Summary
Youth in Kenya experience a lack of livelihood opportunities due to their lack of professional and life skills. This causes low self-esteem and tends to lead youth astray instead of being contributing members of society.
Mary Mutua’s project idea focuses on alleviating poverty by empowering youths, girls, and women through offering technical skills, life skills, and entrepreneurship skills training to acquire decent livelihood opportunities.
Mary grew up battling poverty and had to wait over 9 years before she could start her university education. She has experienced a lack of motivation and empowered herself to help empower other upcoming youth in similar situations.
Here is what she wrote about an encounter with Monica, an example of a beneficiary of her organization:
A Journey of Resilience and Hope
“It was a beautiful morning when I was sitting in my small office when my friend, Dominic, a social worker in a certain church group called me. “Good morning Mary……. I have a case which I know will be of much interest to you.” Dominic knows the passion I have for youth and more especially girls so I almost guessed what he wanted to tell me. He went ahead and told me that he was sending a girl to my office to see whether I could do something about her case.
At around 14:00 hours, a tall dark beautiful girl walked into my office, looking tired but with a smile on her face. “My Name is Monica… I am from Machakos, I have been sent to you by Dominic” she said. I welcomed Monica to take a seat and after she calmed down, we had a conversation. Monica is 21 years old, an orphan, and a single mother of one boy. She comes from a Rural Village in Machakos County, Kenya.
She is the last born in a family of six, four sisters and one brother and lost her father when her mother was six months pregnant with her. She grew up in a very humble background with her mother doing casual jobs to make ends meet. Her mother started feeling unwell when Monica was in class two. She was diagnosed with throat cancer a year later. Considering their background, and with her cancer being in the last stage, they were not able to afford treatment and so she succumbed in the year 2014.
Monica and her siblings were left under the care of her elderly grandmother. Primary education in Kenya is free in public schools and so Monica was in a position to complete her primary education. By this time, her sisters were in high school being supported by her elderly brother and grandmother and so it became a challenge for them to afford her secondary education and the only option left, was for her to stay at home and wait for her sisters to complete their high school.
It took the intervention of a church body through Dominic for Monica to continue with her secondary education and so in the year 2017 Monica joined high school. Being a bright girl, she did well in her exams and studies. During her last year in high school, Covid 19 struck and schools were closed for six months. It is this time when Monica got pregnant and by the time schools reopened, she was already four months pregnant.
“I felt hopeless at some point but it had happened and was irreversible but I thank God I was able to finish my high school. Despite the fact that I delivered four days before the national exam, I managed a C minus, not what I really wanted but good enough” she said. After high school, Monicah returned home to care for her son. Her family had very high expectations of her but now they consider her a failure and a burden to the whole family.
Our conversation is getting emotional and so I asked her what she would have done if she was given a chance to change her life. She quickly answered, “It is passed two years now after I have finished high school. I have just been home caring for my son with no job, income, or skill. If only I can get a job or a way of earning an income I would really appreciate it. Given a chance to go back to school, I also would go but maybe a short course because I have a son to feed and to take care of. I would work so hard to give my son a better life than mine”
With Monica’s current situation, there is no hope of her joining any tertiary college or furthering her studies any day soon. Her family is not in a position and she can barely provide for herself and the baby. Unless someone intervenes, her situation is only going to get worse. Given a chance, Monicah would train as a Professional chef and later pursue Journalism. Her case represents many other teenage mothers who lack decent livelihoods due to inadequate training and mentorship.
As we wind up our sweet conversation, I ask her whether she has ever started any business or looking forward to it. Her answer portrayed her un-nurtured potential and positive thinking. “Personally, I have never started any business of my own but I have helped my grandmother sell her green groceries as our only source of income. If in her old age and lack of knowledge, she could make something out of it, then I think I will work towards a small venture of my own with time after I get a job. I really don’t know what exactly at the moment but I know I will have my own business.”
I wonder what would become of Monicah in the next five years if something is not done. Dominic was right, Indeed this is a case I am interested in and Monica is a representative of beneficiaries of my program. “
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