From where I stand: "I have seen many benefits from my work"

Date: Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Jonanise is a mother of one child and beneficiary of UN Women Kenya’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access and Protection project implemented by Don Bosco in Kalobeyei settlement.

Jonanise, a beneficiary of the LEAP project, works on a basket at the Kalobeyei Business center. She received training on basket making through the project and her products are marketed at the center and through implementing partner Don Bosco's network of centers. (Photo: UN Women/James Ochweri)

Life wasn't good when we got to Kakuma with my parents as we were starting from scratch. My parents did not have work, but my mother knew how to sew clothes and make baskets. She would sell them to the organization who used to run this business center but the money she would make would not be enough for our needs. We would rely on the rations we got, which sometimes were still not enough.

When the UN Women project started, we were asked to join, and I wanted to learn as well. I joined the group in July 2022 and I learned more about basket weaving from my mother and from the other women. I have seen many benefits from this work, for example I once needed formula for my baby and the money I got helped me buy the formula. My baskets are made and sold on order through Don Bosco here at the business center in Kalobeyei and some even get sold abroad.

My daughter is just a year old now and she is usually not troublesome but sometimes I'll be trying to weave my baskets and she gets troublesome around strangers. The daycare facility will be great for us as women as it will be somewhere close, we can leave our children to play and learn while we work. It'll be beneficial for my daughter as she likes being with other children and she will learn. I am motivated to work and earn more because would like my daughter to study all the way to university and do whatever work she would like to do.

Jonanise, 20, is a beneficiary of UN Women Kenya’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access and Protection project implemented by Don Bosco in Kalobeyei settlement. The project, supported by the Government of Japan, has set up a child daycare facility to enable mothers to focus better on their work and improve their productivity during working hours. The project aligns with SDG 5 as it supports refugee and host communities’ women and girls in accessing new sources of income and economic opportunities through skills and livelihoods development.