Kenya - empowering women and orphans

Global Hope Network International has been a leader in bringing lasting transformation to several villages of Kenya and using the principle of Transformational Community Development (TCD). TCD address five key areas of human need: water, education, food, income generation, and community wellness. Addressing these challenges are not possible without the help of you, our supporters, and it is the community and the village committees who accomplish these great changes.

Thank you for your support and encouragement!

Our Empowerment Center in Isiolo is a great example how this work is changing lives. Empowerment Centers take the same principles of TCD, but focus on a small segment of the local society – specifically women and girls who are often underprivileged and deprived of the same opportunities given to men in their society. It is always a pleasure to share stories of success as women from the Isiolo Empowerment Center share their personal experience and success.

“We could not manage to eat properly or even live a basic life.”

MaryAnn is one of our students who benefited from the sewing classes at the Center and eventually became part of one of our entrepreneurs participating in a small village micro-loan and savings program. She runs a mitumba business (secondhand cloth) in a neighboring village.

Before joining the sewing class, MaryAnn lived with her mother, three siblings, and two other orphans who their mother took in. Their family were only subsistence farmers in Attan village. They relied on what the land could produce during the rain season to feed themselves. But often this was not enough due to the lack of rainfall and the family went hungry. Her mother also worked as a house help when the opportunity arose. MaryAnn told us, “We could not manage to eat properly or even live a basic life.”

MaryAnn joined our Empowerment Centre to gain skills and knowledge. She needed to be able to help provide for her family. With support and education given through the sewing classes, MaryAnn has learned how to make different patterns and designs for men and women. She has learned the importance of saving, has conducted market research, and made a  business plan.

We are excited to see what the future has in store for MaryAnn!

"I have grown so much..."

Eliza has also participated in the Empowerment Center and has started her own tailoring shop.

“The fact that I felt helpless made me to be single mother for many years. GHNI has given me hope. I became a woman who could contribute to her own family economically through the knowledge I gained from Isiolo Empowerment Center.”

Eliza feels proud to be able to help not only her family with everyday expenses but also her community with inexpensive clothes made in her shop. 

“Great changes have happened”, says Eliza. “The fact that I’m now self-employed has made me independent. I don’t depend on my husband for financial support. I earn enough money for my personal expenses.”

The Center which also serves as a support system, a place where the young people look forward to gathering every day to meet peers and friends. The programs offered give apprenticeship to unemployed youth in their community, as well as donating free school uniform to underprivileged children from their village – especially orphans

“I can sustain myself. If my husband is not around or unable, I can contribute money for food purchases and I help with the purchase of school material for my children, which has meant a lot for my family. Our community supports the Isiolo Empowerment Center. They see the value of young and responsible people and that we can play an important role in the development of the community.”

The Empowerment Center has boosted Eliza’s confidence and brought her family sustainability. “I have grown so much, that today I am in a position to pay the rent for my premises, purchase material, and upskill myself over time”, she says. “I now have an uplifted self-esteem and confidence in myself with my new skills and the fact that I can contribute positively to my family and community’s well-being.”

Today, thinking of everything she has accomplished, Eliza looks back and wishes all unemployed youth could have the same opportunity she did. “When I was young, I had never thought that I would come this far. Life was a struggle. I worked here and there, and I would never be successful.”

Thank you for supporting the women of Isiolo and helping to bring sustainable transformation to this community! See more stories like this by clicking the blog link below, or signing up for email reports from GHNI!

Links:

• Isiolo Empowerment Center webpage
• Empowerment Center Blog
• Subscribe for more updates from GHNI!