On a warm day, within the compound of a humble home in Akala town, Siaya County; Lilian Ouma, Julia Otieno, Josephine Owino and Roseline Odhiambo hold on to their tools as they delicately mix the various ingredients used to make liquid soap. Following an entrepreneurial guidance seminar conducted through the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) program run by CHS in Siaya County, the quartet agreed on pooling their skills and resources to form a soap-making business; launching their enterprise in January 2022.
“The business helps many girls, beyond just us, make a profit. Sometimes we sell our products on wholesale to other girls so that they can go out and retail it at a higher price, making it a win-win situation, as we all profit,” said Lilian Ouma.
“On days we run out of our raw materials needed to make soap, we usually get one of us to go on a supply run. We then congregate to put together the measurements required from the raw materials to make soap with a perfect consistency,” said Josephine Owino.
They are proud of the strides they have made so far and are motivated to keep going and mentoring others. “It feels good to have a source of income. We know how poverty can make one stay in abusive relationships or get into prostitution and theft, as one still needs necessities which come at a cost to survive,” said Julia Otieno.
With support from U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) CHS through its Shinda Tena project has supported 20,140 Adolescent Girls and Young Women through the DREAMS program with business and entrepreneurship training and business capital.
