Elizabeth Aloo
AGE: 17
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Elizabeth is the sixth born in a family of eight children. Her parents divorced when she was young and she has been living with her mother since that time. Her mother depends on casual labor for to provide food and education for her children. Elizabeth has a daughter, Polite (10 months).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Elizabeth went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Elizabeth has been staying home since 2013 and wants to make good choices for her life. She was referred to Neema through her local village chief and was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Joyce Simiyu
AGE: 16
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Joyce is the first born to her mother and second born of her father who practices polygamy and has two wives. Joyce is one of five children. Her mother sells vegetables and her father is a local vigilante (village law enforcement member). Her family struggles with extreme poverty.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Joyce was able to attend school through 8th grade but struggled with learning. She was unable to move on to high school due to lack of funds and poor marks on her exams.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Joyce has faced discouragement in the traditional school system and has a strong desire to learn a skill that can provide work for her future and an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty in her family. She was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Leah Simiyu
AGE: 20
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Leah is the second born in a family of seven children. Her parents are both alive and depend on casual work to provide food and education for their children. Her father is a polygamist and has another wife and 2 children he is also responsible for. Leah is also the mother of a daughter, Theresa (1yr 2 mo).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Leah went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school and because of her pregnancy.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Leah’s family suffers from extreme poverty making Leah vulnerable to abuse and more potential pregnancies. She applied to Neema after seeing the change in one of her friends who is currently at Neema. She was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Loyce
AGE: 20
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Loyce is the second born in a family of seven children. Her parents are poor and live on a very small plot of land. They depend on casual labor to provide food and education for their children. Her father is a builder and her mother takes care of the family. Loyce has a daughter, Kelsy (2 years).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Loyce went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school and also because she became pregnant.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Loyce has been staying with her aunt for the past 2 years since having her daughter. She heard about Neema from a recent graduate and wanted to see her life changed in a positive way. She was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Lydia Nasimiyu
AGE: 23
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Lydia has been raised by her paternal grandparents after being born out of wedlock and both parents starting other families. She is the first born of eleven children between her two parents. She spent a brief period of time living with her biological mother. Lydia has a daughter, Lynn (4 months).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Lydia went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school and an unstable life.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Lydia has been living in extreme poverty and wants to change her life. She learned about Neema through an advertisement and was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Mercy Cheruiyot
AGE: 26
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Mercy is the first born in a family of five children living in her home. Her parents have been farming their land to provide for their family. Mercy developed severe arthritis in 2004 and has been in chronic pain since that time. Her illness has become a financial struggle for the family because of the cost of treatment and medications. They have begun to lease their land out as a source of income to care for her ongoing medical needs.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Mercy made it into high school but was forced to drop out when she became sick. She has dreamed of going to technical school, she was declined admission due to her arthritis.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Mercy suffers with a deep sense of rejection because her illness has isolated her from others. She fears that she will be left to care for herself in the future. She is excited to be at Neema where she will have an opportunity to exercise, by pedaling the machine, and learn a skill to be able to make money to meet her own needs in life. After hearing about Neema from a Neema graduate, she was accepted into our Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Nancy Nanjala
AGE: 19
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Nancy is the second born in a family of eight children. Her parents are poor and live on a very small plot of land. They depend on casual labor to provide food and education for their children.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Nancy went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Nancy and her family live in a slum area where alcoholism and prostitution are prevalent. After being referred to Neema through a village elder, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Rhoda Namee
AGE: 19
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Rhoda is the second born in a family of seven children. Her mother died in 2005 and her father remarried and lives in Uganda. Life has been hard for her since her mother died. She was sent to Kenya to live with her aunt after becoming a mother. She has a daughter, Priscilla (2 years old).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Rhoda went to school in Uganda, but her father stopped paying for her schooling in order to send her brother to college.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Rhoda enjoys living with her aunt and is looking forward to an opportunity to learn. She began running around with bad company after she was forced to leave school and would be vulnerable to abuse because of her lack of education and being orphaned by her mother. She struggles with deep rejection and is hoping for her life to change. After being referred to Neema through her aunt who lives locally, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Ruth Chepkemboi
AGE: 17
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Ruth is the first born in a family of eight children. Her parents are poor and live on a very small plot of land. They depend on farming and casual labor to provide food and education for their children. Ruth has a daughter, Michelle (1.5 years).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Ruth went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school and also because she became pregnant.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Ruth’s family suffers from extreme poverty and feels a responsibility to begin working to provide for herself and her family. She heard about Neema from her aunt and was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Selter Nasimiyu
AGE: 21
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Selter is the first born in a family of eight children. Her parents are poor and live on a very small plot of land. They depend on casual labor to provide food and education for their children.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Selter went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees to pay for high school.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Selter’s family lives in a slum area where alcoholism and prostitution are prevalent. After being referred to Neema through a neighbor, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Shaline Khazoa
AGE: 15
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Shaline comes from a single mother family. She does not have a relationship with her father. She had been living with her grandmother while her mother spent many years living in Sudan. Her mother returned to the area in 2016 and she now has some relationship with her mother.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Shaline went to school through grade 7, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Shaline being absent from her mother and father lead to some struggles in her life. She took up a negative lifestyle and desires to learn a skill so that she can make better work and life choices in her future. After being referred to Neema through recent Neema graduates, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Sharon Jepleting
AGE: 19
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Sharon is the seventh born in a family of eight children. Her mother died in 2002. While her father is alive, he sent her to live with her aunt when she had her first child, Mercy (4 years). She has since had a second daughter, Brenda (6 months).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Sharon went to school through grade 7, but was unable to continue due to becoming a mother.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Sharon has been out of school since 2012. She has been living with her aunt, Lena, and working as a house help to earn her keep in the home. She has both of her daughters with her at her aunt’s home. She was referred to Neema through her local village chief and was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Sharon Wangila
AGE: 16
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Sharon was born out of wedlock. Her mother left her when she was young and she has not seen her since 2012. She has never known her father. She knows her mother has four other children but she does not know them. She has lived with her grandmother most of her life.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Sharon went up to grade 8 but was unable to move on to high school due to a lack of school fees and no one to care for her education.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Sharon is a sweet spirited young women and struggles with a deep sense of rejection from being abandoned by both her mother and father. After being referred to Neema through her cousin, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Sylvia Nanjala
AGE: 18
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Sylvia is the first born in a family of four children. Her parents are poor and live on a very small plot of land. They depend on casual labor to provide food and education for their children. Sylvia has a daughter, Melab (11 months).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Sylvia went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees and lack of ability to pass her exams.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Sylvia and her family suffer from extreme poverty and she would like to have an opportunity to break that cycle and have a more stable life. She was referred to Neema from a village elder in her area and was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Valentine Wafula
AGE: 18
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Valentine is the seventh born in a family of ten children. Her father is a casual worker and her mother is a preacher. She is mother to Wesley (1yr 7mo). She ran away to get married when she was pregnant, but the father of the child abandoned her.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Valentine went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to her pregnancy.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Valentine has been involved in an unhealthy lifestyle since having her son. Wesley is currently being cared for by her mother while Valentine lives with her sister. After learning about Neema from her sister, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.
Virginia Nawire
AGE: 17
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Virginia is the third born in a family of five children. Her father died in 2014 and her mother sent the children to live with their grandmother while she went to work as a house help in order to provide for her children.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Virginia went to school through grade 8, but was unable to continue due to lack of school fees.
CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Virginia continues to live with her grandmother in extreme poverty and carries a deep desire to learn a skill so she can help bring stability to her life. After being referred to Neema through a village chief, she was accepted into Neema’s Dressmaking 1 class in January 2017.