Rose inspired to follow her dream
Rose, who is 22 years old, had a difficult childhood. She was rejected by her family and lived on the streets in Nairobi, Kenya. One of the ways she relieved stress was playing football with boys at a nearby field.
Goal marks a turning point
A teacher Rose had befriended helped her to restart her schooling, and life began to improve. She joined Futuremakers’ Goal programme, which uses sport to deliver life-skills and confidence training for girls, and creates employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young women. Supported by the Standard Chartered Foundation and NGO Women Win, Goal partner and NGO Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP) delivers the programme in Nairobi.
By the time Rose finished secondary school, she’d helped to form the girls’ team, had become a Goal coach, and was later recruited to VAP’s senior team.
Rose’s Goal coach was inspirational. She said: “She believed in me and helped to build my self-esteem. I learned leadership skills from her, and she entrusted me with being the soccer chapter’s captain.”
“She believed in me and helped to build my self-esteem. “
A leader is born
From the start, Rose demonstrated outstanding leadership skills. Supported by Goal’s Employability and Entrepreneurship (EE) Fund, she took a fashion and interior design course and increased her income by designing products such as pillows and laptop bags.
She is using the skills she’s mastered to make masks for the Covid-19 pandemic on a sewing machine she won last year during a business challenge for EE participants.
“I’m very honoured to give valuable help to the community during this difficult time.”
Rose’s passion, commitment and voluntary work won her a further scholarship, and she is now part-way through a diploma in interior design. Her confidence has blossomed so much that she started an interior design company to give her income and serve her community.
She said: “In the next five years, I want to be an interior and designer tutor supporting vulnerable girls who would like to venture into this field.”