Samantha is a very special and talented young woman. She came to Neema a few years ago after being assaulted while herding the family cow. After completing training in hair dressing and manicures, she continued on to tailoring, receiving her Level 1 Certificate. Recently her mother, a widow, had her land taken over by relatives, leaving her without a source of income from farming. Samantha's mother moved to Eldoret (2 hours away) to start a hotel, taking Samantha's young daughter with her and leaving Samantha and her brother behind to continue school. The stress of caring for herself and her brother caused Samantha to begin missing school at Neema. When the Neema staff (Anne and Joyce) went to find out why she was missing school, Samantha confessed that she did not enjoy tailoring but preferred doing hair and nails. Fearing that they would lose this talented young woman, Anne and Joyce put their money together and rented a small shop near Samantha's home.

A team recently had the privilege of visiting this shop, christened Neema Shop 2. Samantha beamed as she showed them the corner where she now does blow drying and weaves for her customers. Next to a small mirror she also displayed designs she can paint on customers' finger and toe nails. In addition to hair and nails, she is also set up to do small clothing repairs with a sewing machine provided by Neema. A notebook shows a careful list of all the services she has performed and the money collected for each. Since beginning in May, she has turned over more than 3000 shillings to the staff at Neema. The hope is that one one of this years' graduates might join her in the shop as an intern later this year. Anne, Neema's In Country Director shared that Samantha has entrepreneurial gifts and has also been roasting pine nuts and selling small bags to her clients to earn extra money for herself.

What a blessing to visit this shop! The team prayed a blessing over Samantha and protection for her as she works. Samantha is not only a wise business woman, she is a gifted a preacher and evangelist. She desires to use her shop as a way to share the love of Jesus with her clients and neighbors. Please pray that God would use Samantha for his glory and that she would find favor with all she meets and serves. Praise God for the wise leadership at Neema who were able to see the gifts in Samantha and were willing to give their own money to support this endeavor.

NEEMA Shop II: Samantha's Shop