Safe futures - self-reliance for 675 Kenyan girls

Maureen’s story…

Maureen and her 3 siblings did not have an easy life growing up in Kibera, one of the biggest slums in East and Central Africa. Life in the city slum was short lived after her father lost his job and the family moved back to the village on their small plot of land where they grew just enough food to feed themselves, hardly making ends meet. Maureen went to the local primary school and though she completed her primary education, she had no chance of joining high school as her parents could not afford to pay school fees. She was forced to help her mother in the farm, as this was the only source of livelihood for the family. For two years she lived in the village, Maureen was frustrated as she would see her former classmates going to high school while she continued to work on the farm or engage in menial jobs to earn a little income for the family.

Life in the village proved difficult for her and she pleaded with her parents to allow her go back with her older sister in Nairobi to look for casual jobs. They agreed and Maureen’s sister helped her secure house help job in one of the city suburbs where she worked for 3 years. Due to challenges she faced in the hands of employers, she left work and opted to get married and start a family at the age of 19 since she did not want to go back to the village.

Maureen was introduced to Seed of Hope programme by a friend and enrolled for a one year Homecare Management Course. At the weekend, she sells snacks to her neighbours but also does outside catering to generate extra income for her family’s upkeep. When asked how seed of Hope has changed her life she said “I am happy to have joined Seed of Hope because my dreams were shattered and I thought getting married will solve my problems but now I know that it is through the skills I have learned that will make my life much better. I also have confidence that will enable me to raise the living standards of my family.” Maureen plans to open a small café with the support of her husband and sisters after completing her course.

Other news…

In other news the second year students of dressmaking, fashion and fabric design course sat for their grade 3 test and are preparing for grade 2 in August from the National Industrial Training Authority. The government grade test is very important as it builds the students profile as they can advance their skills in any of the government technical training institutions but also get employed in the textile industries and fashion companies in Kenya. There is hope for each and every girl or young mother who joins Seed of Hope as it is not only the technical skills that they take back but their confidence is built and they are motivated to grow and advance in their studies.

Thank you…

All this would not be possible without your generous giving towards Seed of Hope. This project has made it possible for a young mother like Maureen and many other girls to build confidence, raise their self-esteem and have the opportunity for a prosperous and promising future.

Links:

• Seed of Hope helped Irene realise her self-worth

To celebrate International Women's Day, we thought we would share the story of one of the hundreds of young women that have been empowered thanks to donations via our project on GlobalGiving , 'Train 300 destitute Kenyan girls for self-reliance'.

It is believed that when you raise the status of women, you stand a real chance of improving everything, which means her life improves as well as those around her. Seed of Hope is one such programme that has brought real transformation in to the lives of young girls, their families and communities around them. The programme exists to equip and empower young people with skills that will provide opportunity for them to find employment or self-employed hence become independent and raise their standards of living. There are over 1000 girls who have graduated from Seed of Hope Programme across the four centres. According to our 2016 statistics, 60% of our graduates are employed while 34% are into self-employment another 5% went back to school for further studies after being able to save enough money from their work. This is a clear indication that the girls are determined to improve their livelihoods like in the case of Fridah.

Fridah was among the first group that pioneered the HomeCare Management Course ( HCM) at Seed of Hope Nairobi. The one year course targeted vulnerable girls and young mothers who were interested in short courses that would enable them to start small businesses or get employed once they completed the training. She lived with an uncle since her mother who was the soul bread winner could not be able to pay for her education. The uncle struggled to pay for her secondary education until she completed but she had no hope for further studies due to financial constrain. She decided to look for casual jobs like washing other people’s clothes so as to support her sickly mother and her siblings. She had a baby and decided to move back to the village as life became unbearable in the city. When the baby was old enough to start school, she left him with the mother and came back to Nairobi to look for greener pastures. It was at this moment that her uncle informed her about Seed of Hope and the free courses being offered. She joined the homecare management course and it was through the support and encouragement from teachers that she became one of the most outstanding students in her class. Her self- esteem and confidence improved significantly and now when she has time she mentors younger girls who have joined the programme.

Fridah has worked in several restaurants and is now managing one of her aunt’s cafés in Nairobi. She said that were it not for Seed of Hope programme, she would not be where she is at the moment as she is able to educate her son, provide for her mother’s medical expenses and more importantly save money in the bank to raise capital for her own business in the near future.

As we finished our interview this is what she said “I am so happy to have had the opportunity to join Seed of Hope programme as it has impacted my life. I had lost hope, I felt alone but the teachers gave me support and I am confident to go out with the certificate I earned to look for jobs.”

The impact this programme has had in the lives of women like Fridah would not have been possible without your generous giving! Thank you for supporting our Seed of Hope programme and helping us to give young women dignity, opportunity and hope for a better future!