jobs or business ventures
- Health – Education and access to services
- Protection and Recovery from domestic violence and sexual abuse
The location and social context of a Center determines how programs are delivered. In all cases, we honor the interrelationship of needs. Membership is free to any woman who registers. It entitles her to receive all services and to participate in all programs, workshops, and events the Center offers.
WCI believes women are the most effective societal change makers. Our world cannot allow any woman's talent languish for lack of resources. Our Centers are 'base camps' for the ascendance of women's priorities and power, our best hope for the peaceful, prosperous world we wish to inhabit.