Project Africa´s Recipe for Success

Project Africa's Women's Leadership Academy has experienced the sweet taste of success.

The Academy's catering school invited rural women without income to train in catering skills for food and beverage commercial services. In 2008, the programme enrolled five women who are single mothers or widowed.

The trainees were praised for their motherly role to prepare food for their families at home. They were also informed that this is an important role that women play and that it can also be turned into an income generating activity.

Soon the women were in class to undertake a refresher course on commercial catering services. At this point Project Africa's Project Leader Lilian Oloo approached a university in Kakamega area and requested for a tender for the women in our Women's Catering school to prepare food for the Students staying the university hostels.

The Tender was awarded to the women and gave Project Africa a ground to combine training with income generation as our model for empowerment which is learning by doing and earning states.

With a loan of 300 Euro Queens Catering Services was born employing five rural women. The women bought catering utensils and stock to start work. They also received chef jackets and hats from Project Africa's Founder Lindy Wafula who is also a Global Links Initiative Networker .The group also obtained health certificates from the Public Health department allowing them to start a catering business.

It has now been three months since the project begun with the women working from the Project Africa's Mission House and carrying the food they have prepared to sell to the students at the Kotecha Hostels in Kakamega.

In January 2009, Queens catering services recorded a profit of over 200 Euros having paid all their suppliers. January reports from Project Africa Kakamega also note that The Catering school has acquired new premises where they can create a classroom and training kitchen at a cost of 100 Euros a month.Their challenge is to raise at least 4-6 months rent as well as create a modern kitchen to be used for training as well as cafeteria services for income generation.

Queens informed the Founder of Project Africa Lindy Wafula that they want partners to invest with them to cater for these costs, buy furniture and other but even if they do not get partners they said they are determined to make it happen to create an opportunity for other women and girls in the community.