The Women Support Network (WSN) is a community-led initiative dedicated to empowering women and girls by forming support groups focused on skill-sharing, resource exchange, and mutual aid. This network fosters self-reliance and promotes a culture of volunteerism, creating a sustainable support system for vulnerable women. WSN’s objectives include enhancing women’s ability to support themselves and others, building a robust community network that connects members to essential resources, and ensuring ongoing volunteer-based support within the community.
The network includes 240 women across six camps, mapped from existing groups, with additional groups formed where needed by identifying potential leaders. A unified platform allows these groups to collaborate and share insights. All members receive training on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), case management, gender and sex, women’s rights, human trafficking, Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS) management, entrepreneurship, and life skills, providing a foundation for ongoing support.
WSN also conducts pre-and post-test assessments to customize capacity-building sessions in leadership, GBV response, and vocational skills. Leaders and secretaries are democratically elected to coordinate activities. Regular awareness sessions address GBV prevention, ethical referrals, and skills development. The expected outcomes include enhanced self-reliance, timely support for vulnerable women, a volunteer-driven sustainable network, and greater community awareness of GBV and available services.