IT AIN'T FAIR
Jancan Limo
Lead Instructor @ Nice Place Foundation | Educational Programs|| ECM YALI Alumni
When people were struggling to hold to their jobs at the onset of Covid, my colleague quit his lucrative managerial job to start a CBO. Toxic work environment? Too much workload? Micromanagement? Broken Commitments??I am not sure what his reasons for quitting were. What I am sure of is, he had zero savings and he had not won a lottery nor secured a donation to start a CBO.
Three months later, Wheels of Hope was up and running. Combining his passion for cycling and his desire to assist others, Wheels of Hope Community Based Organization breathed life. Collins, together with his team, used bicycles to take the message of hope to teenage mothers and young girls in Kilifi County.
Collins together with his team have a Drop-A-Pad-With-A-Bike program to tackle period poverty; Life-skills and mentorship sessions in schools and during holidays; Community sensitizations in collaboration with various partners in Kilifi county; A-Bike-A-Home program where they give marginalized boys and girls bikes to tackle several issues key among the teen pregnancies and mental health issues. They also have a rescue/daycare centre where we take care of teen mothers’ kids in Bomani Kikambala as they take the teen mums back to school/vocational courses.
His decision did not make sense to me. The crumbs of generosity and kindness I possessed did not convince me enough that he was making the right decision. When he was fundraising for the finances, I offered the much I could. Or the much my heart convinced me that it was much enough but my enough for my pocket not to feel the pinch.
One thing that I took from him and fell in love with, was the bike. I called him to approve of the black mamba bike I had. He was frank to tell me it was good for exercise… I knew he was telling me I could get a better one. I went ahead to acquire a bike for my brother and myself and he was impressed that we had upgraded to hybrid bikes. Not too far but not too heavy. And the desire to belong in a cycling team crept in. I promised him to start Wheels of Hope in Eldoret.
That did not happen. I joined Mama Cycling UG chapter and became active in the group rides and group affairs. The only time we engage with my friend was viewing each other’s status and asking how the ride was. I am happy he introduced me to cycling.
Months later, I moved from the same company to a new institution. The new environment was focusing on preventing cases of female genital mutilation, early pregnancies and school dropout among the maa community. This involved educating the public on the dangers of FGM, creating a safe haven for the girls who are at risk of undergoing the cut or early marriages as well as providing sponsorship for the girls and boys who were deserving of the assistance.
A month’s experience softened my heart and Collins can attest that my contribution to his course increased. I saw from firsthand experience what it meant not just in providing the desired help to the girls but most significantly, what it meant to the girls who are the beneficiaries.
Hardly had I immersed myself in full appreciation of what it means to be there for the girls so that I can be of more help to my friend than my friend called me telling me he had thrown in the towel.
The sad news hit me hard. He sent back home the 13 teen mothers to their homes, 2 went ahead to be married as second wives. Those who were in high school and vocational centres have accumulated fee balances that are no longer manageable for them. The landlord is knocking in his shelter, demanding his dues or he closes the premises.
A few months ago, I would have rushed to my bazooka to unleash the, ‘I told you, ‘I knew it, ‘it was only a matter of time,’ missiles to him. But not now. Not after what I have come to appreciate. It weakened me and broke the heart that was already softening.
Which oak trees do you guys go and pluck funds? Or how do you jot down those killer proposals that magnets the donors?
Director at Wheels Of Hope Community Based Organization
2 年Thank you for highlighting my story Jancan. Indeed it has not been an easy journey. Building a CBO is not easy work and I thank God for the lives we have impacted in the year and a half of existence in the Coastal region. We have impacted teenagers who would have quit school, girls who would have become pregnant due to lack of sanitary pads and good mentors, mothers who had given up to being wives to anyone who provided a roof and food for them, boys who were quitting school to be boda boda riders and more. On November 4th my bike, basically the cornerstone of our work, was stolen in Mombasa town while I had gone to drop proposals and visit the police to get permission to do a charity ride from Mtwapa to Nyeri. I was left shocked, disoriented and stranded! In my pockets I had zero shillings and the signed and stamped letter from the police. Riders came and helped search for it the whole day to no avail after i posted in our cycling groups. One rider realized I had an 18km journey back home and asked how i was getting there, then gave me fare. That incidence shook me to the core. I was left immobilized and by the time the day of the journey reached with no bike, we had to postpone it indefinitely. Then we were not able to raise any funds for the daycare centre, some friends started talking negatively etc. We had to close the centre. It was the toughest decision ever considering that the kids we had, had no food at home nor caregivers that's why we opened it. Getting calls from the teen mums, young grandmas asking when we are reopening is heart wrenching when you have no idea if you will open again. Its been difficult to say the least. The girls we took back to school cannot get bursaries because their marks were low. We had to negotiate with the schools to accept them back on promise of doing well. Now we can't pay the fees and they have stopped schooling. One begs the question; Corporates and the government easily fund bright students, what happens to those who did not pass exams due to various circumstances like the teenage mothers we support who are also in need of education but poverty and poor grades lock them out of getting help? Other people say the girls are a lost cause we are doing nothing! Some people told us out rightly " You've taken them to a private school, sort yourselves out or take them to public schools then we will help". Public schools don't accept them with poor grades because they are after performance. So they are left in limbo, and those of us trying to help get criticism instead of support. Most of those kids are innocent, just that the environment they have been raised in is not conducive to help them make sound decisions. I also believe that if one really wants to help, let them help fully with a clean heart. Most of us block blessings because when we are in a position to help, we don't do it, or when giving we start questioning or doubting how the money is going to be used. When we send proposals, responses come that we are too young, or too inexperienced, or that we are impacting a very small number to have any effect, or that we are dealing with what we can't manage.. This experience has taught us a lot. On Saturday the 29th of January, two days ago, my bike was spotted in Old Town Mombasa and we were able to recover it. Now I have a glimmer of hope despite all the challenges. As Wheels Of Hope CBO we appreciate the lessons learned, and are going to re-strategize, keep pushing and keep giving hope to the marginalized and hopeless. For now we take a breather and continue sourcing for help, hoping that somebody somewhere will come to our aid or help us get funding that we can use to have income generation programs so we be self reliant. Thank you for highlighting, truly you are a true friend. Be blessed.