Maureen Mwende is the administrator of Crafted. When asked about her work, this is what she said…
“Crafted is a venture program which acts as an outlet for items crafted by graduates of Seed of Hope centres. As I am one of the Seed of Hope graduates, I am privileged to be the administrator of the project.
The most interesting part of my work is dealing with clients. I find it so interesting, especially when exchanging ideas with them on what they want. I like dealing with all kinds of customers because it is a great experience I am having.”
When Mwende became the Crafted adminstrator in June 2009, she shared the story of the path that led her to that that role…
“My name is Maureen Mwende Kyalo. I am twenty one years old; I come from Eastern province in Machakos district. I would like to share with u a short essay about myself.
I come from a poor family background whereby my father used to work as a carpenter and my mother as a house wife. Both my parents were in Nairobi as I stayed with my grandmother in the rural area. Life was very difficult as me and my brother had to help my grandmother in the shamba every morning before going to school.
After completing my primary education in the year 2003, I didn’t have any hope for the future because I was used to the kind of life we were living under. I used to help my grandmother a lot because most of the time I was just at home. I used to blame myself for everything that I was passing through but at the end of the day I used to thank God for it. It was on a Saturday when father came and picked me from the rural area hoping to take me to secondary school but things didn’t work for he had a very low earning so I stayed in the house for some times.
It was in the year 2004 when I was told about seed of hope by my father, we went to find out what they were doing I was so happy to be enrolled in as one of the students. Since then my life changed, I really felt at home and I realized there was something I really missed in life, I found loving people who really cared for me and my future life, they gave me the skills that would help me and those skills have made me what I am.
Now I am employed under a project called Crafted whereby we deal with jewellery and fashion. The products are be made by the teenager girls from Seed of Hope. I love my job a lot because I have learned a lot from it and it makes me interact with different people all over the country.
My plans for the future are to help my mother and my brother to a better future than the one they are living now.
My sincere thanks go to Vision Africa, Deborah Kimathi and the staffs’ members of Seed of Hope centre for they gave me a second chance to change my life and our family.
MAY THE ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.THANKS ”
Crafted 