Mrembo Empowerment Centre held its third graduation ceremony on November 29 at Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi.
The centre that works towards uniting families and uplifting the lives of vulnerable youth in slums was founded in 2017 by Stellamaris Mwende.
It offers short courses in hairdressing and beauty skills.
“The people who join Mrembo Empowerment Centre are mostly women and girls who have challenges in their lives. The centre helps in empowering hopeless women and girls,” Stellamaris said.
The aim of the centre is to help women and girls to tap into Kenya’s beauty and cosmetic industry that is estimated to be worth over Sh5.6 billion in 2019 and it is expected to grow to over Sh6.4 billion by 2020.
“We have successfully trained 196 girls and four boys over the past two years. In this third graduation ceremony, 37 girls are graduating. The graduands have been awarded with completion certificates in hairdressing and beauty skills training,” Stellamaris said.
The success of the centre has been realized through the support of various partners who have dedicated their time and resources to ensure the girls and boys complete their training.
“My dream has always been to see these girls go out in the market and get jobs. As the centre, we have partnered with so many hairdressers that can give them attachments and jobs. In addition to that, we have opened three saloons for our girls,” she said.
The centre has partnered with Adix Plastics which provides girls with scholarships and support the centre during graduation ceremony.
“Hairdresser 254 has also been a great supporter and we appreciate them. Soweto Catholic Church is also supporting us,” the founder said.
Cecilia Njeri, one of the beneficiaries, asked girls who are outside there and wanting to change their lives for the better to join Mrembo Empowerment Centre.
“Mrembo Empowerment Centre changes one girl at time. I want to thank Stellamaris, our director, for giving us hope and a good future,” Njeri said.
Sarah Achieng, another beneficiary, looks forward to starting her own saloon and grows it into a big business.
William, one of the boys who graduated, asked the boys who are interested in working in the beauty and cosmetic industry to join Mrembo Empowerment Centre.
Stellamaris, the founder, plans to open more branches and admit more boys to the centre in 2020.
