Visiting Project Nikumbuke

Imagine walking for hours in extreme heat to collect water for your crops because it hasn’t rained for a year, hoping they will grow, knowing you're dependent on them, and praying they won’t be eaten by free range animals. You're taking care of a house you haven't chosen yourself because at the age of 12, you had to marry a 50 years older man. Now you're expected to take care of the kids and the household.

For us in the Nordics, this is difficult to understand. But for big parts of Kenya's population, this is their everyday life. This is why Redpill Linpro's Swedish business units sponsoring From One to Another, a non-profil organisation that helps with issues like this: to give girls and women a chance to a new life, through education.

Project Nikumbuke

By sponsoring From One to Another, Redpill Linpro supports a women's center called Nikumbuke (Remember Me). The aim of the project is to give girls and women better conditions in life by stronger status, education and health.

The main center is located in Lunga-Lunga, a small town in southern Kenya. A big part of the population around this area lives in poverty and historically, the women in and around Lunga-Lunga have never had the opportunity to education. Thanks to Project Nikumbuke, 2055 scholarships to college have been handed out (year 2024), and women in the area have now got the chance to learn how to read and write, health, English, private economy, etc.

Project Nikumbuke's main center in Lunga-Lunga, Kenya

Visiting the project

A year ago, I had the possibility to travel to Kenya and visit Nikumbuke to take part of what they do, strengthening the collaboration, and understand why it's important.

My name is Ida Pihlgren, and I work as Talent Recruiter & Employer Branding Specialist at Redpill Linpro. During 4 weeks in Feb/March -25, I lived at the Main Center, and apart from helping with the education, it was a great opportunity for me to take part in the women's stories, hear what the project means for them, and understand their challenges and difficulties. By visiting different villages around Lunga-Lunga, I really got to experience what life there is like.

Why girls?

Because boys are always prioritised. If a family have money for education it's always the sons who are prioritised. The girls are expected to take care of the house, younger siblings and the farming. Pretty much act like an adult/parent from a very early age. In many cases, the daughter is seen as a source of income, since her family can sell her for marriage. Many girls, as young as 12 years old, are forced to marry a man 50 years older than her, and not long after that having her own kids. Many give birth to up to 10 kids, or more!

I talked to a couple of women who described their childhood as difficult. They wanted to go to school, but instead had to help out with the house and the farm. One of them was only seven when her mum died in childbirth. This left her, as the oldest child, to take over the role of motherhood until she was 12 and then sold to marriage with a 68 years old man. This while all her brothers went to school.

Another one was initially able to go to school, but due to the increased number of unemployment, her mum could no longer pay the school fee.

“School was very difficult for me, because my mother was alone. She struggled to pay my school fees. Many times, I was sent home because we couldn't pay. And eventually, I wasn’t able to go back at all."

At one point I asked a group of women what they would have wanted to do instead of having so many kids. At first, they didn't know what to answer, but then answered "We have no education, we cannot do anything else". They live these predecided lifes and education is the key for them to be able to take their own decisions in life.

Another reason why women is prioritised in Nikumbuke is because it's shown that educated women tend to give back more to the whole village. An educated woman can help improve an entire village.

"When we started, we had no classroom, no building. We met under the shade of a tree. But we continued. Then we bought this plot and built a small house. Later, we got a sponsor, and now we have a real classroom."

Why education?

To break this bad pattern of a predecided life, education is crucial. Through education, they can get better jobs, live more independently, gaining new perspectives by moving to a new city for college for example. They won't be dependent on a man or marriage. With education, they're given a greater control of their own destinies, future, and their families.

"Nikumbuke has meant a lot to me. Our fathers mistreated us. Our daughters were beaten. Our girls couldn’t get an education. But it is through Nikumbuke that they are now educated and have a good future and good jobs."

More than education

Apart from providing education and scholarships, Nikumbuke also helps with village development. Many families in Lunga-Lunga are dependent on their crops, for food and to sell on the market. But it's only one rain period a year and the rain is very unpredictable. Sometimes it rains to little and sometimes too much. In between rain periods, the people around here can walk for hours in extreme heat to get to a water source to carry water home. And the second problem is that when the crops grow, there's a risk that freerange animals eat them. To avoid these two issues, water tanks and fences are installed in the villages with sponsor money.

Furthermore, before Nikumbuke there was very little interaction between the villages. Some women even described it as they were afraid of eachother, of residents from other villages. But today, they meet once a week and share experiences, problems and ideas with each other. When they understand how similar their lives look, they can really support each other.

Nikummbuke has turned into more than a school or place for education, it's an important meeting place, and safe haven, for the women and girls here.

Redpill Linpro's support

Redpill Linpro's core value of putting people first and creating sustainable societies, stretches longer than how our employees are treated and how we work with tech and open source. It's about creating a better world for everyone. At firsthand, Redpill Linpro is supporting Nikumbuke's computer school. Many families in this part of Kenya cannot afford a computer, but knowing how to handle one is required in many jobs and universities. We send electronic devices and other appliances they need, but apart from financial and material resources, Redpill Linpro also supports with education and troubleshooting amongs other things. This is thanks to our Redpill Linpro colleague Karin Nordengrim-Avdic, who has been taking her free time to pass on her knowledge.

One year later

Today, a year after my visit, I look back on the experience with pride, over myself for going, but mainly Redpill Linpro as employer for recognizing the importance of sponsoring this project. Through all the misery, it was beautiful to see what an amazing sense of community they have. I was often met with songs and dancing, and they were as curious of me as I was of them, we could really learn from each other. It was obvious how happy they were to have these educational sessions once a week.

What really stays with me is all the amazing women who dedicate their lifes to this project. Bendettah, Anne, Josephine, and Julietta who works with the project and driving it's success forward. Amazing women all of them! They really have stood up for what they believe and sometimes fought against the wind to come to where they are today. And Rose, the amazing chef and housekeeper who I shared so many hours with, discussing our differences and similarities, and my very own Swahili teacher. They will always stay with me and I cannot wait to return and meet them all again!