Boma field officer Sensa Ogom trains women in business skills at Korr Village, Marsabit County. PHOTO | DAVID MUCHUI
By DAVID MUCHUI, dmuchui@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- Monitoring, mentoring and culture of savings put 9,000 rural women of Marsabit and Samburu on a higher tier of life.
Born in far-flung Korr village Marsabit County, Kura
Omar grew up in a pastoral community where regular food aid was critical
for survival.
Mothers and children left behind by men who searched for
pasture land and watering points for their livestock succumbed to pangs
of famine.
In 2005, Mr Omar joined hands with Kathleen Colson,
a US citizen, to found Boma Project, a non-governmental organisation
(NGO) shepherding the community from the well-trodden path of food aid
and grants to entrepreneurship.
“Whenever there is a drought, pastoralist
communities are the most affected through loss of livestock,” Mr Omar,
who is also the Boma operations director, told the Business Daily.
“Most women relied on their husbands and relief
agencies for food. This made it hard for women and children to cope
after men left in search of water and pasture.”
So far, the group has enrolled more than 9,000
vulnerable women who have opened about 3,000 businesses and established
over 500 savings groups.
The beneficiaries of Boma Project run village
kiosks, sell groceries, operate butcheries, bakeries, have tailoring
shops and thrive in fish mongering.
Last October, more than 900 pastoralist women from
remote villages of Marsabit and Samburu counties “graduated from
poverty” after two years of intensive business training and mentorship.
This was through a programme dubbed Rural
Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) run by Boma. REAP gives residents of
these pastoralist communities the tools and knowledge to start and
manage small businesses.
The project is a two-year programme where a group
of three women receives business and savings training and a seed capital
grant of about $150 (Sh15,300).
Individuals who show resilience receive a further $50 (Sh5,100) progress grant and are allowed to access credit.
To ensure the most vulnerable benefit from the
programme, Mr Omar says that Boma kicks off with a community led
‘Participatory Wealth Ranking’ (PWR) where local residents identify the
poorest.
“Residents meet and rank each other based on their
poverty standards. The neediest people get first priority for enrolment
in the programme,” he said.
Each group of three women is required to draw a business plan for an enterprise they think can do well.
It is recommended that the women act as equal
partners, including when they make decisions, share profits as well as
marketing the business.
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