Currently, young women who drop out of primary school in rural Kenya have no hope for a future out of extreme poverty. Providing them with tailoring/dressmaking instruction and certification, as well as entrepreneurship skills training, they become empowered to lift themselves out of poverty and make lasting generational change. This project will enable 60 young women (and about 30 children) to attend Neema's skills-training program for 3 years, which will impact more than 500 individuals.
Extreme material poverty is pervasive in rural Kenya and causes many young women to drop out of school. While 75% of girls attend primary school, only 8% attend secondary school. Once a girl drops out of school, there is little hope for her to build a life out of poverty, and she becomes even more vulnerable. Not being in school increases the risk of unplanned teen pregnancies and sexual abuse. And without an education, these young women lack the skills needed to be self-sufficient.
Through our skills-training in tailoring and dressmaking, our students are able to gain employment or start their own business after graduating. They spend three years learning tailoring and take national certification exams-the same exams taken by students in a technical college-and also learn about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and employability so they are prepared to manage in the workplace.
Upon graduation from Neema, these young women have the skills needed to be employed in any tailoring shop or to start their own business, and begin making enough money to provide for their families. They're also equipped to keep their own children in school, thereby breaking the cycle of extreme poverty. We estimate that one Neema graduate supports an average of 8 individuals across 4 generations.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
