Beatrice Nemama is a Community-Based Trainer (CBT) based in Ilmarba, Kajiado County. She trains and oversees four (4) Youth Savings and Loan Association (YSLA) groups with 86 Adolescent participants collectively. Her role involves training the groups on saving money, how they distribute it, taking loans, and paying them back with interest. All 4 groups are girls’ groups.
When she began working as a CBT, Beatrice found member recruitment time-consuming and difficult due to the vastness and remote nature of the area. Some of the adolescent girls would refuse to join the project due to cultural norms surrounding girls’ empowerment, especially their participation in Income-generating Activities.
“When we started, the adolescent girls we found were idling at home, they had no work or school to go to. Their work was childbirth and raising a family. Now, I see a big difference. The girls are busy with their businesses, keeping them away from idleness and improving their overall lifestyle as they earn their own income,” Beatrice says.
She gives an example of the Osiligi Girls’ Group, based in Ilmarba. Beatrice commends the group for their discipline, diligence, and consistency in saving and paying back their loans on time. The group has collectively saved 48,000 KES in individual shares. They also rent a farm, which they use to generate income through the smart farming of maize crop.
The members from all 4 groups have various individual Income-generating Activities, including small roadside restaurants selling tea, businesses selling petrol and kerosene for lamps, and soap-making and selling. The income gained from these businesses has improved the lives of all the adolescent girls, who are now able to provide for their families, and stay away from idleness. Beatrice also commended one of the adolescent girls in one of her groups who has returned to complete high school.
“Thank you, SHE SOARS, for impacting these girls’ lives. Many of the girls in our culture are married at very young ages between 13-16 years, which I believe is a waste of a girl’s potential as they become wives while still children. I recommend additional components of the project teaching more skills to these girls to empower them and help them avoid early marriage,” She says.
