After seven years of work in five continents, and more than 179,000 real girls, women, and their families reached, Foundation SCA is changing its name to Foundation for Women's Advancement. The reason is simple. The new name captures more clearly what we do: help girls and women around the world live with dignity and build brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities."
High School Scholarships in Wanjohi Farm Completed
Foundation WA is celebrating the completion of our high school scholarship program in Wanjohi Farm. The students graduated in 2015, and now are moving on to College. In closing the year, Kianda Foundation tells us:
Some of the Wanjohi Farm high school graduates.
”When talking to them it is very beautiful to realize how different they are now, from four years ago when we met them. They are more confident, happier and with big hopes of a different future from the one they thought they were going to have. They worked hard to successfully finish their secondary education and to attain the grades that would enable them to join the university. They are especially encouraged because of the university student who worked with them last year... Now they realize that they also can be able to pursue further education. ... Their parents had to leave the home they had and their jobs… Ann’s parents run with their six children and did not manage to carry anything with them. The parents were very happy that none of their children died. They are now casual laborers in the area and they manage to cater for the basic needs of their family, but could not have hoped of sending their daughter to secondary school. It is moving to see the joy that is for them to have had her in a boarding school and finished with her studies. They have great hope on her. Ann wants to pursue mass communication after her secondary education.” (End of Year Report, 2015)
Women Entrepreneurship Training
Foundation in 2016 to provide entrepreneurship training to 200 women. Some of them live in Wanjohi Farm. The aim is to help these women generate the income needed to escape poverty for themselves and their families.
The impact of the training is already felt.
Anne with two of her children attending her business
Anne Wanjiku Njenga is 36 years old and lives with her husband and 4 children. The husband is a driver, but does not have a permanent job. Anne attended the business course and, as she says, suddenly realized what she could do. Until then she reared between 20 to 30 chickens for eggs, and the rest of the time she would sell bars of soap from house to house. Her problem was that she was selling the soap on credit and most of the clients didn't pay her, in addition to having a very small profit margin. Then she decided to start a store in a central site of the village with 20 dollars. She paid the rent of the premises of 2 x 2 meters with 12 dollars for the first month and, with the remaining 8 dollars, she bought milk and fruits. Now she sells in the store her eggs, milk, a traditional porridge, tea with milk, fruit... (e.g. she buys several watermelons and sells them sliced making a profit of 70%). She says that when people ask her for a bun with the cup of tea, she goes running to another store and buys it for her client, but as soon as she earns a little more she will buy a small cooker and will bake it herself, as well as frying eggs, etc. Later on she also wants to put electricity and buy a refrigerator to sell more milk.
Anne at her charcoal store
Jane had tried various businesses but she did not know how to keep her accounts and how to separate her business money from her daily family expenses. After participating in the training, she realized all the things that had gone wrong in her previous businesses. Using the new business tools she learned, she now could create a successful business around a skill she had learned a long time
Anne and her husband
ago -- making charcoal. Along with her husband, she now makes an 'eco-fiendly' charcoal that last longer, is cheaper, and does not produce smoke, which is best for the environment and people's health. They have already purchased a machine that compresses the product and have many customers -- including several hotels in the area. They are happy, and her husband, who is now retired, is very proud of his wife.
WA Welcomes New Members to the Board of Directors
Maricel and Charlie P. Heeter, Jr. joined the Foundation for Women's Advancement Board of Directors.
Maricel worked several years as the Director of Development for Oackcrest School. She is now the Director of Proyecto Iuventus.
Charlie was Managing Director at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. He directed the Deloitte global public policy programme. He was also the Chairman of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee, OECD.
