Jacklyn Atiato
Baskets & necklaces
She makes baskets and necklaces; her son is finishing high school.
“Through the sponsorship program my son finished high school and is about to join university.”
Jacklyn's childhood in the Kipsongo slum began when her squatter parents moved there. She never had a chance to go to school and started working very young, selling fruit on the streets of Kitale. That life led her to the street children, and she began sniffing glue to hold off hunger and the cold.
She became pregnant on the streets and, not knowing what to do, returned to her parents' home. Unable to care for the baby, she left her with her mother. Later she married and had more children. When she could not feed them she resorted to scavenging for food in the dumpster. She tried everything she could, and lost hope when one of her children became a street kid. That was the moment that became her motivation to change, not just for herself but for her children.
Jacklyn joined Baskets and Beads believing it would change her life. She makes baskets and necklaces and is able to provide for her family, and through the table banking program she also runs a side business. Her dream is to move her family out of the Kipsongo slum into a safe and secure home.
In Jacklyn’s words
“To provide basic needs for my family and give them a life that I didn't have, and to get out of the Kipsongo slum.”
Stand behind Jacklyn
Gifts go into the group’s shared table banking pool and the programs that support every woman in the circle: materials, literacy, medical help, and school fees for their children.
