Safe futures - self-reliance for 675 Kenyan girls

Our Seed of Hope centre in Kariti, Murang’a, is a great success story. Under the leadership of Headteacher Njambi, the staff and students work hard both in class and in the other activities that sustain the project. Of all the Vision Africa projects, Seed of Hope Kariti has made the biggest steps towards self-sustainability.

Due to a decline in funding last year, the feeding program at each Seed of Hope centre was suspended. Rather than simply sit back and have students attend school without lunch, Njambi and her team took action and worked with staff, students and parents to come up with solutions. Great use has been made of the large shamba (land for farming) with vegetables and maize being grown. Unfortunately the recent crop of beans was lost due to heavy rains but a large maize harvest is anticipated in August. The shamba has also been planted with a lot of napier grass some of which is used to feed the centre’s cows and some of which is sold to generate income.

Another way in which the centre is generating income is through the sale of clothing to paying customers. On a recent visit by Field Director Deborah Kimathi, some of the second year students proudly showed off clothes they were making for customers. The students told us they had sourced the customers from their own villages by explaining what they were doing at Seed of Hope and that if people thought the clothes made were nice they could buy them. The girls are working in groups of 2 or 3 students to secure orders and told us that this is good practice for when they have their own businesses. When asked who would have the best business, there was no hesitation as every girl raised her hand and said “I will!”. This confidence is one of the greatest skills girls learn in their time at Seed of Hope.

The local authorities have been of great help to Kariti Seed of Hope centre. By working closely with the administration, supplies of government relief food have been received which supplement what is grown in the shamba. The other breakthrough is that thanks to CDF money (Community Development Fund) electricity has now been installed at the centre and a number of computers have been ordered so that students will be able to learn basic IT skills. A cyber will also be set up to generate income by servicing the local community members who currently travel 20km to find internet access for checking emails etc.

As this project continues to make steps towards becoming self-sufficient, we still need to find funding to support their tremendous efforts. Thank you to everyone who has supported Seed of Hope by donating on Global Giving. As you can see it is going to great use!

ASANTENI SANA! Thank you very much! We are extremely grateful to everyone who helped our project reach the initial target of $10,000. Each and every donation has helped us continue running our four Seed of Hope centres in Kenya giving dignity, hope and opportunity to destitute teenage girls.

When we were pulling together our information for the GlobalGiving challenge, we weren’t sure what to set as a target. $4,000 was the amount required to secure a place but we wanted to aim higher. To run our four centres for one year costs around $50,000 so $10,000 seemed like a good starting point and you helped us achieve that total in a period of nine months. This has really helped us in the funding of the centres and given the support we have seen from GlobalGiving donors, we decided to increase the target to $20,000...we know we can make it!

In line with the Kenyan school holidays, all our centres were closed for the month of April. During this break, the staff from all the centres came together in Nairobi for two days of training and exchanging ideas. Students returned at the beginning of May for their second term which will see our second year students prepare for their trade exams in Dressmaking. These exams are the same ones that government polytechnic students sit – the difference with our course is that we also train students with invaluable business skills and life skills. Many girls have problems with self-esteem when they enrol at our centres due to the circumstances from which they have come. Through counselling and lessons in Personal and Social Education, they gain a confidence which enables them to chat freely with visitors to the centre and to their own clients when they graduate and set up their own business.

Another difference between our curriculum and that of the government polytechnics is that students learn how to produce “marketable crafts” such as jewellery, mats, leather bags etc. They also learn about fashion and design and how to create their own designs. On a recent trip to our Kariti centre in Murang’a, we were shown some printing blocks the girls were working on. Showing great resourcefulness, the teacher had shown the girls how to make these from old flipflops! A fantastic example of recycling – check out the picture to see the results.

As well as seeking international donations for Seed of Hope, we have also been working with local individuals and church groups who are willing to assist the centres. In Nairobi, a group of visitors from a nearby church took time to visit the homes of some students in Kibera slums then headed to the centre to meet all the students. They were so touched by what they saw that they have decided to support the feeding program at this centre, ensuring that every girl will be given lunch at school. The same group also brought bags of newspapers which can be sold as part of the centre’s recycling project, re:future, to generate income towards the running costs.

Students are very much encouraged when we tell them that people locally and internationally are supporting them through their course. This motivates them to also help themselves by working hard and by contributing to the income generating activity at their centre. On behalf of the students, staff and management committees of each centre thank you for this support and we look forward to announcing that we have reached our revised target!

*** June 16th is International Day of the African Child....and also matching day on GlobalGiving where all donations will be matched with 50%. A great opportunity for us to take a step closer to that target! Please spread the word.***

Links:

• News Article: Staff Training