17 Aug Now, her whole family is Unstoppable!
Naameka Tangus is a Kipsigis woman in the rural community of Emori Joi in the Masaai Mara region of Kenya. Traditionally, tensions exist between the Kipsigis people, who are subsistence farmers, and the Maasai, who are herders and hunters. Trespassing on their land is not done lightly. But when Naameka and her husband couldn’t afford school fees for their children, she took the chance.
The forbidden Maasailand was a half day’s walk one way and the journey was risky. If they saw her on their land, she could be captured . . . beaten . . . perhaps even killed. But it was a risk Naameka had to take. If she could collect enough wood and get it back to her village, she could sell it at the local market. And that meant a future for her family.
While hiding behind trees and brush, Naameka would spend her days collecting firewood trying to not be discovered. A successful day would lead to 200 shillings at the local market – just over two U.S. dollars. That would pay for a few days of schooling for her children.
“Keeping my children in school is hard,” she says. “Sometimes, for them to go to school, there will be nothing to eat in the house. But without an education, their future was dark,” she says.
With the Unstoppable Foundation’s support, a program was offered to help Naameka and the women in her village earn money without risking their lives. A group of woman would meet regularly and contribute a small sum of money, and then the total was given to one of them to invest in an income-producing project. When it was Naameka’s turn to get the money, she bought three hens and started selling their eggs at the market. With another investment from the group, she was able to plant a half-acre of onions.
The regular income from her eggs and onions meant there was enough money for her children to attend school. Naameka tells us, “Two of them want to be doctors. My boy wants to be a pilot.”
Because of your partnership, women like Naameka no longer have to risk their lives to give their children an education and a future.
With love and appreciation,
Cynthia Kersey
Bestselling author, “Unstoppable”
www.unstoppable.net
Chief Humanitarian Officer
Unstoppable Foundation
www.UnstoppableFoundation.org