Women entrepreneurs (Day 18)

Yesterday, I went to the other slum that 7 women entrepreneurs help children go to secondary school. The slum seems better off than other two slums; their houses have stronger walls than that of other two areas and road isn’t muddy. Also, I saw a private school between the houses.

The problem in the area is that all primary level age children of the community can go to primary school, but secondary school is expensive for some of them. Although government subsidizes the secondary school, the tuition still cost ksh 7,000/term (ksh 21,000/year) at a day secondary school and ksh 35,000/year at boarding school. In addition to the tuition, parents have to pay ksh 200 a day as transportation cost.
*$1=ksh 88 (6/12)

What the women entrepreneurs do at the area is they gather funds in the community and use the funding money to support 25 students who are the most poor in the community to go to primary school. They gather ksh 300,000 / a term to cover full tuition of the students.

The 7 women entrepreneurs own individual business and use some part of the income for the fund. For example, one sells secondary clothes, and the other sells maize (corn powder). They mentioned that because of traveler advisory, businesses have become declined, so they feel difficult to do fundraising.

This fundraising activity started three years ago, and those 7 women entrepreneurs still have continued the activity to support poor children, even though their business have been damaged. On the bright side, some organizations have conducted interventions in this area, so their basic level of life is better than that of other two slums. I saw a water tank founded by the NGO. Before the water tank is founded, the community people buy 20 litters of water for ksh 40, but now they can buy ksh 2 for the same amount.