Gender Equality Kenya Project #3807

Safe futures - self-reliance for 675 Kenyan girls

by Raising Futures Kenya

Project Report | Oct 15, 2025
More young women are breaking free from poverty

By Keely Bicknell | Fundraising & Communications Officer

Emily learning computer skills

Dear friends and supporters,

Your loyal support is helping hundreds of girls and young women gain the skills they need to get a safe job or set up a sustainable business, via our pioneering Seed of Hope programme. Thanks to you, these young women can break themselves free from the cycle of poverty, uplifting their families and communities as they rise.

This year so far we have enrolled 628 young women, 180 of whom are young mothers.

Around 50% of these young women are studying Entrepreneurship, Finance and Computer skills (EFC). This 2 month short course gives students the skills they need to set up a business of their own. This includes learning how to budget and manage figures, as well as how to use computers and digital technology; without these skills, in the modern world young people would be unable to successfully market their business or connect with customers, further trapping them in poverty.

For recent EFC student Emily (name changed), EFC has been transformational : “Every lesson teaches me that I’m more capable than I thought. Technology is no longer strange; it’s my language.”

Mental Health: the hidden key to overcoming poverty

10th October 2025 was World Mental Health Day, a brilliant opportunity for us to shout about why free counselling and wellbeing support is an essential part of the Seed of Hope programme.

An amazing 429 students have benefited so far this year from having individual counselling sessions at Seed of Hope.

Poverty, inequality and/or exploitation are in themselves traumatic experiences. Many girls and young women have worried about the availability of food or the family budget for much of their lives. For others, there is complex emotional disruption at home, caused by the strain of poverty and inequality on their families and wider community. In Murang’a county for example, where our Seed of Hope Kariti centre is based;

Alcoholism affects 45% of families*
Domestic violence affects 54% of women aged 15 to 49, 20% higher than the national average**.

Girls and young women are disproportionately impacted. Poverty can mean they’re forced into early marriage and motherhood, or they face gender-based violence and exploitation. That's why we provide free counselling for students.

One anonymous Seed of Hope student told us:

“Counselling helped me look at life differently. I began to understand that even though life throws challenges, I have the power to face them and find solutions. I realised that with the skills I was learning, I could start offering services and earn money to support myself. Today, I’m a different person. I am full of life, confidence, and joy. I feel healed, emotionally and mentally. Seed of Hope didn’t just teach me a skill, it gave me my dignity, my voice, and a second chance at life.”

You can read more in our article Why Tackling Mental Health Is Essential for Youth to Break Free from Poverty.

Practical support for girls

We are delighted to share that so far this year, the local experts at Seed of Hope have provided:

65,443 nutritious lunches
1,892 period packs
575 childcare vouchers

For current student Teresia, childcare vouchers have been a lifeline:

“I joined Seed of Hope when my baby was just three months old, and now she’s one year old. The childcare voucher has been a great support — it’s helped me care for my baby’s wellbeing and even cover transport to school. This support has made it possible for me to continue my training while raising my child.”

Thank you for standing with young women and girls in Kenya - we are so grateful for your support!

With love and gratitude,

Keely and the team

Girls receiving their period packs

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Jun 19, 2025
When passion meets opportunity for girls in Kenya

By Keely Bicknell | Fundraising & Communications Officer

Electrical Wiring girls

Dear friends and supporters,

Your ongoing generosity has uplifted hundreds of girls and young women in Kenya, as they build their paths out of poverty and exploitation. We’re so excited to share the successes of the past few months at our Seed of Hope training centres, that your support has made possible.

This year so far we have enrolled 375 young women, 93 of whom are young mothers.

5 of those young women are enrolled in Electrical Wiring & Installation (EWI) and are coming to the end of their courses, and another 5 are enrolled in Motor Vehicle Mechanics.

Below are some lovely photos of current EWI Seed of Hope students, including shots of the young women keenly learning alongside their male classmates. We are so passionate about smashing gender norms and encouraging girls and young women to study whatever excites them the most! If young women are to break cycles of poverty and exploitation, they must be supported to ignore harmful gender stereotypes!

Clean water for the Kangweni community

We are thrilled to share that we now have the funds needed to build a 240m deep borehole at our Seed of Hope Kangweni centre!

The borehole will provide Seed of Hope students, plus 200 people in the local community, with an easy-to-reach, safe, clean, water source. Our goal is to eventually use the water to create a demonstration farm for agribusiness training for 300 local community members per year, enabling adaptation to changing climate conditions, improved food security and income!

What’s key is this clean water source will particularly benefit women and girls. Kangweni (Kitui county) is a remote, semi-arid area increasingly experiencing massive crop failure due to unpredictable rainfall and climate shocks of severe drought and flash floods. 40% of people are living below the food poverty line, and women and girls walk up to 10km to access clean and affordable water, limiting their education and employment opportunities.

A new kitchen, built on collaboration

We are proud and grateful that a brand new kitchen facility in our Seed of Hope Kangweni centre has just been built, ready to be used to cook nutritious free lunches for studying girls and young women. Soon, our partner NGO in Kenya hope to create a brand new Catering and Hospitality course at our centre in Kangweni too; these future students will use the new kitchen to learn to cook delicious meals, training to become caterers and chefs of the future!

Young mothers want to learn too - introducing Mary

Mary is a recent Hair & Beauty graduate from Seed of Hope Kariti. Incredibly, she became pregnant during her studies, but did not drop out. With support from the team at Seed of Hope, she continued her classes and then sat (and passed!) her exams while heavily pregnant.

Now a proud mother, Mary wants to set up her own salon, so she can support herself and her family.

Thank you for standing with young women and girls in Kenya - we are so grateful for your support!

With love and gratitude,

Keely and the team

Girl learning Electrical Wiring

Motor Vehicle Mechanics student, Roselyne

New kitchen launch

Girls using the old borehole which dries up

Links:

Why young mothers are disproportionately impacted by poverty

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Feb 24, 2025
Girls continue to be uplifted

By Keely Bicknell | Fundraising & Communications Officer

Nairobi graduates 2025

Dear friends and supporters,

The lives of girls and young women in Kenya continue to be uplifted and championed by your generosity! We’re so excited to share the successes of the past few months at our Seed of Hope training centres, that your support has made possible.

Last year, we enrolled 637 girls and young women from marginalised communities into Seed of Hope, across our three centres. Of these, 162 were young mothers.

These girls joined Seed of Hope because the cycle of poverty meant they were unable to access or complete their education, effectively locking them out of safe, meaningful employment and leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and gender-based violence. Instead, each of these 637 girls benefited from our free training, free lunches, counseling, life skills training, and free learning materials.

At the end of January 2025, these incredible young women, currently part way through their internships, enjoyed their graduation ceremonies, proudly wearing their gowns and mortarboards in front of their families and friends. Each girl and young woman that graduated has been equipped with the skills and self-esteem needed to build their own exciting, safe futures!

Take a look at the snaps of the epic fashion show put on by Fashion and Fabric Design Nairobi graduates. You can tell by the incredible quality of the outfits on display (photos below) the level of skill young women graduate their Seed of Hope courses with, whatever they choose to study.

One graduating young mother shared: “I am deeply grateful to Seed of Hope for providing me with the opportunity that has changed the trajectory of my life for the better”.

Amongst the graduates was Yvonne, one of the two pioneering girls that has just graduated their Seed of Hope Kariti Electrical Wiring and Installation (EWI) course! Yvonne (pictured wearing the mortarboard in the photo with her fellow female EWI classmate) lives with her grandmother and had to drop out of secondary school when the money for fees dried up. She came to SoH and chose to study Electrical Wiring, a course traditionally dominated by boys and young men. She absolutely thrived in her learning, and has just graduated with the skills to set up her own business, doing things like installing CCTV and wiring doorbells! We couldn't be prouder of these two trail-blazing young women!

Introducing Mary, recent Hair & Beauty graduate from Seed of Hope Kariti. Incredibly, Mary became pregnant during her studies, but did not drop out.

With support from the team at Seed of Hope, she continued her classes and then sat (and passed!) her exams while heavily pregnant. Now a proud mother, Mary wants to set up her own salon, so she can support herself and her family.

Finally, we’re proud to share that, after becoming an accredited NITA (National Industrial Training Authority) exam centre at the end of 2024, 161Seed of Hope students chose to sit a NITA exam on top of their Seed of Hope exam in December 2024. We are blown away that 17% were graded First Class (i.e. their mark was 83% or higher!) and 78% were graded Pass!

Gaining a formal qualification like this, on top of their Seed of Hope skills and qualification, is a very strong step towards a successful future, with no limits for these inspiring young women!

Thank you for believing in these girls - we are so grateful for your support!

With love and gratitude,

Keely and the team

Fashion graduate 1

Fashion graduate 2

Fashion graduate 3

Fashion graduate 4

Yvonne and fellow EWI classmate at graduation

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