The Good Shepherd Sisters are a Catholic religious order that are dedicated to promoting the welfare, care and education of women and girls within their local communities.
The sisters have previously ran several training projects for women in disadvantaged areas such as the Mukuru slums in Nairobi. This training provided to local women shared invaluable skills through tailoring and dressmaking, opening many doors of employment for women and new income generating opportunities.
After conducting a needs assessment survey in 2014 the Sisters relocated to Ngong, a town located roughly 30 kilometres south-west of Nairobi. The town faces significant economic challenges and welcomed the sisters’ plans to provide training and education amongst women and girls in the community.
In order to provide sufficient levels of training, suitable facilities were needed. With combined funding from Africa Direct, The Good Shepherd Sisters and ElectricAid, construction of a vocational training building has been completed. The new building houses four classes which specifically tailor for lessons in dressmaking, computers, hairdressing, and catering, along with three offices and a multipurpose hall all to be used by women in the surrounding areas.
More recently a Women’s Empowerment Programme has been introduced with local women organised into microfinance groups where members can share their savings and give loans to other members who wish to expand their small businesses along with mentoring and training on how best to keep profits and reinvest in further stock.
The training facilities have proven to be extremely popular in the town with expanding numbers of women interested in participating in training programmes. Since opening in mid-September 2018, there are currently 98 women active in training and microfinance groups, with figures set to rise as the facilities become increasingly well-known. A child mentorship programme with sports activities, theatre and talks to raise awareness of health, rights and social responsibilities now has 100 children participating.
Good Shepherd Sisters’ work is aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals #8 which requires decent work and economic growth to occur and Goal #10 which aims reduce inequalities in a given area. Projects such as these are the backbone to ElectricAid, all of which could not happen without the generous donations given by all, together we are making life changing differences.
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