Success Stories
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Nancy
Nancy lives and works in Kibera, where she participates in our Kibera Cooperative. Kibera is the largest slum in Sub-Saharan Africa, where roughly one million people live on less than one square mile of land, an area without running water, sanitation, or roads.
This lack of sanitary facilities has led to serious environmental and health hazards, including higher incidence of diseases—typhoid, cholera, and tuberculosis are widespread. HIV and AIDS are also prevalent, and those living with these diseases are often marginalized.
The Kibera Cooperative works to empower single women living with HIV/AIDS. Workshops build individual skills through vocational and small business training, and also provide a safe place for women to meet, discuss, and share their journeys, ultimately engendering feelings of self-worth and potential.
Nancy is the mother of one girl and two boys. She learned to do beadwork through her son’s school, and has an innate talent for the creation of beautiful pieces. Nancy also has the ability to create her own intricate designs by studying the work of others, often buying a beautiful piece in the marketplace, scrutinizing its design, then commencing with her own work. Nancy loves beadwork, and feels very fortunate to be able to do it.
"By participating in the Kibera Women Pangea Group, I have really progressed, because it has given me a chance to buy more materials to make the beadwork. When you are a leader, you have to pass through different challenges but when you are strong enough... you get through it."
Nancy feels that her work can inspire other women, and hopes to be an example to them, showing them that there are many ways to make a living. Training and small loans have helped her life move in a positive direction, and empowered her in an entirely new way. Nancy is now able to pay school fees for her children, ensuring that they will carry on the positive changes she has begun.
To purchase some of Nancy’s beautiful beadwork, please visit our marketplace.
