Vital community education for a 'lost generation'

Thank you for supporting this project providing education and support for young people in Kericho county.  This report focuses on the business training and resources provided for income generating projects.

Last week, Chemoset Saptet womens group completed their three day business training.  The womens group purposefully includes young women among their members to support and encourage them.  They are farmers and currently focus on tree planting and table banking which is a group saving scheme.  They said they enjoyed the training and also appreciated hearing about the other programmes Brighter Communities Worldwide have to offer them.  They look forward to continuing to work with us.

Business training courses are held over 3 days and participants benefit by gaining knowledge, skills, information, resources and a peer support network.  Participants taking part often belong to already established groups, for example – youth groups, women’s groups, farming groups.  They may have an idea of a business they want to set up or they may be already working on an existing one and want to improve on that.  The course includes topics of accounting, marketing, budgeting, record keeping, writing a business plan and banking.  The participants choose an example of a business they are familiar with and interested in and the course uses that as a working example to explore each topic. Representatives from local financial institutions present their services and opportunities for members of the community as part of the training to increase confidence and break barriers to financial support.

When the business training is complete, groups are invited to submit a business plan to Brighter Communities Worldwide.  This is reviewed and if approved, we provide the group with start-up resources specific to their business, for example – chicks, feed and coop for a chicken rearing project. Network meetings and follow up support is provided in the months following.  Participants discuss challenges they are experiencing and look at solutions together and ways to provide and find support to continue.

Abigael is a member of a self-help income generating group and secretary of a women’s group. She took part in a business training last November with her group and since then they received bee hives and harvesting equipment for a project to sell honey.  She says “our bee-keeping project has grown and kept our group busy giving us an income for school fees this year as well as food for our families”.  She says that communities become closer when people form groups to run a business and work together.  Young people are no longer idle. Relationships are strengthened, local economy benefits and individuals have a purpose as well as an income.