Background on Kisii, Kenya
Kisii, Kenya is a rural area plagued by high unemployment rates, teen pregnancy, and high rates of HIV/AIDS. A family’s typical income is $75 per month, and many young people in this region must help to support their families. The recent post-election violence has made life even harder for their youth. With the ever increasing inflation and lack of resources, more young people are forced to drop out school and search for options that will enable them to support themselves and their families.
Who We Are: The Kwareslum Self-Help Group
To address the need for jobs, Kwareslum Self-Help Group was founded in Kisii to provide vocational training and employment opportunities for youth. The Kwareslum Self-Help Group is dedicated to lifting teens and young adults out of poverty by using business and skills training as the vehicle for economic empowerment. Kwareslum was founded by a local college graduate who returned to his hometown to lead efforts towards major social change. In the last two years, the Self-Help group has built its own electricity generating system and trained their teens in basic computer literacy.
The Project: Building a Business
Currently, Kwareslum is seeking funding of only $1565 to found a poultry business that will create an additional source of income for its youth. The organization is writing a business plan for the poultry business, which will raise chickens for the eggs. Despite the area’s poverty, there is great demand for eggs and the Self-Help group can be a significant part of meeting this market demand.
The Poultry Business
What is unique about the Kwareslum poultry business is that the youth will build a business with the goal of running it themselves. This means they will be more than employees – they will be owners-in-training. This experience will provide an opportunity for these young owners to:
• Learn about the chicken industry and raising healthy animals;
• Learn significant business skills such as finance, sales, customer relations, marketing and long-term strategic planning;
• Earn money;
• Develop entrepreneurial skills.
Kwareslum sees their poultry business as the first of many businesses that they will build in the community. There is certainly no lack of youth to run current and future enterprises; the need and demand for job training is evident from Kwareslum’s membership and waiting list. Kwareslum has a youth membership of over 1,200 teens and young adults and 2,145 more are on their waiting list. By applying for financial resources to found this business, Kwareslum plans to earn enough money to grow its membership and use more businesses to empower young people to improve their lives.
Although they deal daily with poverty and disease, Kwareslum’s members and the people of Kisii recognize that they can improve their lives if given the opportunity. They are determined to create a better life for themselves and the generations to come. The Kwareslum Self-Help Group is harnessing the energy of the area’s youth to make change happen through business. They know that if they can take the first step of building a successful business, others will follow.
How You Can Help
Please join us in empowering young people by providing employment and life skills. By providing a portion of the loan for Kwareslum’s first business, you can personally open the door to new options and opportunities for the young people of Kisii. With organizations like Kwareslum, there is hope that the next generation will live easier lives.