Mercy (20) and Julia (22) are two young women with a dream of a better life. Both these young women take to the streets every day to ‘run with onions’. Running with onions involves pounding the streets trying to sell their goods, every day, 12 hours a day. 80+ hours a week and they will be lucky if they have made 200-300ksh a day (£10 a week) for their efforts. At roughly 13p an hour it is no surprise that their dreams are taking a back seat. Not only that but Julia also has to provide for her little boy with her meagre earnings. Mercy is Julias right hand women when it comes to helping with the baby Theo and will be looking after him whilst Julia attends her training. These young women deserve a chance at life.
In Mercys words, “One day I seen a lady driving a roller on this road outside. She was helping to build it. I ask her how she gets a job like this and she tells me that there is a course you can do that means that you can earn money per hour”. The idea stuck and it became an ambition for both these young women. They would be the first Pokot women to drive these kinds of vehicles. But only earning 200-300ksh a day means that saving is impossible for their tuition fees, without some help Mercy and Julia will not be able to follow their dreams.
The course is 2 months long with fees 102,000 (roughly £800 each). If you think you could help in any way to help these dreams become a reality then we want to hear from you.
