Family Economic Empowerment in the Kenyan Slums

From the field…..

“I never thought I could be a business woman, I feel great now that I’m able to provide for my kids”....Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a 37 year old single mother living with her five children in a rental house in the Madharau slums. Earning just ksh 200 per day ($2 USD) from casual jobs, she was struggling to provide for her children. Her daughter had been home for sometime for lack of secondary school fees. She was identified by the Macheo area social worker through her children, as they absent from school, often due to lack of school uniform. She was referred for economic empowerment. Elizabeth was taken through some training on financial management, savings and book keeping and she was found to be willing to start a business. She decided to be a green grocer and was given some stock to start her business. Within a few month, she expanded her business by adding charcoal and cooked food. Her business is doing well and she is now able to meet the basic needs of her children.

Economic wellbeing means people have their most basic survival needs met and have sustainable income and assets, in order to prosper.

During the reporting period, Macheo, through the Family Empowerment Program (FEP) carried out different interventions to assist people to identify achievable paths, that have the potential to offer a living wage, ensuring people have information about the job market and requirements for their specific fields and encouraging new entrepreneurs to grow through mentorship, financial management training and support.

The following activities Macheo carried out in the last quarter.

1. Seminars/trainings- These were carried out in the rural and urban areas which emphasized the importance of government documents and business skills.

2. Seed capital for economic support – With your help Macheo funded 10 family guardians in urban (Kiandutu) and 17 in rural (Iembeni)areas, were given seed capital to enhance a better way of life for supporting their children. Different types of businesses were set up which included small shops, farming, goats selling, groceries, charcoal distribution, new and second hand clothes and a hair salon.

3. Follow-up home visits - In this quarter, 453 follow up home visits were conducted in urban area (Kiandutu) and 410 in rural area (Iembeni). The social workers focused on the progress of individual family objectives, while giving information one on one.

4. Referrals - FEP facilitated the access of social security documentation for different families.

On behalf of our beneficiaries we would like to thank you for your continuous support. This has made it possible for Macheo to make a positive impact on the lives of the receiving families. Thank You.

Read how you have helped lift an entire family from abject poverty and hopelessness, setting them on a path to sustainability. With your donations we have helped many families in the Thika region of Kenya. We have done it together!

Thank you for all the support you give Macheo US and the recipients of the Macheo Family Empowerment Program.

Ruth is 28 years old and grew up in a rural area of Kenya. She had no chance to attend school, as her parents were not aware on the importance of education. At the age of 15 she was married. ‘I always remember the pain and problems I had during that time. After a year I gave birth to my first child. Currently I have eight children and all household and economic burdens are on me”, says Ruth.

When Ruth was referred to the Macheo Family Empowerment Program for seed capital intervention, her child had been sick and she had no money to take her to hospital. “I was doing some casual jobs as my husband was not supportive. He constantly used to beat me when he came home drunk. My life was miserable. We would separate and reunite after his promises to stop abusing me. The entire burden to support and educate my children became challenging. I had no skills and knowledge to lead my life. When I had lost all hope, Macheo came to my rescue as they select vulnerable, marginalized family households in their interventions. I was selected as one target for the intervention. I attended a lot of training on entrepreneurship, saving, credit, bookkeeping and market assessment. After the series of training in August, Macheo established a business for me. I cook food and sell to the community. Without any problem, I am leading my life well and my children are happy to attend their schooling’’. Says Ruth.

‘’Beyond this I am confident enough and participate in the community conversation sessions (barazas) when they are organized by the chief in our village. Macheo has empowered me to be a champion of children and women rights. Initially I had no knowledge and awareness on the harmful traditional practices on women and children’s health. Now I am fully aware of these problems, solutions and negative impacts on the wellbeing of women and children. On the other hand, I got enough knowledge and skills on family planning, sanitation & hygiene and home management. I speak to fellow women regarding these issues. I hope that this project expands to other unreached localities as it will benefit more poor women like me. For all the support, I would like to thank you.”

• Ruth's successful business (DOCX)