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Title: ToughCookie: Equipping and inspiring young mothers for a better life.
Location:
Categories: Globalization
Status:
In Progress
Timeline:
January 1 00 to January 1 00
Description:
The ToughCookie Project is a youth-led initiative that aims to help young single mothers living in difficult circumstances to improve their lives by offering them free counselling and training in baking skills. It encourages the members to support each other in achieving their common and individual goals.
--- Equipping and Inspiring Young Mothers for a Better Life ---
PHASE ONE: The first phase of the programme runs for eight (8) weeks from 20th February to 8th April 2006; for three hours from Monday to Friday. There will be hands-on training in cake and pastry baking skills to be held at a centre in Donholm Estate, Nairobi while the counselling sessions will be held at One Stop Youth Information Resource Centre, near the main Railways station.
The project is currently working with a core group of ten young single mothers from the Kibera slums. The project is made possible through support from PeaceChild International’s “Be the Change” programme, the Made in Kenya Network, Cate Confectionaries and other partners.
THE FUTURE: The project vision is to equip and inspire the support group of young mothers to become financially independent and build their capacity to handle emotional, social and other challenges; individually and as a group. The future will see ToughCookie reach many more young mothers with a view to improving their entrepreneurship skills, create employment opportunities among others.
For any clarification, you may contact the Project Manager, Florence Wanjiku on toughcookie@madeinkenya.org or 0722-986683
Background:
I live in Madaraka Estate, a residential area that overlooks Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi. More than 60% of people in the city of Nairobi live in slums. Most people are unemployed while others depend on casual jobs to earn a living. Every morning, from about 5am, residents of Kibera pass by our house as they walk for several miles to look for casual work. As I prepare to go to college at about 11am, many of them walk back, dejected, hungry and tired not having found a job. They walk back to the slums where most live in houses made out of iron-sheets or mud, no sewerage systems and no water or electricity. The harsh living conditions include insecurity with many people subjected to frequent robbery, mugging and rape. These conditions are even worse for girls and young women who are more vulnerable to insecurity. For example, young women between the ages of 15 and 24 have the highest incidents of HIV/AIDS infection in Kenya. In cases where families are poor, some of the girls are denied education so they can take care of siblings or simply due to lack of school fees. Many of these girls are exposed to drug abuse, prostitution, rape and unplanned pregnancy. For the young mothers, life becomes more unbearable when they are abandoned by the fathers of the children, they lack income to support them and when rejected by their families and community around them.
Objectives:
ToughCookie intends to inspire and equip young single mothers living in difficult circumstances with the attitudes, self-worth and skills to overcome daily challenges and improve their lives. The social stigma faced by these poor, unemployed, unskilled young mothers in Kibera has made many lose hope of ever making anything good of their lives. Many have resorted to prostitution and crime as a source of income. For the ones who can get employed, lack of affordable day-care facilities or a family support system denies them the opportunity to work. Many do not know their legal rights and responsibilities and lack the means to enforce those rights. According to the United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) "early motherhood can severely curtail educational and employment opportunities and is likely to have a long-term adverse impact on the quality of life of young women and their children". ToughCookie intends to impart skills and help the young women regain their self-worth without which any skills would not be very helpful. By teaching them how to bake and advertising their products such as cookies, cakes and buns, ToughCookie would offer skills and a sense of belonging. By organising free counselling sessions with role models, health, legal and marketing experts, ToughCookie would inspire them and enable them to make informed choices to avoid repeating mistakes. Motherhood can be fulfilling if young mothers are equipped to handle it. By helping young mothers, ToughCookie would be helping two generations of young people – mother and child - to live a better life.
Milestones:
It was quite a task convincing these young women that this project was legitimate and that the objective was to change their lives. They finally relented and their lives have never been the same again
Contact Name: Florence Wanjiku
Contact Email Address: wanjikuflorence@gmail.com
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