Fridah
Beadwork & tailoring
She makes beads and tailored goods, and is raising three children on her own trade.
“I have self confidence and I know I will make it in life.”
Fridah grew up in the Kipsongo slum after her parents, who are from Lodwar, settled there when she was very young. All she had ever known was slum life: scrapping for food in dumpsters, begging on the streets, and sometimes stealing just to survive. That was her childhood, and she did not know anything else.
As she reached adulthood she began to see that a different life existed, one of security, peace, and dignity, and she started to dream of that future for her own children. She knew she could not reach it without a helping hand. When she heard about the Baskets and Beads group she took it as a sign from God, and found she was not alone in that dream. The women welcomed her and taught her to be a businesswoman.
Fridah now makes and sells beads, and has been trained in tailoring as part of the group that makes dresses, aprons, and table sets. Her dream is a place outside the slum for her and her children, and a small shop where she can make dresses and sell her beads. She says she knows now that dreams are valid, and that they do come true when you believe and work hard.
In Fridah’s words
“To be a business woman, move out of the slum, and have a safe place for my children to live.”
Stand behind Fridah
Gifts go into the group’s shared table banking pool and the programs that support every woman in the circle: materials, literacy, medical help, and school fees for their children.
