When our own children leave home we hope that we have prepared them with enough wisdom, morals and social awareness to survive and secure a strong footing in the world. We are ready to support them emotionally and financially where we can to help them get on to the metaphorical ‘ladder’.
When our children from CBCH leave home they look to us to be their family support and we are happy to do it. On a recent visit to Kenya to meet the children and staff at the CBCH Home, I had the privilege of chatting to a number of ex-CBCH children, now grown up and living in the rural communities, and they told me about the challenges of getting a job in Kenya. I was very perturbed to hear that successfully securing a job requires the applicant to pay a bribe to the employer. I understand that high paid positions requiring high level qualifications escape this kind of corruption but for those without a college education or degree, this practice completely closes the door to employment. The only way forward will be to start their own businesses and be their own employer.
The JOG Fund (Jobs, Opportunties and Growth), set up by Kisumu Children Trust, is in place to provide those children with exactly the financial support they so desperately need to get started in a business. Just like our own children, it’s not about gifting money all the time, when we do that they never learn to appreciate the value of what they have built up through sheer hard work. The situation with our CBCH children is exactly the same and JOG provides a small loan to get them started which they then pay back within a reasonable timeframe, agreed at the outset depending on the case. It has worked so well that we have actually extended it to others who are not ex-CBCH children but who find themselves in a similar predicament.
Spotlight on a JOG Business
Kris (pictured at the top with our founder, Peter) is not an ex-CBCH child but we heard about him and his desire and struggles to set up in business making arts and crafts which he could sell to make a living for his family. He needed a small loan for materials and his position in the tourist market street to sell his wares. He has done very well and is indeed very talented. It has been so rewarding for us as much as for Kris, to see him get started and established and through hard work and dedication, build a successful business. To really be secure though he needs to expand further now. If you would like to be involved with Kris’s business expansion through the provision of a loan then we would love to hear from you. We also bring Kris’s work home to the UK every 6 months for people who love his art, sculptures and jewellery and in turn this helps us to support Kris further as good customers! If you would like to order anything or would like to help with a loan for Kris’s business expansion, please get in contact: office@kisumuchildren.org.uk
