By Kirsty McLullich | Project Leader
The last few months have been busy for Seed of Hope. Both our first and second year students have been sitting their external trade exams and in September we saw three out of our four centres hold their graduation ceremonies. These two events are closely linked – traditionally, Seed of Hope has held graduations in December but since our second year students started sitting their trade exams, a number of them were able to find employment and put their skills to good use before their graduation ceremony. This year, it was decided that graduations would be held shortly after the exams so that all students who had completed their course at Seed of Hope would be there.
The graduations were held at our Kisii, Kitui and Nairobi centres with our Kariti ceremony scheduled to take place on the 6th October. As always, the graduations were colourful events with the girls wearing outfits they had designed and produced for themselves. At the Nairobi centre there was a fashion show as each girl made a grand entrance to show off her creation. At the end of the ceremony two of the students put on bridal outfits they had made as first years and gave the crowd an extra treat as they walked “up the aisle” together and had their first dance.
At each of the centres, the income generating activities are becoming more established and the three rural centres are doing a great job in providing their feeding program through cultivating their shambas (land used for farming). Despite the arid conditions, Kitui centre in Kangweni has even managed to grow some sukuma (kales) and cowpeas this year. The installation of a water pump by the Dunfermline Rotary club has made it easier for water to be fetched for watering the vegetables but it is hoped that a borehole can be dug so that there is sufficient water to irrigate a larger area of the shamba. This centre has also been rearing chickens and rabbits to generate income. On a tour of the compound before the graduation ceremony we were told that the local community barters with the Seed of Hope centre and will give them small chicks to rear in exchange for rabbits which are a local delicacy.
“Crafted” is a social enterprise that has been set up to support the Nairobi Seed of Hope centre but also allows fantastic opportunities for us to raise awareness of the Seed of Hope program. In recent months Crafted clothing has appeared in a number of fashion shows, designs were included in an exhibition by local telcom company Safaricom and our jewellery Crafters were invited to share their skills and hold a workshop for young children. You can find out more about these events and keep up to date with Crafted on our blog http://craftedkenya.wordpress.com
Once again, we’d really like to express our appreciation for the support donors have shown through GlobalGiving. The funds we receive make a great difference and allow us to keep running our centres which are changing the lives of disadvantaged girls in Kenya and giving them dignity, hope and opportunity. Thank you for being a part of this!
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