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UKUNDA, KENYA
 At Give Us Wings, when we refer to “Ukunda” we’re really referring to an area of the Kenyan coastline from Mombasa down through Likoni and Tiwi and down to the community of Ukunda. It’s an area of dichotomy-- poverty and serenity. A travel website reads: “The beautiful Kenyan Coastline is lined with pristine white sandy beaches fringing the warm, inviting waters of the Indian Ocean.” True. Yet keep looking, beyond the tropical soft white sands and gentle sea breeze of Diani Beach, and meet the people who call “the coast” their home. Young and old, many tribes and religions, their eyes glassy, their feet and hands calloused, and their bodies weary and malnourished. Together they have designed a network that manages small loans for each other: the Tiwi Young Women, Tiwi Midwives, the Mawazwo Women’s Group, Malewano Women’s Group, and Family Group with their small business enterprises like cafes, poultry, kanga selling, small wood carvings, and tailoring, as well as health care and support.
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Read more...
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The Tiwi Midwives is a made up of a close knit group of elder women who deliver many babies each year using their training and birthing kits made by women in the USA. But that does not begin to yield enough money to sustain them, and the children they are raising—their grandchildren and daughters until they are married. Most women, perhaps upwards of 80%, are illiterate. For most families in the area it is cost prohibitive to send them to school. But they are a patient group, and their entrepreneurial spirit is strong.
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Read more... [Tiwi Midwives Group
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 “When I heard there was a group forming for young women who were unable to continue their education and that we would get training on starting our own small business, I was so excited. I didn’t want to just sit at home and wait to get married. I wanted to make something of my life.” – Ahsa Omari, member of Tiwi Young Women’s Group |
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Read more... [Tiwi Young Women's Group
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The Ukunda Family Group project is made up of seven families, about 70 members total. Money is distributed by a community-run village bank, as loans, to groups depending on size and need. In many cases the family has a business that they want to expand or start up, but not always. Money is also used for education support and training.
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Each of the ten young women in this group now owns a sewing machine and has received tailoring training. In addition they have small individual businesses which are growing thanks to loans and grants from Give Us Wings. |
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This is a small group (between 5-10 members) of independent business women who are developing small enterprises such as cafes, animal husbandry, selling kangas and wood carvings. One member has a successful new juice business that she built with her revolving loans. There is a small town market and where they can sell their goods. Maleano is much more urban than Tiwi. The women who sell kangas and wood carvings work the beach.
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