No matter who we are and where we come from...
We all have SKILLS
TALENTS
ASPIRATIONS
SKILLS TALENTS ASPIRATIONS
Thanks to a grant from the IKEA Foundation, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Kenya will give 3,000 refugees and Kenyan citizens
the support they need to earn a better income and have a brighter future
One day the war started.
It was the opposition and the government.
We, ordinary citizens, just wanted to get away.
There was nothing to do.
I used to get up in the morning,
and then I just sat in the sun doing nothing,
the whole day.
For three weeks I was living like a vagabond.
I hid my belongings.
Before they came they were relying on being supported.
Going and asking, "Can you give me, can you give me?"
But because of their skills that they learn in school
and the skills that they learn in apprenticeship
and also in business support (training),
they are able to stand on their own.
I took any job.
Washing clothes. Fetching water from the well for people.
I did anything to get food.
I knew that IRC is in Kenya.
So I looked them up on the Internet and Facebook.
Then I called them,
and they picked me up in Nairobi.
When he came, we were able to support him.
We took him through the business and life-skills training, Learn to Earn,
and after that he has been able to start his own barbershop.
My plan is to expand and employ more people to help me.
I will also invest in more machines and more chairs.
I have a cousin who lives in another town.
When he heard that I was starting a restaurant
the first thing that he told me was
"It is just a dream.
You will never make it."
But I told him that when I open
I will work hard and the customers will come.
Lispher came in for vocational training,
and after vocational training we were able to support her with business support (grant).
I can also use the catering skills that I have learned in the studies.
I earn my own money.
I am not depending on anyone.
Patience came in. She was low.
She wasn't able to speak a lot about herself,
because she was compressed, in a way.
After the interview, we had a week of training
to come up with a business idea.
I want to travel around Kenya
and assess the living conditions of the disabled.
This was my dream since I was a child.
It is my vision.
It is my dream, to be a journalist.
Take your hand like this
and just
do it.
For now, she is an outgoing lady.
This is something that has really shaped her life.
Today she is
perfect.