It has always been Lyna’s dream to help and give something back to her people. Her passion corresponds fully with the vision of The Waymaker Trust “to see better opportunities for everyone and strengthening women as a family maker” Through her own struggles and experiences Lyna has a unique insight into the difficulties and injustices women can face in what is still a largely patriarchal society. Therefore, the Waymaker Trust has been set up to act as a catalyst for change especially in the field of women’s development and empowerment where many Mara women still face a lifetime of poverty and injustice.
The Trust works closely with an existing network of Mara Women’s Groups and focuses mainly on capacity building, education and literacy (80% of Mara women over the age of 35 remain illiterate), skills training, sustainable income generation activities and above all else on hope and aspiration so that women have the opportunity to improve not just their own but also their families’ living standards and life prospects.
Our Vision: Women are transformed above their current situation…
And our ambition for the coming years is to extend our works “to support, protect, prepare and give hope to the women and strengthen them to be able to stand on their own feet, and to build an alternative sustainable future and supporting them to participate in leading role for repairing of building a stronger future generation for themselves, their family, their community and country as a whole”. The support from an individuals and partners from international charities and local women networking is the most important for us.
We have three main programmes;
Women Livelihoods, Women Governance and Women Rescue Aids.
WMT STRATEGIC AIMS:
Aim 1
We will strengthen the capacity of women to act independently at home, and participant in the various levels of community governance to promote the fulfilment of women’s potential through formal or informal education to end inequality and discrimination against women within the community.
Aim 2
We will provide emergency assistance to women who are affected by the issues of political conflict and natural disaster for specific women.
Aim 3
We will provide women’s economic opportunities such as skill building and livelihoods training to improve their ability to earn income beyond traditional occupations, achieve economic self-reliance and to improve the quality of life from poverty, illiteracy and ill health among women.
The birth of the name Waymaker Trust…
In Lyna’s own words; “I had never thought or even imagined of a name for this charity even after I was supporting 3 children in their studies but as I realised how important it was to share their amazing stories to others and to share my heart with them I tried to think of names. As I prayed to God my friends and I came up with so many names but I felt the real name had still not been revealed to me. Then when I was on my bed one night thinking and discussing again about a name I just sang out ‘WAY MAKER, MIRACLE WORKER’. My heart felt completely different and I told my friends I got it… it should be WAYMAKER, the one who makes a way for us when there seems no way! So I called this charity the WAYMAKER TRUST for God’s glory. I used to pray to God to give me someone who needs Him instead of me or anyone else so that I can be His instrument to show those people how much God can do for them and to show them that God is there for them all the time. Even when nobody else sees them, God sees them and their needs and He will make a way for them no matter what they have to face or go through”.
The Waymaker Trust 