In primary school, Linet was bright, and dreamed of becoming a successful Kenyan fashion designer when she grew up. The future was exciting. Until she was 11, when her parents died within six months of each other. Linet went to live with relatives in Nairobi, where she thought she would be cared for. But she was sexually abused and became pregnant.
She was thrown out onto the street with nothing. A young girl, alone and scared.
She was selling coffee on the street to survive when she heard about Raising Futures Kenya. The charity runs free vocational and business skills training for young people, including young mothers.
Linet joined the Fashion and Dressmaking course. Alongside the training she got the counselling she desperately needed to cope with the grief of being orphaned, and then raped by someone she thought she could trust.
She received practical support like cooked lunches, and period pads so nothing stood in the way of her learning. And she had individual care from her teachers that gave her the self-belief to thrive. After finishing her training Linet worked at a local clothing shop. She earned enough to rent a room and saved up for a sewing machine to make and sell her own clothes.
3 years on, Linet runs her own successful business. She has a home for her twins and she’s able to pay their school fees, and for her siblings too. And she mentors current students, to become strong, independent business people too.
Listen again to Seed of Hope student, Linet, sharing her experience as part of the BBC Radio 4 appeal:
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