In line with Governor Kiraitu’s promise of empowering women across the County, his administration established the Meru Twaweza Program through the office of the County First Lady Madam Priscilla Murungi, and the County Department of Gender and Social Development.

Today, the Twaweza program officially launched a training for leaders of women groups from all over the County, on entrepreneurship, where they will be trained on financial management and profitability in their small scale businesses as well as sustainable management of table banking in their groups.

The training which was opened today at Kianjai Polytechnic by County Executive for Gender and Social Development Mrs. Nkirote Kailanya and attended by Twaweza Program Chairperson Mrs. Josphine Mbaya, saw leaders of 30 women groups from Tigania East and West Sub Counties trained by financial specialists from Meru County Microfinance. It is expected to run for the next one week, and taken to other areas to cover the whole County.

"This program will benefit up to 135 women groups across the County, and we want to encourage all women in Meru to join and form groups in order to be the beneficiaries, considering that our Governor has also allocated some finances for seed capital to be issued to established groups," said Mrs. Kailanya.

"Our Governor’s vision of establishing this Program was to empower Meru women and give them economic independence, as well as social and political visibility, by replicating their capacity to lead at family and group level, in the wider politics of County and the National levels, " said Twaweza Program Chair, Mrs. Mbaya.

Gender and Social Development Chief Officer Madam Florah Nyagah, said that her directorate is working to ensure that all the nine Sub Counties are staffed with qualified personnel to aid the implementation of programs in Twaweza, at grassroots level.

Evangeline Mukiri, the chair of Makandi Women Group from Kibuline, Mbeu Ward, lauded Governor Kiraitu and the First Lady Madam Priscilla, for initiating Twaweza Program, which she said has enabled her group to start a goat raring Project, where every member currently has a dairy goat.