LIGHTING LIVES: SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS FOR GIRLS AT RISK IN MAJENGO

Have you ever felt like you were overwhelmed by darkness? Like the light at the end of the tunnel seemed unreachable? Have you ever felt caged, unable to make liberating choices for a better future?

The girls we work with in Majengo, one of the informal settlements in Nairobi, have bright and promising futures that remain unlit and hidden in the dark due to various circumstances. Poverty and poor access to educational and employment opportunities mean that the light in their lives is snuffed out before they can spread it in their families and community. We are working to make sure this does not happen.

Through Lighting Lives, girls between the ages of 14 - 20 years within Majengo who are at risk of sexual exploitation, together with their care givers, will find opportunities to better their lives through our life skills and vocational skills training. They will also get an opportunity to learn how to read and write. We seek to empower them and their primary care givers economically through our social enterprise. Through the social enterprise, they will learn how to make organic soaps, shampoos and scented candles. From the sale of these products they will earn their income. The girls and their primary caregivers will be at the forefront of product manufacturing and marketing, and as they do these they will advocate against sexual exploitation of girls in the informal settlements and also create awareness. The beneficiaries will be provided with psycho-social support systems.

The funds raised will be used for setting up the social enterprise, for life skills and vocational skill training and for the basic literacy classes. Support us as we light lives and restore hope to these girls and their families.