Damaris is a young, energetic woman who reached out to Mama Afrika in 2023 for support in setting up a second-hand shoe shop. Her situation is challenging: As a single mother, she is unable to care for her son herself—he is growing up hundreds of kilometers away with his grandmother. At the same time, she bears responsibility for her unemployed siblings.

To test her determination, Damaris initially received €20 in start-up capital for her first purchase of shoes. She demonstrated commitment and perseverance—not only in this initial challenge but also during a subsequent internship. Then, a new opportunity arose: Through collaboration with the Kenyan NPO Swahili Pot Hub, she was able to start training as a sewing machine operator. With great enthusiasm, she seized this new chance and is now working towards building a stable future for herself.

Josephine has been standing on her own two feet since 2015, after training as a seamstress by Mama Africa many years ago. Until the onset of the corona pandemic, she didn’t need any support and was even able to send her son to high school in Nairobi. But then everything changed: suddenly the tourists stayed away and Josephine fought for the survival of her business. She kept herself afloat by sewing uniforms for judges or table linen for the surrounding hotels. With a small loan from Mama Afrika she could afford an overlock sewing machine. Thus we were able to quickly help her and so Josephine could now not only take on more specific orders, but also rent out her overlock machine to other seamstresses for a fee to generate a small additional income.

Christine simply approached us during our support trip to Kenya in March 2023 and, unlike many others, didn’t just ask for money. No, she already had a specific plan: She keeps working as a masseuse and additionally wants to complete an official diploma as masseuse and hairdresser which would allow her to work in hotels. No sooner said than done: Christine started her part-time training at the beginning of April and is doing it with great energy and enthusiasm. Updates on this will follow!

Emmanuel, the founder of the Gbekebii School of Art and Culture in Jamestown/Ghana, has only one goal in mind: to show children from the fishing slum a way out of poverty by providing them with free education. In order to convince parents to send their children to school regularly, all 150 children receive a hot meal every day — often the only meal of the day.

Emmanuel is always struggling with new challenges: Currently, it is not only the rapidly rising inflation, but also a conflict between the owners of the property, which is why he has to fear for his school building.
He urgently needs help to be able to continue to provide schooling for the children.