Safe futures - self-reliance for 675 Kenyan girls

The beginning of the year is always flurry of activity at the Seed of Hope centres as the current students report back before graduation and the new group of students stream in for enrolment in vocational courses of their choice. 

There has been a significant increase in the fashion and fabric design course enrolment after Florence, who is the Seed of Hope manager, was invited to talk about Seed of Hope on one of the most listened to radio stations in Kenya!  Florence was accompanied by Linnet who is one of the 2018 fashion and fabric design graduates who is now working in the fashion industry.  Linnet confidently shared her journey before and during her time at Seed of Hope and how the teachers helped her to deal with low self-esteem and build her confidence.  She encouraged many young girls who have lost hope and are on the verge of giving up on their dreams to visit one of Seed of Hope centres and get enrolled for a course that will transform their lives. 

In January 139 students graduated.  The graduation events were full of pomp and colour with former graduates honoured and current graduates showcasing their skills!  The fashion design students came up with very unique gowns to celebrate their day, the homecare management students prepared the best meals for the celebration while the hair and beauty therapy students ensured that all the girls looked absolutely gorgeous with their hair and make up!  Harriet is one of the girls graduating and she was wearing the Ankara shorts and matching top she made.

Harriet comes from a very humble family of four siblings.  Her mother is a house manager while her father is a preacher who depends on well-wishers for support as he has no other source of income.  Although Harriet completed her secondary education, she did not perform well enough to advance to university.  After finishing school, Harriet looked for a job in order to contribute to family’s basic needs.  She worked as a waitress in a restaurant for 4 months before her father learned about Seed of Hope, he knew that his daughter’s desire was to study fashion design, and so Harriet joined Seed of Hope. 

Our Seed of Hope training centres not only provide free high quality skills training, we offer a holistic package of support to help young students deal with many of the issues they’re facing by providing; mental health support, free lunches, sanitary products, empowerment programmes and other extracurricular activities that motivates and enables them to nurture their talents, improve their self- esteem and build confidence. 

During graduation, Harriet’s mother was emotional seeing her daughter being presented with a graduation certificate, they'd had to sacrifice some of the little income they had as a family to make sure that Harriet had bus money to attend the course as they lived 14km away.  Her teacher also ensured that if she missed any lessons she was able to catch up since she had seen Harriet's talented potential and worked closely with her to the last minute when Harriet presented her final project, her wonderful graduation outfit (pictured).  After graduation, Harriet has now been offered an internship with Penninah, a Seed of Hope graduate with a well-established fashion design business.  We look forward to seeing Harriet progress as she gets hands-on experience in the workplace and advice from an expert in the fashion industry.  This resonates well with a statement made earlier this year by Kenya’s First Lady who declared, “We need a world that is safer and more open to equal opportunities for our girls and women. We need to unlock the potential of girls, to raise girls that are bolder, better educated and ready to give their best to our world—in whatever capacity.” 

Harriet believes that this programme has done exactly that as she said “Seed of Hope has imparted skills that encouraged me not to give up on my dreams and to focus on everything I want to achieve in life.  I am now learning new designs and I can’t wait to complete my internship and open my own business”.  We wish Harriet all the best as she charts a new path towards a bright future.

Good news is that Raising Futures Kenya has received a grant that will support graduates from the two centres located in marginalised communities.  The 2019 graduates from Seed of Hope Kariti and Kitui will have access to a revolving loan that will enable them establish businesses using skills gained from training to start their own business, become financially independent and boost their livelihoods.  Both graduates and parents have completed financial literacy training, written their business plans and will shortly be receiving their business start-up loan.

Thank you for your generous giving towards Seed of Hope programme as it is through your support that girls like Harriet are able to overcome some of the challenges they face in their young life so they can thrive and reach their full potential. It is through your continuous giving that vulnerable girls are empowered, encouraged and equipped with skills that gives them a voice in creating their own path, improve the family living standards and participate in building the economy of the nation.

It is unbelievable how fast the year has gone by.  At Seed of Hope, it has been a busy year full of activities and engaging the students and community in decision making for projects that affect them.  It is the end of the school calendar year and all the students at Seed of Hope centres are preparing for their internal and external exams before breaking for the Christmas holiday.  The homecare management course students at Kariti Seed of Hope centre have been released to go for work experience placements after completing their syllabus to get a hands-on experience in what they have been trained on in the last eleven months.  The rest of the students will be starting their internal exams next week and those who have registered for the government grade test with National Industrial and Technical Authority (NITA) will have another week to sit for grade 3 test before the centres close on the 11th December 2019. 

One of the girls who has been the best in her course of study and is not afraid of sitting for two exams is Rebecca from Kangweni Seed of Hope centre in Kitui County.  Rebecca joined the training centre in 2018 after going through a rough patch in life having taken the decision to get married at a tender age with the belief that she will escape poverty that robbed her of the opportunity to advance in her education.  After three years of marriage and blessed with a child, Rebecca was still not happy with life as there was a missing piece that she needed to find in order to fill the gap, yet her options were thinning out!  She felt hopeless and desperate to change her family's living condition, particularly for her parents.

Rebecca suggested to her husband that she go back to the village to find work in order to contribute to meeting their daily expenses, and to be able to support her parents. Instead, Rebecca's husband suggested she finds a course she is interested to train on so that she can have better chance to earn a living through employment or self-employment.  Rebecca had heard about Kangweni Seed of Hope which is not very far from her parents’ home and when she walked in to inquire about the skills training, she did not hesitate to register herself in fashion and fabric design course and was excited to get started!  

Being a young mother, Rebecca was initially shy to interact with the other students as she joined a class of very young girls who had just come out of primary school or high school.  But through empowerment programmes like Amuka, mentorship, guidance and counselling, Rebecca was imparted with knowledge and skills that changed her personality and more so brought out her natural leadership traits.  Her self-esteem and confidence blossomed and she became the star of the school hence being elected the school captain towards the end of her first year.  

Rebecca’s husband and parents have been very supportive since she joined the training and she has never missed classes which has helped her to concentrate and become one of the top students in her course of study.  What is more exciting is that Rebecca is now ready to sit for her grade test and then join her sister-in-law who runs a dressmaking business in Kitui town.  Her star continues to shine bright now that she has completed her final project before graduating in January 2020, and I believe she will be earning a good income that will enable her to alleviate poverty in her family.

As we end our interview, Rebecca had this to say and I quote “I finally found the missing piece which took so many years of desperation and unfulfilled dreams and shame to find.  I am now empowered with knowledge and skills thanks to Seed of Hope for this opportunity that has changed me to a better daughter, wife and mother.  I am ready to go out and compete in the market place and achieve my dreams.” What a way to end a conversation! We wish Rebecca all the best in her forthcoming exams and her future plans.

In other news, the Seed of Hope graduation will be happening in January instead of the usual December. This will give the students more time in December on the new syllabus course work, ensuring all topics are well covered in preparation for their exams and that they're ready for working in a competitive market.  I believe this was a good move as it has created an opportunity for new enrolment of students especially at the Nairobi Seed of Hope centre who will be joining the class of 2020.  There are at least 5 girls like Violet who already joined in October and more are coming to register themselves for the coming year. 

On behalf of Seed of Hope, I would like to say thank you for being our greatest supporters and cheerleaders in transforming the lives of needy and hopeless girls like Rebecca who had dreams of being able to change her future which she is now fulfilling. Your generous giving towards this programme has been instrumental in providing the teaching, lunch programme, learning materials and other essentials.  We look forward to another year of positive impact and transformation as we continue to equip and empower more girls with skills and knowledge that will open doors to brighter future.

On behalf of everyone at Raising Futures Kenya - thank you and best wishes for the holiday season.