Esther's Story: ‘It Makes Me Feel Empowered’
When she was younger, Esther dreamed of becoming a teacher. But she had to stop attending school when her father decided she needed to get married. Traditionally in Maasai culture, girls are often married while they are still fairly young, and a dowry is given to the family by the soon-to-be-husband. Her marriage meant that Esther had to give up on her dream of more education.
Once married, Esther had three children—a boy and twin girls. She relied on the income that her husband made to care for the household and pay for food, clothing and to upkeep the home. Much of her time was spent collecting water, which becomes harder and harder to find during the drought, and beading traditional Maasai jewellery—necklaces and bracelets. But with no market close by, Esther was unable to sell her beautiful handiwork.
When Free The Children started partnering with Esther's community of Ilngarooj in Kenya, life began to change. Esther became involved in the Me to We Artisans program. Given high quality materials to work with, she was paid a fair wage to create exquisite pieces of jewellery that are sold through Me to We, mainly in North America. Using the skills passed down from generation to generation, Esther now has a market for the pieces that she creates. The change to her life is two-fold. She does not have to rely solely on someone else to provide for her and her family.
[It] makes me feel empowered,” says Esther. “I am working and able to have an income.
And, the income makes a huge difference for her family. She has bought good clothing and food for her children, as well as goats, whose milk she can use or sell.
Through Free The Children's programming, Esther has seen a marked difference in the lives of her neighbours and the community as a whole. Now able to buy metal sheets to build houses that keep out the wind and the rain, the families of the community can also afford water tanks to catch rain water, reducing the need to spend time walking long distances to collect water.
Esther has many dreams for the future of her community. "I hope for better roads, to have a big town here," she says, referencing the lack of paved roads making it difficult to travel for the people in her community, particularly during the rainy season, when the dirt roads become flooded. And for the people closest to her, she also dreams of a better future. "I also want my children to continue in school," she says.
Esther knows the power of education first-hand.