Last week, African Road Changemaker David Clemy travelled to Kibwezi, Kenya to lead the first session of VICOBA training.
Kibwezi is a rural community in dry, Eastern Kenya on the road between Mombasa and Nairobi. Access to water is one of life’s major challenges in this region.
The women of the Dorcas Cooperative, who are receiving VICOBA training, have been together for several years. Most of the women in the cooperative have little or no formal education.They have a small plant nursery business and support one another by pooling their savings together.
A fun fact about the Dorcas Women’s cooperative — they love to play volleyball! Their team recently came third in an area tournament.
Get it girl!
VICOBA training focuses not only on equipping participants with practical skills, but also on “mindset shift”. David Clemy’s goal is to empower participants to imagine how to use existing resources in new ways.
Muthini Sakayo, an elderly widow who to struggles to make ends meet, says the training is already helping her to think outside the box.
“We thought water was the biggest problem in the area, but the training has helped us realise that here is so much we can do for ourselves to address the challenges we have in our community,” says Muthini.
Dorcas Women Chairperson Rhoda thanks VICOBA trainers.
Rhoda Mutanu, the cooperative chairperson, says “we have never received any training like this in our lives. It has challenged us, and we hope to work very hard to improve our lives and create a better future for our children.” Rhoda is married with four children.
We can’t wait to see what these tenacious women will accomplish next!