The Hawkers Market Girls Centre Project has been selected as one of the Finalists for World Challenge 2008!!! Now in its fourth year, World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. World Challenge 08 is brought to you by BBC World News and Newsweek, in association with Shell, and is about championing and rewarding projects and business which really make a difference.
Although HMGC did not win the final title, congratulations for been selected!
It's estimated that at least half the population of Nairobi live in slums. The children of the slums flock to the city's markets to search for food among their waste. The harrowing sight of young girls scavenging for food on stinking tips was a spur to action for some of Hawkers Market's customers. As Shariffa Keshavjee remembers, "The girls were pulling at our skirts, saying 'teach me, teach me'. And then we realised that we have to educate these girls."
Shariffa and other customers set up the Hawkers Market Girls Centre to give at least some slum children the chance of a better life. The Centre offers vocational training in professions such as hair dressing and tailoring, as well as classes in life skills such as computer literacy and basic healthcare. Each year up to forty girls are either employed or set up in business with assistance from the project.
The Centre also offers valuable lessons in how to make small incomes go further. The girls grow their own vegetables, harvest rainwater and earn some extra cash by selling homemade charcoal briquettes. "Giving the girls an income generating skill is very important," says Shariffa. "We can't ask them to contribute to the project, but by selling what they make they feel like they are giving something back."
Check out the World Challenge 08 Website for more information, pictures and videos!!
http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/html/project08_hawkers.html
