On a sunny April afternoon,18 women came to meet us at the New Life Home in Kibera, Nairobi. Each of them with a story to tell. These women are part of a large Self Help Group, the Warembo group of about 200 members. Warembo is a word in Swahili that means beautiful woman. The group brings together several other groups that are organized based on the location they live within Kibera, a large slum area in Nairobi.
We first met these women through the Women Youth and Children Development Organization (WYCDO). WYCDO has been working to empower them by offering necessary life skills like managing stress, exercising and proper dieting. These trainings were aimed to help build confidence, reinforce positive identity and restore dignity. In 2021, EPTF joined the program to enforce the entrepreneurial aspect of these women through supporting business development, economic empowerment and parenting skills.
When we met them, most of them seemed dejected. They were struggling to raise their families under harsh conditions. A few had jobs but a good number were depending on casual menial jobs. Some had tried their hands in small businesses; selling second-hand clothes, running a retail shop, selling fried fish and cooked food beside the road, but making little to no returns.
EPTF partnered with WYCDO to offer training on business development and parenting skills. The parenting skills training was necessary because most mothers in the group felt they experienced many challenges in raising their children.
In our recent interaction, we got to hear their testimonials about how the training conducted in 2023 helped change their mindset and approach to business as well as their parenting styles.
Patricia Auma sells omena (a popular dried fish). Before we met her, she was struggling to keep records for her business and track her expenses. She was barely making any savings. Now she testifies, ‘I have been able to save at least 30,000 Kenya shillings in a few months, something that I thought was impossible.’ Her business confidence has grown and so has her business.
Patricia Auma
Similar stories were repeated by other women who sat around us at one of the meeting halls at the New Life Mission Centre.
Another lady Rasoa Mutondo, added, ‘I did not know I had to be friendly with customers. I would set up my business area with cooked food but I did not bother to look for customers. Most evenings I would return home from work with almost all the food. My children would eat it. My business was not growing. After the training on customer-focused selling and marketing with EPTF, I learnt that for a startup business, I had to look for customers and I had to treat them well. Now I sell my food and earn money because I have increased my sales and customers refer others to me. I even keep better records of money.”
Rasoa Mutondo
EPTF also offered training on parenting. The Training emphasized that parents were stewards and they had a responsibility to offer guidance and protection to their children. The parents were challenged to view parenthood as a God-given responsibility.
During our recent meeting, Rose Aoko commented, ‘I now relate better with my children; they listen to me.’
Rose Aoko
These interventions have given the women of the Warembo group hope and empowered them to earn an income for themselves and raise their children well.