Multiplying Effect: Ruth & Lilian’s Stories

At Neema, we often talk about the multiplying effect — how educating one young woman has reverberations that extend to her family and her community. But what does that actually look like?

The Story Begins…

Take Ruth for example. Ruth Nafula is a 2016 Neema alumni who is now the Neema Shop Assistant Manager. Although Ruth attended traditional school until 7th grade, she had to drop out because she was living in extreme poverty and didn’t have the funds for the required school uniform and supplies needed to attend high school. Which is why she came to Neema. She went through the three-year program, learning the skills necessary to be self-sufficient and gaining the confidence needed to do so.

Ruth in front of the Neema shop

Why She Teaches

Today, Ruth is twenty-seven years old and lives at home with her two parents and five younger siblings, including three who are in primary school or high school. Her parents are casual laborers but don’t make much money, and so Ruth, using the skills she learned at Neema, has become the main source of income for her family. Not only does she support her parents, but she also pays for the high school tuition of her sisters and will pay for the high school tuition of her brother next year when he begins — the tuition she never had access to.

On top of that, it takes Ruth one hour and twenty minutes to walk to work one way! She can pay for transportation, but it’s expensive, and that money could better be served helping her family. So most days she walks — one hour twenty to the Neema shop and one hour twenty back home.

The Result

But because of one young woman healing from past trauma, getting educated, and learning a trade, she’s able to support her family and help those in the same generation get the formal education she missed out on, an education that will hopefully have multiplying returns in the future. 

Ruth working in the Neema shop

Ruth (right) with a Neema student (left) and Neema’s Shop Manager (center)

Ruth

Lilian Supports Her Family

Another example involves not one of our students, but one of our staff. Lilian began working at Neema in 2020 by helping out with the children. In 2021 she moved into the office and is now the Administrative Assistant for Neema in Kenya.

She also still lives with her parents, as well as her brother, her brother’s wife, and their two children. Like Ruth’s parents, Lilian’s parents are casual laborers who work for a day’s wage. Her brother is a veterinarian, but only receives money if there’s work, which lately has been absent. Lilian was fortunate enough to graduate from high school but didn’t attend college. And having that education — education denied to so many because of extreme poverty — has helped. With the job she currently has at Neema, Lilian is the main breadwinner in her family, supporting her parents, her brother, and her brother’s family. And we are currently discussing how to support her to pursue another degree.

Both Ruth and Lilian are extremely grateful for their positions at Neema. And as mentioned above, educating one young woman has reverberations that extend to her family and her community. These are just two examples of many where this has happened — not only within the community of Neema students but also within the Neema staff. Which, as a side note, did you know that the 20 Kenyan staff members collectively help to support 180 individuals through their wages earned at Neema? Talk about a multiplying effect!

Lilian

Our Vision

At Neema, our long-term vision is to see the oppressive systems of gender inequality changed in Kenya and the cycle of extreme poverty broken. And we believe helping one woman at a time can do this because by becoming educated and self-sufficient, she challenges the preconceived notions that women aren’t a valuable part of the community. And when mindsets change, lifestyles change. That’s why we, at Neema, view ourselves as a bridge between the old mindsets and the new mindsets. And the ultimate goal is to get to the point where the bridge is no longer needed because our vision has been fully realized.

Over the next couple of months, we’re going to be highlighting some of our alumni to further show how this multiplying effect is taking place and how this vision is beginning to be realized. We hope you’re as inspired as we are to continue to support these young women in their journey towards restoration, education, and transformation, not only for themselves, but for the greater community as a whole.

Lilian (right) with other Neema staff members