The third pillar of Envision Kenya’s humanitarian efforts in Kapkemich, Kenya focuses on the development of entrepreneurial programs aimed at creating a sustainable economy for the community. Over the past 12 years, St. Anne’s Girls School and the Virginia Wright Health Clinic have done a tremendous job establishing a stabilized community in Kapkemich; in fact, the village is receiving formal recognition for its progress in the form of government grants and funding.
Entrepreneurial Programs
Entrepreneurial Programs
The Next Steps
With the school and clinic drawing increased community members to the village, a natural next step is to create sustainable businesses and industries that will not only benefit the community at large, but will also allow St. Anne’s graduates the ability to earn an income – and become a catalyst to help stimulate a sustainable economy for all residents.
Spark Entrepreneurship
There are virtually no educational avenues available in Kapkemich to teach villagers how to convert raw materials into more valuable products or how to start and run businesses. That said, the abundance of available natural resources in and around Kapkemich is an opportunity for the community – an advantage.
Envision Kenya sees an opportunity to spark entrepreneurship. With training and role modeling and minimal capital investment, members are working toward the establishment of a shopping center in Kapkemich where students and residents will learn skills and eventually be able to work in a number of different small businesses and industries.
The Water Room
To address one of the village’s most pressing needs, purified drinking water, The Water Room, in partnership with Agua Viva International, has now opened Kapkemich’s first water purification system in 2023.
The Water Room employs local women to operate, maintian and deliver 5 gallon water bottles to schools, churches, and to comumunity events.
The Shopping Center
What’s Next? Envision Kenya plans to open a distribution center which will serve as hub and draw residents and visitors to The Shopping Center on a daily basis. Bottled water is the village’s primary source of clean water, so having a store to sell fresh bottled water fills an immediate need.
With a regular flow of visitors coming to The Water Room, a variety of other small buesinesses will emerge as adjacent shops within the center. The Cafe will sell locally prepared dishes and pre-made dinners (made from the village’s abundance of natural resources). Plans for other shops include: handmade apparel, accessories, home goods, a thrift shop and a store that will focus on hygiene and cleaning products.
This shopping center will help eliminate the need for villagers (with no reliable means of transportation) to travel miles out of town to purchase goods required for daily life. And, when making purchases locally in Kapkemich, the money spent at The Shopping Center remains in Kapkemich, where it will cycle and be spent elsewhere within the community creating self-sufficient and sustainable economic growth.
Other Avenues Of Entrepreneurship In Review
Envision Kenya has a number of other avenues of entrepreneurship in review. For girls graduating from the St. Anne’s school, there is an initiative in place to create nursing and teaching assistance programs so these young women so they can begin to work on their future careers right away.
A community center is also in the works; a place that will provide the village with a gathering place to host events like weddings and other celebrations – while also providing a location to create and host vocational training programs and further education and enrichment on a broad range of possible career paths.