About us
From half a suitcase to a Circle of Transformation.
Baskets and Beads Kenya is a faith-based nonprofit empowering women through entrepreneurship and creating educational opportunities for their children.
In 2018, Eldonna Lewis Fernandez traveled to the Kipsongo slum in Kitale, Kenya, on a mission trip. She came home with half a suitcase of handmade magazine beads purchased from five women, and began looking for a market for what they had created.
What started with five women and half a suitcase became something much bigger: a Circle of Transformation creating opportunity, strengthening families, and expanding hope through entrepreneurship and education.
A hand up, not a hand out
We believe women create value. They have skills, ideas, determination, and the desire to provide for their families. What they often lack is access: to markets, training, capital, and opportunity.
Baskets and Beads Kenya helps create that access. Women earn income through the products they create, strengthen their businesses through training and mentorship, and build financial capacity through table banking and group savings.
And because life doesn’t always cooperate with a business plan, we come alongside women when crisis hits, with food, medical support, and help when unexpected challenges threaten the progress they’ve worked so hard to build.
The goal isn’t dependence. It’s opportunity, ownership, and the ability to build a sustainable future.
Our mission
Empowering women. Educating children. Transforming communities.
Empowering women
We create access to opportunity through entrepreneurship, fair-trade markets, business training, mentorship, and financial tools that help women build sustainable livelihoods.
Educating children
We help children stay in school by providing educational opportunities that open doors to a different future.
Transforming communities
When women have opportunity and children have education, families become stronger and communities begin to change.
The road so far
From half a suitcase to a Circle of Transformation.
Feb 2018
A mission trip to Kipsongo
Eldonna travels to Kenya with Reaching Beyond Ourselves on a mission trip to the Kipsongo slum in Kitale. She meets women creating handmade magazine beads and buys beads from five women to bring home.
2018
Half a suitcase
Eldonna comes home with half a suitcase of beads and sells every one. Five women in Kipsongo become the founding artisans of Baskets and Beads Kenya.
2019–2023
Growing the circle
What began with five women grows year by year. More women join the group, table banking strengthens their ability to save and borrow, and education becomes part of the circle.
Today
A circle that keeps widening
More than 40 women are building businesses and creating income. Fifteen students are in school. Our products travel from Kenya to customers and partners in the United States, while the Circle continues to grow through entrepreneurship, education, and opportunity.
5
women started the journey
In 2018, our founder bought half a suitcase of handmade magazine beads from five women in the Kipsongo slum in Kitale, Kenya.
40+
women are building a future
Today, more than 40 women are building businesses, creating income, and creating new possibilities for their families.
14
students are in school
14 students are currently receiving support through our Educating Children program.
Every gift widens the circle.
Your generosity creates opportunity where it can have a lasting impact. $150 supports one woman through literacy education. $1,500 to $2,500 can provide a student with a year of education.