Seamstresses

Meet the seamstress who made your product! Check the label on your Enkiteng or Kitenge bag, tote bag, knapsack, apron, skirt or teddy bear for name (new, big label) or initials (on the back of the small, logo label) and click on the pictures below to meet the seamstress who made it! Please note that bags made before 2014 were not signed.

Nyeri Seamstresses

Left to right: Esther, Alice Njeri, Mary, Alice N., Lucy, Anastaciah, Florence, Jane

Enoosaen Seamstresses

Jane, Kingasunye, Naibartuni, Naoroi and Nashuru (Teresa and Beatrice not pictured here)

Left to right: Jane, Kingasunye, Naibartuni, Naoroi, Nashuru (not pictured Beatrice and Teresa)

Alice Njeri

Alice Njeri Ngugi joined the Enkiteng sewing program in 2015.

She resides in Kamakwa, Kenya, with her three adult children and five grandchildren, facing the challenge of providing for them as an unmarried woman in her community. Thanks to Seeds to Sew, her grandchildren can continue their education.

Alice aims to start a tailoring business and eventually purchase land to grow and sell produce, aspiring to improve her family’s quality of life.

She advocates for more opportunities for girls in her community beyond involvement in prostitution.

Alice N. (AN)

Alice Nyanguthii Waithaka started sewing in the Enkiteng program in 2014.

Living in Kamakwa, Kenya, with three of her five children and caring for her parents, Alice faces financial challenges due to separation from her husband.

While she managed to educate her first two children, she seeks means to support the education of her remaining three. Through the Seeds to Sew program, she sees an opportunity to achieve this goal.

Ann

Anastaciah Wangeci Maina has participated in our Enkiteng Program in Nyeri since summer 2015.

Living in Kandara, Kenya, with her husband and children, Anastaciah faced challenges in accessing education due to family circumstances and financial constraints.

Despite her limited education, she supplements her income by doing laundry and housework in her community.

Through Seeds to Sew, she has acquired valuable business skills and aims to open a secondhand store downtown while aspiring to provide her family with a better future, including owning land and building a home.

Esther (EN)

Esther Nyambura Waithaka has been sewing in the Enkiteng Program in Nyeri, Kenya since 2012.

Despite not being able to graduate high school herself, she hopes to support her children‘s education and dreams of opening her own general store. Esther, a housewife, gained confidence and business skills through the Seeds to Sew program, planning to continue farming until she can start her store. She aspires to provide jobs in her community and, thanks to the Enkiteng Program, has improved her family’s living conditions by ensuring regular meals and covering school fees.

The program has also empowered her with sewing skills and allowed her to purchase a sewing machine. In an update from 2021, Esther expresses gratitude for the positive impact of Seed to Sew on her life, citing improvements in her family’s well-being and her ability to provide for them.

Florence

Florence Wanjiku Ihuthia has been sewing in the Enkiteng Program in Nyeri, Kenya since 2015.

Despite challenges, including being separated from her husband and struggling to afford education for her children, Florence persevered. Before the program, she sold laundry detergent and vegetables but faced financial difficulties. Through the program, she developed her business skills and dreams of purchasing land and livestock for a stable income. She aims to combat alcoholism in her community.

Grateful for the program‘s support, she has been able to provide for her children’s education and sustain her household, even starting a small green grocer shop.

Jane Wangui (JW)

Jane Wangui Ndirangu joined the Enkiteng Program in Nyeri in 2012.

Living in Nyeri with her husband and three sons, she also supports five other children in her community.

Jane, a high school graduate, aspires for her sons to attend university. Besides income from the program, she sells produce and plans to start a tailoring business.

Her dream is to run a green grocer shop and improve her community by reducing alcoholism. Previously a housewife and farmer, she now contributes significantly to her family‘s welfare and children’s education. Grateful for the program’s impact, she hopes to continue saving and eventually start her own business.

Lucy

Lucy Wairimu Kimaru has been participating in the Enkiteng Program in Nyeri since 2015.

Living in Nyeri with her husband and daughter, Lucy faced limited job opportunities compared to men in her community.

Besides sewing, she rents a small farm to grow vegetables for her family and sale. Lucy dreams of opening a baking business in Nyeri and aims to achieve it through hard work and the support of the Seeds to Sew program. She hopes to combat insecurity and high unemployment in her community.

Grateful for the program‘s impact, she has improved her sewing skills and can now craft a variety of items, providing for her family’s needs and saving for her business venture.

Mary (MW)

Mary Wangui Mwangi joined the Enkiteng Program in Nyeri in 2012.

Living in Kamuyu village in Nyeri with her husband and three children, Mary has used her sewing skills to contribute to her family‘s income and pay for her children’s school fees. She has also started a tailoring business and sewed uniforms for a local primary school.

With determination and savings, Mary aims to purchase land and build a home for her family. She hopes to see young people in her community stay away from drugs.

Grateful for the program’s support, she has improved her skills, acquired a sewing machine, and participated in sewing face masks for Nyeri County in 2020. She remains hopeful that the program will continue to assist her in achieving her goals.

Beatrice (BNR)

Beatrice Nasieku Ruto joined the Enkiteng Program in Enoosaen in 2012.

Living in Molo with her husband and four children, Beatrice, whose formal education ended in Form 3, prioritizes education for her children, expecting them to finish university.

Through the program, she saved enough to purchase land and build a new house. Additionally, she sells milk from her two dairy cows acquired through the program, supporting her family as the sole breadwinner.

Beatrice aims to empower women in her community to work and is learning to sew clothes with the goal of opening a tailoring shop.

Grateful for the program’s impact, she has been able to provide for her family, pay school fees, and enhance her sewing skills, now feeling confident to pursue her dreams.

Jane (JKK)

Jane Kingasunye Lolgos (JKK) has been a participant in the Enkiteng Program in Enoosaen since 2012.

Living with her six children in Enoosaen, a subsistence farming village in Transmara district, Kenya, Jane also works as a cook in a local school and sells vegetables from her garden.

Since joining the program, she opened a bank account, purchased land, and built a house for her family.

Through the Seeds to Sew program, Jane learned to make school uniforms and other products, becoming an independent seamstress. Grateful for the program’s impact, she now provides for her family without struggle, ensures her children attend school, and plans to sew uniforms for sale to earn additional income.

Nashuru (JNN)

Jenifer Nashuru Naleke (JNN) has joined the Enkiteng Program in Enoosaen in 2012.

Living with her husband and children in Enoosaen, a subsistence farming village in Transmara district, Kenya, Nashuru’s formal education ended in elementary school.

Before joining the program, she sold produce from her garden. Since participating, she opened a bank account, purchased land, and now grows and sells maize in addition to selling milk from her cows.

Grateful for the program‘s impact, she has improved her livelihood and become an independent seamstress, providing for her family’s needs.

Kingasunye

Kingasunye Evelyn Ncherii, residing in Empurkel near Enoosaen, Kenya, joined the Enkiteng sewing program in 2014.

Separated from her husband, she cares for nine children, eight of whom are her own. Despite her education ending in class 3, Kingasunye aspires for her children to attend university.

Before the program, she grew and sold vegetables, bought and resold milk, and worked as a casual laborer. Through the Enkiteng Program, Kingasunye built a latrine and started saving for a better house and livestock.

She dreams of a community where all children attend school, exemplified by her care for a neighbor’s son.

Grateful for the program, she saved to purchase two cows, providing income through milk sales. Kingasunye’s children attend school, and she has enhanced her sewing skills through training. She hopes to open a school uniform tailoring shop.

Naibartuni

Naibartuni Cecilia Siparo, joined the Enkiteng Program in Enoosaen in 2015.

Living in Oldabash with her husband and seven children, her husband‘s income is directed toward his drinking addiction, leaving her as the sole provider for the family. Despite her education ending in elementary school, Naibartuni prioritizes her children’s education, aiming for them to attend university.

In addition to income from the program, she sells milk from her dairy cow.

Naibartuni desires a better life for her family, focusing on providing food and education for her children and building a latrine for their home.

She aspires to learn to sew clothes like school uniforms for sale. Wanting to address alcoholism in her community, she values the support of the program, including health insurance coverage and financial assistance during the COVID-19 lockdown. Grateful for the program, Naibartuni has improved her family‘s welfare and ensured her children’s education.

Naoroi

Naoroi Ene Ntaiyia, residing in Empurkel, Kenya, joined the Enkiteng program in 2014.

Lacking formal education, she prioritizes schooling for her children and her sister’s children, aiming for them to attend university.

Widowed and caring for nine children and her grandmother, Naoroi previously earned income through farming and casual labor. Since joining the program, she has acquired a bank account, four dairy cows, and improved her family’s welfare by providing food, clothing, and education.

Grateful for the program‘s support, Naoroi uses her earnings to sustain her family and invest in their future. She has expanded her business, aiming to sell products like school uniforms. Through her hard work and the program’s assistance, Naoroi has achieved significant improvements in her family’s livelihood and expresses gratitude for the opportunities provided.

Teresa (TNJ)

Teresa Nkesa Juma (TNJ) also known as Mama Cynthia lives in Enoosaen, a small subsistence farming village in Transmara district in Kenya.

Mama Cynthia was the first one to join the program in summer 2012 as a trainer, teaching all the other seamstresses in Enoosaen how to sew Enkiteng bags (cloth gift wrapping bags) using donated fabric.

She also used to make the Enkiteng bags as a way to provide a supplementary income for her family, and has now moved on to become a full time seamstress in a neighboring town.