Phaustine from Tumaini Pamoja

The GEA training has made me more knowledgeable, I shall now become a better leader and manager. I have learned about business management, organizational culture, social and environmental impacts, and building successful teams.
- Phaustine

For today’s Entrepreneur Profile, we present to you Phaustine Wekesa, the director of Tumaini Pamoja Women’s Support Group:

Vision: To mitigate HIV related stigma among women living with HIV/AIDS

Objective: To have all members economically empowered

Activities:
Micro-finance operations
Community education programs for HIV/AIDS awareness

Business idea:
Making necklaces

Graduates of Fair Oak Vocational College

In the biblical narrative, Jesus turns a few fish and loaves of bread into a meal for thousands. Fair Oak Vocational College has taken small grants for embroidery and computer machines, combined them with business education through The Global Entrepreneur Academy (GEA), and educated over 200 students!

On Sunday we attended graduation for 50 of those graduates as they received vocational training in the Tailoring/Dressmaking school and the Computer Skills school.

There are some excellent universities in Nairobi, but they are far out of reach for the average Kenyan in the Nairobi slums. Fair Oak fills that gap, and graduates have gone on to start small businesses, work in the government, and be employed by NGOs.

This is the power…of empowerment. We provided business education through The GEA to the school headmaster, and with a few small grants they have created a college that can educate 100 people a year and change their lives forever!

We are in our campaign for The GEA Spring 2011…make an investment in empowering the leaders for Kenya’s future.