In her early years, Idah Mueni lived a normal life in Kitui County just like any other young Kenyan girl. She successfully completed her O levels and there after joined the then Kenya Polytechnic (Technical University of Kenya) and enrolled for a Diploma in Electrical Engineering course.

However, her life soon changed dramatically after getting pregnant at the age of 18 years. Her boyfriend refused to accept responsibility of being the father and left her. Matters became worse when she was stigmatised not only by the society but by her own family. Being a fifth born in a family of nine, her parents refused to continue paying for her college fees and directed their finances towards educating her other siblings. Pregnant and feeling neglected and hopeless, Idah was forced to drop out of college.

After giving birth to a healthy baby girl, she left her child with her mother in Kitui and travelled to Mariakani in Kilifi County in search for work. For three years, Idah moved from house to house doing odd manual jobs such as washing clothes and other household chores for a small fee which she sent back home as support for her child's upkeep.

Still, money proved hard to come by for the young mother. “Life was very difficult for me and I was not even able to buy clothes or meet the health care needs of my child. I had to rely on relatives and well-wishers to meet my basic needs,” she says.

It was in March 2007 that Idah heard of Lifeworks Shukrani, a company that specialised in producing high quality handmade crafts, fashion accessories, furniture, home décor as well as corporate items for both the domestic and export markets.

She applied for a job at Lifeworks and was later employed as an artisan making beaded products such as necklaces and embedding beads on fashion items at their production facility based in Mariakani.

Idah later came to the knowledge that Lifeworks Shukrani was a dynamic non-profit social enterprise that focused on economically empowering vulnerable women, older orphans and youth through skills development and market linkage opportunities.

At Lifeworks Shukrani, she was trained and gained skills in product design and development, screen printing, embroidery and tie and dye. She also received training in HIV peer education. Idah reflects that this training was proved vital as it not only gave her vital productive skills, but also helped lift her self-esteem, forget the past and concentrate on the future.

Due to her diligence and hard work, her supervisor at the facility took notice and allowed her to train as a machine operator on the industrial sewing machines. She made considerable efforts to learn and perfect her skills by sewing different types of products to the recommended quality standards of the commercial facility.

Her in-depth knowledge of the textile products led to a promotion to an assistant sales representative in early 2010. She performed exemplary well in her new position and by the end of that year she was promoted to the position of sales and marketing executive, a managerial post at Lifeworks Shukrani she has held to date.

In her managerial capacity at Lifeworks Shukrani, Idah has attended many high level meetings and rubbed shoulders with business moguls, dignitaries and top government officials.

“Through Lifeworks, I have travelled to many places, invited to many seminars and even met with high profile people such as the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, former U.S ambassador Michael Rannebeger, established business professionals in the country among many others.

Idah is currently supporting five people including her son who is now in class seven, her mother, grandmother and two orphaned relatives. She is thankful to Lifeworks Shukrani as the organisation that changed her life and gave her hope in life at a time when she had none. She now hopes to start her own business in the near future from the skills and knowledge gained at Lifeworks.

Idah is among dozens of women at the coast whose lives have been transformed through Lifework's Shukrani. The women who most of them started as poor and vulnerable are now independent and have gained not only the technical knowhow but also important life skills that have impacted their lives positively. Idah used her influence within Lifeworks Shukrani to mobilise colleagues to start a SACCO which has helped them to acquire loans and credit facilities to buy assets, pay for school fees for their children while others have obtained funds to start up their own businesses.

Lifework’s business proceeds are invested back to expand economic opportunities for its intended target groups in collaboration with its partners and hile providing mentorship support to young vulnerable girls. They also lobby and advocate for the inclusion of the vulnerable in the society and economic development and incorporate components such as HIV prevention and education, life skills training, and the mentorship of young women in the coastal area of Mariakani.

Its main clients are national companies, hotels, public institutions such as the Kenya Tourism Board and not-for-profit organizations all over the country such as Voyager, Aga Khan Foundation and Spinners Web.

Lifeworks Shukrani is currently in partnership with the Undugu Fair Trade Limited, one of the oldest Kenyan Fair Trade exporters of craft products, to strengthen its management market access capacities, and position itself to effectively serve the growing needs of its target groups.

By Dennis Tarus
tarus@africanlaughter.com