Agnes Achieng was a recipient of one of the early MED loans which enabled her to develop her sewing business, located in a market unit off Kibera Drive. She had an early training opportunity to learn how to make reusable sanitary kits (lost education days because of the menstrual cycle is a big issue in Kenya as in other parts of the world), and in partnership with Days for Girls charity is manufacturing kits and going into schools to educate and distribute the kits. A recent microenterprise loan has supported further expansion and Agnes is employing 5 ladies to assist production. She has just returned from a Days for Girls Red Line Challenge campaign in Bomet, Kenya, distributing 200 of her kits.
This is a great example of a project that engages local resources and talent to meet local needs (https://www.daysforgirls.org/enterpriseprogram). Not only does is support education, but helps to provide a living for people living in Kibera. Such enterprises are not always easy. The sanitary packs are marketed as being “pocket and environment-friendly”, however there is still local prejudice in the schools that they are “not for the poor”. And often too, even within Kenya, there is prejudice against people from the Kibera community.
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