Safe futures - self-reliance for 675 Kenyan girls

Season's Greetings from the staff and students at Seed of Hope.

The last few months have seen us reach a milestone in Seed of Hope history. Over one thousand girls have now graduated from the Seed of Hope progamme. That's over one thousand girls who have been given dignity, hope and opportunity through their two years of studies at one of our four centres. There were colourful ceremonies at each centre to celebrate this year's graduations. Students from both first and second year performed songs, dances and poems as well as sharing testimonies of how Seed of Hope has changed their lives. Check out the link below to read some testimonies from our Nairobi centre.

A number of our graduates have already started up their own small businesses in the weeks since they graduated. In total we expect around twenty new businesses to be started from the class of 2012. These will give the girls an opportunity to stand on their own two feet and provide for their families by putting in to practice the skills they have learned during their two years at Seed of Hope.

2013 looks as though it will be just as eventful as 2012. The year starts with the launch of a new course at Seed of Hope Nairobi. Over the last few years, some of our rural centres have diversified and started courses in Hair and Beauty Therapy and Computer Studies in addition to the core Dressmaking and Fashion Design course. In January 2013, our Nairobi centre will start to train girls in Homecare Management. Here they will learn skills in cooking, childcare and how to look after a home.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported Seed of Hope by donating on GlobalGiving in 2012. Your contributions have allowed us to continue training girls and offering them Dignity, Hope and Opportunity.

Links:

• Powerful Words from Seed of Hope

Our students have just returned from their August vacation and are happy to be back in school and working hard. In fact, some students in Nairobi were even in school during the holidays to continue learning how to use computers and to make overalls for Seed of Hope’s mechanics students.

Seed of Hope is now its final term of 2012 and preparations are being made for this year’s graduation ceremonies. Almost one hundred students will graduate this year, including some fee-paying students whose fees help sustain our training programmes for disadvantaged youths.

Over thirty of the students who are graduating have been able to sit their Grade 2 exams set by the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT), Kenya’s most recognised examination board for dressmaking. Students who pass this exam have a higher chance of gaining paid employment. For those who are unable to sit the exams or who prefer self-employment, our Roots programme is designed to help them set up their own small businesses.

Since our last report, we have had word that two of our Seed of Hope Centres (Kisii and Kitui) have been certified by the government as recognised examination centres. This will reduce the costs involved in sitting exams for their own students and allow them to earn income by charging external students to sit their DIT exams on their premises. This will help with the sustainability of the centres.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Seed of Hope through Global Giving. Your contributions ensure that we can continue to train disadvantaged girls and give them brighter futures.