International Widows Day archive

Our IWD celebrations

Some of the widows who participated in Nyanam Widows Rising International Widows Day 2020 celebration.

International Widows Day occurs annually on June 23 and is a day the United Nations set aside to recognize the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents.

Starting in 2019, Nyanam Widows Rising hosted annual International Widows Day celebrations in Kenya for widows and their families. The archive records that 2020 raised more than $3,000 for 115 COVID-19 response kits, while 2021 was not marked because finances were unavailable.

2019

Nyanam has publicly marked International Widows Day in Kenya since 2019.

2021

The archive notes that 2021 was not marked because finances were unavailable.

115

COVID-19 response kits were delivered in 2020 after more than $3,000 was raised.

Explore by year

Browse each IWD page from one archive

Start with the archive, then open the dedicated 2023, 2024, and 2025 pages for the full campaigns, visuals, and support details.

2025

Leadership, graduation, and county-wide gathering

Open the 2025 campaign page for the leadership theme, 3,300-widow target, objectives, and support packages.

Open page→

2024

Equitable land rights and a 1,400-widow gathering

Open the 2024 page for the land-rights framing, campaign copy, and support tiers used that year.

Open page→

2023

Nairobi dinner and Kisumu celebration

Open the 2023 page for the dinner invitation, chief guest profile, sponsorship packages, and campaign visuals.

Open page→

Archive highlights

Key moments across the archive

This section keeps the verified text and imagery from Nyanam's archived International Widows Day pages without inventing missing material.

2026

International Widows Day 2026

Under the theme 'Strengthening Widows' Livelihoods for Resilient Communities', the 2026 celebration became the largest International Widows Day gathering in Nyanam's history, bringing together 4,282 widows from Kisumu and Siaya Counties alongside government leaders, development partners, and faith leaders.

196 widows graduated from the three-year Voice of Change preparation phase while 1,800 newly inducted widows joined from 67 Leadership Circles
1,331 widows received prescription reading glasses and 49 widows accessed free legal aid services
KES 1.5 million was distributed to Leadership Circles and 9,300 kg of sugar was shared with attendees
Open the full 2026 report for the celebration recap, partner voices, and livelihoods exhibition highlights

Read the 2026 report

2023

International Widows Day 2023

The landing page records two linked 2023 events: a June 22 #NyanamDinner with 42 friends and guests at Gem Suites Hotel, followed by a June 23 celebration with 600 Nyanam widows.

39 widows received certificates of recognition and branded mugs
Women in the Window International and Nyanam branded shopping bags were distributed together with 2 kg sugar
Open the dedicated 2023 page for the full dinner invitation, chief guest profile, and sponsor artwork

Open the 2023 page

2022

International Widows Day 2022

The 2022 section says Nyanam hosted a half-day celebration that brought together 40 widows, honored resilience and community contribution, and distributed household support gifts.

40 widows gathered for the half-day celebration
Certificates of recognition and mugs were awarded for resilience and contribution
Each widow received cooking oil, sugar, and maize flour as IWD gifts

2020

International Widows Day 2020

The archive explains that the 2020 celebration had to be smaller because of COVID-19, but it still raised more than $3,000 to fund and distribute 115 response kits for widows and their children.

More than $3,000 was raised through GoFundMe
115 COVID-19 response kits were delivered
The archive hero photograph comes from this 2020 celebration

2019

International Widows Day 2019

The archive still carries the 2019 heading, marking the beginning of the public record, but no gallery remains attached to that year.

2019 is the first year still named in the archive
The remaining archive copy describes annual celebrations starting in 2019
No gallery images remain attached to the 2019 entry

Archive gallery

Images carried through the archive

The archive currently retains live photographs from the 2020 and 2022 celebrations, so this gallery stays focused on those documented images.

Next action

Explore the current campaign or support the movement

Support widows View IWD 2025