Jenifer Nashuru Naleke (JNN)
“The Enkiteng program has changed my life because now I can afford to buy food for my family and we don’t go hungry. I can now afford to pay for school tuition for all my children. Thank you for buying the Enkiteng bags!”
~Jenifer Nashuru Naleke
Jenifer Nashuru Naleke (JNN) is one of the seamstresses in our Enkiteng Program in Enoosaen. Enoosaen is a small subsistence farming village in Transmara district in Kenya, about 30km South-West from Kilgoris.
She joined the Enkiteng Program in summer 2012 and started learning how to sew by making Enkiteng bags (cloth gift wrapping bags) using donated fabric.
She has now graduated to making the Enkiteng bags out of Kitenge fabric, as well as new products such as Kitenge knapsacks, shopping bags, wrap-skirts and other products made of Kitenge. In 2019, she also participated in our Pamoja program, where the seamstresses learned how to make all the garments of school uniforms and other products that they will be able to sell in Kenya, becoming independent seamstresses.
She lives in Enoosaen with her husband and 7 children. Her husband does not work. Her formal education ended in elementary school – in class 4. Before she joined the Enkiteng Program, she used to grow onions, kale and spinach in her small garden and sell the produce on the market for about $2 per week.
Since she started sewing in the Enkiteng Program, she opened a bank account that she didn’t have before, saved enough money to buy a piece of land and is now growing and selling maize. In addition to selling maize and to the meaningful income from the Enkiteng Program, she also sells milk from her cows.
