Thames Path Challenge

Why walk for ActionAid?

Agnes, 46, is a single mother living in Nakuru County, Kenya, and the sole provider for her three children and a foster child. She works two jobs—as an environmental cleaner and a tea picker—but for years this still wasn’t enough to feed her family or pay school fees.

I was working from morning until midnight and still struggling to put food on the table."

After joining an ActionAid-supported project, Agnes received training on women’s rights, financial management and collective organising. She successfully negotiated better working hours, fairer weighing of tea leaves and improved pay, alongside other women tea pickers.

Today, Agnes finishes work earlier, earns more, and grows vegetables to feed her family. She has accessed education bursaries and joined a women’s savings group to manage school costs.

Agnes also says women now feel safer reporting gender-based violence, as knowledge of rights and local support networks has grown showing how collective action can transform lives.

Fundraising helps women like Agnes secure fair pay, safer working conditions and the chance to provide a stable future for their children.

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