Before we met Solomon, he was a cook at a small primary school. His salary was enough to survive off of, but never enough of a paycheck to get ahead and support his family to the level we all desire.

TWK’s loan program allowed him to save up for his very first motorbike, and allowed him to start working as a taxi rider before and after cooking hours. His business grew, as his village had needed a driver to get folks to town for quite some time. Shortly there after he was driving full-time, and was able to purchase two more motorbikes through our loan program —employing other to drive them!

Solomon’s success is storybook, but he wanted for the rest of his community too. He’s help bring over 75 women to TWK’s groups, and has become our most recent new hire as a Field Manager.

“I am a preschool teacher and teach at one of the Free Methodist schools here. I joined Tumaini about six years ago and I can say I have benefited a lot.

My first loan helped me with education of my son. After I cleared that loan, I took a second loan with TWK which helped me pay for tuition for two years at a boarding school.

There are other benefits with being in TWK. The first thing we do in our group is to pray for each other, putting everything unto Him…We encourage one another and, at times, we do a bible study. I am very grateful for Tumaini Women Kenya!"

Irene Kiresesa knew she had to “do something”, as Female Genital Mutilation is commonly practiced among her tribe and she’s seen firsthand the pain and suffering it’s brought to many young women. Since attending TWK’s seminar, Irene has arranged several speaking engagements in order to begin raising awareness in young and old women, along with men about FGM issues.

As part of her Anti-FGM mission, Irene targets high schools, because many students are in one place — different cultures, religions, and traditions. Irene states that the response has been tremendous, and many have opened up about other challenging issues in their lives.

FGM refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-medical reasons. The practicing of “cutting” poses serious health risks to millions of young girls and women who are often forced to undergo the procedure.