SHIMO GALS

Meet Marysella, Caroline S, Moureen, Eunice, and Caroline M. All 5 of these girls are Kenyan teenagers living in the Shimo Slums and all 5 of them are mothers. Every Tuesday and Thursday the girls come to the Transformed International (TI) compound to work for a few hours. Since October, TI has been providing the girls with some kind of work. They began by creating handmade cards using fabric, banana leaf fibers, and bottle caps. They were paid for the work that they produced and managed to create 8,000 cards between October and February. When I arrived at the end of January I knew it was time for a new project. I know very little about sewing, but attempted to create a small hand stitched cosmetic/accessory bag out of felt and african fabrics. The girls seemed to enjoy making the bags so for the past 5 weeks they have been hard at work making bags.

These girls have a sense of responsibility, so they are willing to work hard. None of them were able to go to school beyond 8th grade because they are taking care of their kids. They desire to have a skill that will help them provide food, clothing, and education for their children.

I began dreaming of purchasing them sewing machines and seeing them become skilled in tailoring and when I talked to Daniel (the Director of TI), he said we could make that happen. I emailed my parents and told them about the girls and within a few days, my creative mother agreed to come up with the funds for the 5 machines and a year of tailoring training for the girls. She and my dad have an ebay shop that sells vintage collectibles, textiles and many other treasures. All of the money goes to various missions/humanitarian projects. Check out the site and make a purchase if you see something you like (EBAY Store: Vintage Collectibles and More). THANK YOU mom and dad and THANK YOU to the nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital who donated scrub sets to sell in order to support the Shimo Girls!

Now let me introduce you to the 5 girls I adore:

EUNICE- 17 years old

Eunice (Mama Mary) has a 2 year old daughter, Mary. She is currently living with her parents in the slums. She has a dream of being a hairdresser one day.

CAROLINE M- 19 years old

Caroline (Mama Linus) is raising a 6 year old son Linus. She and Linus live in the Shimo Slum with her parents. Linus goes to a private school with the help of his uncle. He is in second grade. Caroline has a dream of learning tailoring so she can use her skill to provide for her son. She wants to see him have a good future with a good education.

MOUREEN- 16 years

Moureen (Mama Briton) has a 2 year old named Briton. She is currently living with her mother in the Shimo Slum. She dreams of being a hairdresser one day, but is happy to have work so she can help support her family.

MARYSELLA- 18 years old

Marysella (Mama Trizzer) is raising a 2 year old daughter named Trizzer. She is an orphan and is raising her daughter, and living with her grandmother in the Shimo Slums. Marysella is full of life, always laughing yet she can be quite shy at times. She is so excited about learning to sew and be able to make a living and provide for her family.

CAROLINE S- 15 years old

Caroline (Mama Innocent) is raising 6 month old Innocent. Caroline is currently living with her parents in the Shimo Slum. She is focused and works hard each week. She dreams about working as a seamstress to be able to help support Innocent.

There are so many girls in Kenya living like this. I love to be able to give them a face and a voice. Each one of these girls and their children have value. In my eyes, they have a hard life, but they do what they must to get by. These girls were chosen by, Joann, who also lives in the slums and was their teacher when they were in school. The girls told me they were chosen because they were respectful in school and Joann believed they would work hard.

I asked the girls what is the hardest thing about being a mother. Here are some of their responses:

• We became mothers too early, and we were not in a place to provide for them and are a burden to our families.
• It is hard to see the needs of the children and also the needs of their parents and guardians they are living with, so they often give the little money they earn each week (around $10-$13) to help provide for the family needs (rent, food, or clothing).
• They have to overlook their own needs, even when they don't want to, in order to buy necessities for their children.
• They worry about not being able to provide their children with an education because they currently don't have any skills.

I really do adore these girls and I am so proud of them. While many people who are struggling abandon their babies, these girls have chosen to work hard to love them and raise them. I can't wait to see where they are 5 or 10 years from now.