The BWA is a registered community-based organization (CBO) in Uganda which grew out of a grassroots recognition by widows in the sub-county of the experiences that they shared and the strength they had together to make change. Widows in the community began to come together to recognize their common experiences of marginalization, their common struggle to maintain their subsistence agricultural livelihoods and, in many cases, their common status as being HIV positive.

Today, the BWA is made up of 17 groups of widows which together make up an organization of over 300 widows. As a CBO, the BWA is accountable to bylaws that include democratic elecions for leadership. Each of the 17 groups are represented by an elected leader, and the entire BWA is represented by an executive leadership group of 5 members.