Made With Care

If you were to peer through the sunlit window of our Rift Valley Women’s Group shop located at the Children’s Village, you would see the unbreakable focus of 29-year-old Magreth Damian. Sewing machine in front of her, Magreth’s products are a labor of love, stitched with care and quiet determination. Her path to success is built on those same virtues. 

Magreth’s education ended upon her graduation from the Tanzanian equivalent of elementary school. After spending two years learning the detailed trade of sewing and tailoring at a Seamstress School in Oldeani town, Magreth was able to find small jobs from time to time, but was only able to earn an annual income under $300. With a young child to support, she looked for ways to increase her resources and provide for her growing family.  

In 2013, Magreth accepted a job as a housekeeper at Rift Valley Children’s Village (RVCV). She was soon introduced to our Microfinance Program and its small collective of talented women who make up the Rift Valley Women’s Group. Our Microfinance team immediately recognized Magreth’s unique skill set and gave her the opportunity to begin making handcrafts that we would help her market and sell in order to increase her sources of income. 

Within a few short months, Magreth’s products were flying off the shelves, with more requests coming in by the day. Through her savings and the continued encouragement of our Microfinance Director, a dream that once seemed impossible to Magreth came into focus. She wanted to build a house for her family. In the spring of 2018, Magreth moved her family into their dream house.