Suban Abdi Muhumed is a 27-year-old mother of 2 children living in Malkamari location of Banisa Sub county with her husband. She was brought up in a family of four. Both of her parents are deceased. She is uneducated and her household’s only source of livelihood is pastoralism. Suban and her husband sell livestock once in a while to buy grains and other commodities for the family as well as sell milk in the local market with an estimated monthly income of KES 6,000.
Like many young women in Northern Kenya, Suban spent her childhood undertaking household chores including fetching water and firewood. Getting education was only a dream for her, however she had high hopes that one day she would gain skills and be able to provide for her family with better means of livelihood. “DRC was the first to advertise sponsored TVET courses in our location and I was lucky to be selected as one of the beneficiaries to take a tailoring course. Thanks to DRC for giving me this opportunity,” Suban narrated in an interview after she was selected.
Under the EUTF-funded BORESHA project, Danish Refugee Council (DRC) seeks to provide vulnerable women, youth and pastoral drop-outs who are vulnerable to food insecurity and negative coping mechanisms with technical and vocational skills training opportunities for alternative livelihoods activities.
Suban is one of the 42 TVET trainees enrolled by DRC in technical and vocational skills training in January 2019. She is now pursuing tailoring as her dream course in Mandera Vocational Training Center. When Suban was asked what had changed in her life as a result of the BORESHA project, she replied, “Before I was selected as a TVET trainee I didn’t have any knowledge or skills to do anything in life, but now after only one and a half months in this tailoring course I have gained knowledge and skills to make shirts, trousers and shopping bags in different designs. More lessons are yet to come but believe me this project has brought light to my life. I am now just counting months to finish my course and start my own tailoring shop in my home town.”
She hopes that the BORESHA project will provide her with start-up support after she graduates from her course so that she can jumpstart her dream career in tailoring. She is determined to finish her course and go back home to earn a living for herself and her family. She really serves as an inspiration to other girls in her location.
