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Life in Mandera County was a story of hardship for Raha Noor Daud. As the only child in a poor family, her youth was marred by an early marriage at the age 16. The union, driven by parental pressure, was a source of immense pain, marked by years of spousal bullying and emotional abuse. This gender-based violence (GBV) left her with deep emotional scars. Following her divorce, Raha, now 28, carried the weight of her past trauma and the responsibility of caring for her aging parents. Financial independence seemed like a distant dream, her spirit crushed by the years of abuse.

The path to healing began when she discovered the Jasiri program, funded by the Mastercard Foundation and implemented by the Collaborative Center for Gender and Development (CCGD). This program was more than a course; it was a lifeline. On January 6, 2025, Raha enrolled in the tailoring course at the Integrated Community based Organization (ICDO) Vocational Training Center in Neboi ward. The classroom became her sanctuary, a place where she could channel her pain into a purposeful skill. With every stitch and seam, she was not just learning to sew; she was mending the broken pieces of her life.

On June 30, 2025, Raha successfully completed her course. The transformation was remarkable. The trauma that had once defined her began to fade, replaced by a newfound confidence and a sense of self-worth. She had fully recovered and was ready to take on the world, a testament to her incredible resilience. Though she lacked the funds to buy her own sewing machines, she was undeterred. She rented machines to get her business off the ground, a small but vital investment in her future.

Today, Raha is a thriving entrepreneur, the proud owner of a successful tailoring business. She has not only carved a niche for herself in her community but has also created a life on her own terms. Her earnings allow her to support her parents and save for the future, with the ultimate goal of one day buying her own machines. Looking ahead, Raha is hopeful for a future filled with love and partnership. She plans to marry a man of her choice, a decision born of her newfound independence and strength.

Raha’s journey is an inspiration, a powerful reminder that with determination, healing, and hard work, you can overcome trauma and stitch together a beautiful new life for yourself, one thread at a time.

Barwaqa, a mother of three and a survivor of GBV, started her journey at Tumaini Educational Community-Based Organization office in Mandera County as a tea-girl. While going about her duties, she admired the trainees as they cut fabrics, handled scissors, and stitched garments. Her curiosity grew into determination, and after her kitchen work, she would stay behind to observe and learn. With encouragement from her peers, Barwaqa soon mastered the sewing machine and began producing diracs, hijabs, shorts, dresses, and bedcovers.

Seeing her potential, Barwaqa requested support from the TECBO team to raise funds for a second-hand sewing machine which cost 9,000/ (shillings Nine thousand only), contributing part of her salary to the purchase. She even introduced a neighbor to take over her tea-girl role so she could dedicate herself fully to sewing. Today, Barwaqa proudly operates her sewing machine in a local shop, where she earns an income and provides for her children. She is a happy, independent mother, now eager to expand her skills into henna application.

Barwaqa’s story reflects the power of opportunity, skills training, and donor support in transforming lives. In her own words, “Without the program support, I would still be a tea-girl and struggling. Because of this program, I now have a future, my children have hope, and I believe other women like me can also succeed. Please continue supporting TECBO so that more women can stand on their feet, just like I did.”.

At just 29 years old, Rehema Bungo from Magongoni has lived a life marked by both hardship and remarkable transformation. A mother of three and the second wife in a polygamous marriage in Vigurungani Village, She was married off at just 26 due to high poverty levels, and in her marriage the husband neglected his duties, with the burden of providing for her children falling squarely on her shoulders.

Rehema’s days were once filled with uncertainty. Her small mali mali business, selling household items, barely made ends meet. There were times when putting food on the table was a struggle, and her dreams of a better future seemed out of reach.

Everything changed when Rehema joined the Jasiri program. Through Jasiri’s life skills and financial literacy training, Rehema gained not only knowledge but confidence. Equipped with practical tools and a renewed sense of purpose, she received a Ksh 25,000 grant which was a turning point in her journey.
With determination and vision, Rehema reinvested the grant into her mali mali business, expanded by launching a vibrant choma zone, and began keeping goats to diversify her income. Her efforts paid off: she has now saved Ksh 15,000 from her business profits.

Today, Rehema stands as a beacon of hope in her community. Her children are well fed and cared for, and she no longer lives in fear of tomorrow. The Jasiri program through Collaborative Centre for Gender & Development (CCGD) in partnership with Mastercard Foundation  didn’t just offer her financial support; it gave her the tools to rewrite her story.

Covid -19 nearly brought to halt business operations not only in Kenya but globally. This follows the stiff measures that were placed to curb the spread of the virus, these measures affected women’s labour markets. Businesses such as greengrocery, and mitumba (second-hand) clothes, fish mongering which are dominated by women were hard hit as compared to those operated by men. The situation was exacerbated by the spike in cases of gender-based violence witnessed during the stay-at-home period.

As a way of re-energizing and rebuilding the resilience of women survivors of SGBV, Mastercard Foundation supported a consortium of three organizations including CREAW, Groots Kenya and CCGD to develop Jasiri Fund. This non-collateral loan sought to facilitate affordable financial services s women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Kenya in the wake of Covid-19.

To date, over 700 women have benefitted from the program. One of them is Ms. Dolrose Awino, a greengrocery businesswoman based at Kinango market in Kwale County. Despite having a successful business before the onset of Covid-19, all the success she had made was watered away by the pandemic. Her situation was worsened by the continuous domestic violence she experienced in her marriage.     

“My ex-husband used to beat me, he demanded that I leave the house by 10:00 am and come back by 5: 00 pm failure to which he would beat me up. The man used to beat me on a daily basis because of the nature of my job where I have to leave early to the market and come back late in the night,” she narrated.

But when push came to shove, Ms. Awino walked out of the abusive marriage. She was later enrolled as a beneficiary of the Jasiri Fund program where she was among other survivors who were taken through a number of entrepreneurship training before being given loans.

“Personally, I was given a loan worth Ksh, 80,000 which I used to boost my business and the profit plowed from the business is what I used in buying the four cattle as I plan to venture into livestock keeping.,” she explained.

Added: “From the loan, I could use Ksh. 15,000 to buy a sack of sardines from Kisumu out of which I would make a profit of Ksh. 10,000 per sack and that is how I managed to raise money to buy these cattle.”

Ms. Awino has not only ventured into cattle rearing but aspires to open up a retail shop within Kinango “As we speak, there is a place I have identified that am planning to open up a retail shop this is due to the harsh economic time we are facing. So, if I can combine the two businesses – greengrocery and shop then I will be one step ahead;” she said.

She remains buoyant that Jasiri will continue empowering more women like her. She, however, calls upon the program implementors to onboard more women in the program as this will help in reducing cases of SGBV in the county.

Despite making business progress, Ms. Awino faces a number of challenges which she says has affected the business considering that her businesses rely heavily on Jasiri loan. “Some of the challenges we are facing here in Kinango are drought and rise in the price of commodities which have adversely affected our businesses,” said Ms. Awino.

She pleaded with women in business to reduce expenses in their businesses and turn their focus into savings.

“I urge fellow women in business to put more effort into savings and avoid too many expenses in their businesses. They should also set targets in their businesses,” she said.

With support from Mastercard Foundation, through the Response, Recovery and Resilience Project in partnership with CREAW and GROOTS Kenya, CCGD has facilitated affordable financial services to women such as Ms. Dolrose Awino through Jasiri Fund. CCGD is currently implementing the program in Kwale, Kajiado and Busia Counties.

Youth in Baringo County have called on government and other stakeholders to involve them in peace-building initiatives. This comes in the aftermath of reported banditry attacks which led to loss of lives and displacement of people with women and children left to pay the price of the attacks when the security operation was put in place in the aftermath. 

Speaking during a forum on the use of traditional and new media (social media) techniques to promote peacebuilding in Baringo County held on 27^th July 2022 in Kabarnet town, the youth noted that they don’t have safe space and platforms where they can freely speak on issues of insecurity and conflict affecting the county.

Led by Felix Chirchir, a member of the Baringo Peace Consortium, the youth expressed their disappointment for not being actively engaged in the decision-making process in matters of peace and security in the county. 

“Youth are mostly perpetrators of these attacks and involving them and giving them a platform to speak on some of the challenges we have as a county will help in addressing the challenges such as conflict,” said Chirchir.

Felix Kemboi, Youth Peace Ambassador for CSI- Kenya called for mapping for mapping of youth groups and community-based organizations working on peace and security and giving safe spaces where they can table their issues.

“As young people, we only want to be listened to and given an opportunity to table our ideas,” said Kemboi.

On her part, Winnie Tuitoek, Journalist at K24 noted that the security agencies have also neglected the youth when it comes to peacebuilding initiatives even in Baringo North and Baringo South where banditry attacks are rampant.

 Participants are usually leaders and security agencies and, in most scenarios, the youth are not given time or space to give their views.

Further, the youth called on the community and security agencies to cease from victimizing and arresting youth who surrender their guns as this will make them shun surrendering the guns.

 The youth also cited limited political goodwill by the government in promoting youth-led initiatives such as inter-communal peace tournaments, inter-cultural festivals, and art-based activism (artivism) that promote peacebuilding.

They called for the engagement of PWDs since some of them were disabled by conflict and they are usually worst affected.

Currently, CCGD is implementing the Women, Peace and Security Program (WS) which aims to end the double marginalization of women in peace and security processes in the counties of Mandera, Samburu, and Baringo counties. The involvement of the youth in peace-building processes and giving them a voice in peace processes is a key objective of the WPS program. 

By Carol Jebet and Maurice Goga