I have always been aware of the fact that Kenya has a high unemployment rate, and how this unemployment can easily lead to people finding themselves in desperate situations despite their credentials. But much of my understanding was still somewhat abstract until I became involved in a program called the LifeWorks Partnership Trust and got to talk to people whose lives have been negatively impacted by living-wage employment.
LifeWorks is a part of the comprehensive HIV/AIDS program, Regional Outreach Addressing AIDS through Development Strategies (ROADS). The program is managed by USAID/East Africa and jointly implemented by Family Health International (FHI) and six other partners. ROADS serves 26 transport corridor communities in nine countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Congo and south Sudan). The program focuses on corridor communities that are often neglected because public health authorities do not want to invest resources in transient populations and fear that offering services on a border along a highway might attract more consumers than could be handled. Corridor communities include semi-transient residents (prostitutes and traders) as well as truckers. Unemployment reaches up to 70 percent in these communities. Understandably, 78 percent of community females have traded sex for gifts or money and over 50 percent have had sexually transmitted infections. HIV prevalence among truck drivers is twice as high as the general population.
The ROADS program aims to address the root causes of the spread of HIV along these transport corridors as well as treat those already infected. The program makes use of preexisting community clusters (community-based organizations of low-income women, vulnerable youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, caregivers and orphans, as well as church and microfinance groups) to develop a joint program and budget and implement a number of projects. Root causes of high-risk behavior include economic inequality, unemployment, gender-based violence and alcohol abuse.
The projects range from peer education for prevention to care and support, as well as generation of income and food security projects. Alcohol counseling is available to address the problems of non-compliance with antiretroviral treatment regimen and gender-based violence. Improving access to quality health services through training of pharmacists in these undeserved communities is also a focus of ROADS. Branded “SafeTStop” signs indicate to truckers that these services are available. An important element of SafeTStop is resource centers which provide truckers with a place to stay, safe entertainment possibilities and HIV/AIDS education.
The LifeWorks program’s mission is sustainable job creation as an HIV prevention and care strategy. Through partnerships with private multinational and local companies that donate their expertise and other resources, for-profit enterprises are being developed to generate employment for vulnerable populations. LifeWorks targets low-income women (LIW), older orphans, vulnerable youth and community care providers. There are four businesses that have been started through LifeWorks in the short time since its creation.
During my time in Kenya, I primarily worked with Shukrani LifeWorks, a company that makes home and fashion accessories and employs 24 women and older orphans. Mainly, I tried to find new markets for their products and developed promotional materials. I had the oppotunity to spend a few days at their site in Mariakani, where a few women and men were brave enough to tell me their stories. One of these people was Mary.
Mary is 23 years old and the third of five children. Her older siblings have moved away and her parents are unemployed, so Mary has to take care of her 16-, 13-, and 10-year-old siblings. Mary attended school until the eighth grade, when she could no longer afford to pay for it.
When she was old enough to work, she got a job at Kenya Knit Garments EPZ Ltd., where she worked for two years. She was not paid enough to support her family, so she applied unsuccessfully to other companies.
Eventually Mary saved enough money to study tailoring and dressmaking at Mabati Technical Training Institute. She studied there for a year, working as a house girl at night to pay the bills.
She was always tired when she got out of class, but still had to go to work. Her parents and siblings relied on her to provide income and food. Mary says that as a student she had other needs, but she had put her family’s needs first.
One day, she heard about Lifeworks and decided to apply. A week later she was hired. Mary says that LifeWorks has really changed her life. She can now afford to buy books and food for her siblings.
For the first time, she could buy gifts for her family at Christmas. For the first time in 10 years, the family could afford to have tap water in their home. Mary says, “It’s a big step from before to where I am now. I am grateful to LifeWorks.”
Before finding a job at Shukrani, she dated men who bought her clothes, shoes and meals ‚Ä” things she could not afford otherwise. Mary admitted that “men would leave me if I did not have sex with them.”
Through health education at Shukrani, Mary has learned about HIV high-risk behavior and prevention strategies. She says if she started dating someone, she would demand they get tested for HIV together.
Mary says she no longer feels pressured to get married in a hurry. She fears that her husband would take her money and use it himself. “If I got married, I may no longer be able to support my siblings.”
Her 16-year-old sister just finished high school and wants to go to college. Mary is trying to save enough money to support her sister. In the future, Mary hopes to receive more dressmaking training and save enough money to eventually buy equipment and start her own business making Kenyan coast-style wedding dresses.
The Shukrani Collection includes place mats, table top accessories, fashion accessories such as scarves and necklaces and a variety of handbags and purses.
A small selection of Shukrani Collection merchandise is available for purchase at the Florence O. Wilson Bookstore.