Celine is 22 years old and the firstborn of five children. She was born and raised in Fuata Nyayo village in Nairobi, South Ward. She was enrolled in the Nairobi DREAMS project in 2016 while in Form Two (Second Year of High School). Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS-Free Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) is a community-based PEPFAR-initiated program providing a comprehensive package of layered biomedical (sexual and reproductive health), social (social asset building, education subsidies) and economic interventions (economic empowerment) that not only targets the AGYWs but their families, communities, and male partners.
With funding from CDC, CIHEB-Kenya, through the CONNECT program, has subgranted Hope Worldwide Kenya to implement the DREAMS program in 30 wards in Nairobi county.
Before the project, Celine had no aspirations for her future. During her school break, she would idle at home, watching television and sometimes helping with household chores. She discovered the project through word of mouth from her friends in school. Joining the DREAMS project was exciting and empowering since she was able to attend social asset-building sessions and receive interventions such as financial capability and entrepreneurship training, cash transfers, and My Health My Choice sessions.
Her confidence and self-esteem grew by engaging with her mentor. The DREAMS program supported her high school education, and after completing high school, she became more involved in the project. She later received vocational skills training in hairdressing and got employed at a salon after completing her course in 2019. She hones her skills by braiding her mother and sister’s hair. Celine was engaged and trained as a DREAMS mentor for the 9-14 age cohort. She has mentored 60 girls, 17 of whom have graduated from the project.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the sessions transitioned to online meetings, which was difficult for Celine as she didn’t enjoy staying home. Celine loves keeping busy, and thus during the lockdown, she was employed on a short-term basis in the HOPE worldwide Kenya Nairobi South site office as a receptionist and store-keeper.
In 2021, she received additional responsibility to support data collection in the DREAMS site office. She earns an average of KES 26,000 monthly and supports her parents in paying her sister’s school fees. She also pays for her own education, as she is studying for a Diploma in Social Work at the Kenya Institute of Professional Studies. The DREAMS project further supported her by paying for her first-semester school fees.
To further hone her entrepreneurial skills , in 2021, DREAMS supported Celine with a start-up kit of KES 15,000 to establish a gas distribution business. She started with 6 gas cylinders, and after plowing back her profits, she now has 20 cylinders. She makes a profit of KES 8,000 per month and is looking for a permanent place to run her business and diversify her gas suppliers.
Through the entrepreneurship skills she gained in the project, she has better relations with her customers and keeps proper records for her business. Celine pursues her dreams as she helps other girls in her community. She envisions starting a hotel business and operating it with her mother and continuing to expand her gas distribution business. “DREAMS has empowered so many girls and has helped reduce rape, HIV, and child abuse cases.
Because of it, I’m a successful and empowered young woman. I am very grateful for the support I have received.” She says.